Perhaps the biggest triumph of the night was the solid voter endorsement of Austin Community College‘s revenue package. Both propositions — the first to authorize a gradual increase in the college’s property-tax rate, the second to approve $99 million in bonds — led throughout the night, finishing with 55% and 57% respectively. For most of e-night, a quorum of the ACC board of trustees, along with President Richard Fonté, other ACC leaders, and supporters huddled at Election Central with consultant David Butts, who advised the “Help Save ACC” campaign.
In the current climate of economic slump and no-new-taxes grandstanding, the ACC package was expected to be a much harder sell. “We were told very early on that there was no way we could win, so we were very nervous and at times doubtful that we could win,” said ACC board Chair Rafael Quintanilla. “I feel relieved and wonderful and so proud to be a part of this great community. … It’s a community that really supports higher education.”
The pro-ACC forces may have won even before Election Day by energizing ACC’s own students to come to the polls. “Our campuses served as early-voting locations, and about a fourth of the early votes were cast on ACC campuses,” Quintanilla said. “So we’re convinced that our students made the difference.”
This article appears in May 9 • 2003.