Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 7 for the 14 proposed state constitutional
amendments. See page four for a list and the Chronicle‘s endorsements…
SOS Legal Defense Fund president Kirk Mitchell is coveting a place on the city
council, according to In Fact. His target: Jackie Goodman’s seat.
Mitchell, whose oilman/developer father George Mitchell was named among the top
400 wealthiest people by Forbes, told In Fact that Goodman is too
weak on environmental issues. The newsletter also reported that KVET talk show
host Eric Blumberg is considering running for a council spot, but did not
specify which one. Like Chronicle columnist Daryl Slusher, Blumberg
won’t decide whether to enter the race until next year… Last week Gavino
Fernandez, Jr., a leader of a coalition of Hispanic East Austin neighborhood
groups called El Concilio, met with Parks Department Director Mike Heitz to
discuss what will become of the park land along the Colorado River in the wake
of the baseball stadium defeat. They agreed to form an 11-member task force to
start work on planning a community park and raising funds from federal and
local agencies in hopes of fending off the need for a bond election.
Freeport Turns Into Pumpkin
As of midnight on October 31, Freeport- McMoRan’s $100 million risk insurancewas cancelled by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). It seems
that OPIC, the U.S. government-sponsored agency which provides financing and
insurance to American companies working overseas, may be concerned about the
pollution coming from the developer’s gold mining operation in Irian Jaya,
Indonesia. (The New Orleans-based company has claimed that their mine does not
pollute local waterways. However, an Indonesian environmental organization has
reported that Freeport is dumping toxic tailings from its mining operations
into Irian Jaya rivers.)
In addition to potential environmental hazards, another concern may have been
the fact that federal law requires OPIC to take into account “respect for human
rights” in its insurance arrangements. Reports from Australian and Indonesian
sources have documented dozens of cases of murder, torture, and human rights
abuses at the Freeport mine site. OPIC and Freeport officials declined to
comment.
The no-confidence vote from OPIC could have marred a dinner thrown in Freeport
CEO Jim Bob Moffett’s honor by the University of Texas on November 2 at the
Hyatt Regency. Perhaps it was a good thing the Geology Foundation Advisory
Council had to cancel — Moffett had a “scheduling conflict.”
— R.B.
Revitalization or Relocation?
Attempting to soothe East Austin neighborhood fears, Councilmember EricMitchell told a 200-plus audience at the Metropolitan AME Church last week that
his plan to redevelop the Eastside could be accomplished without displacing
area residents.
“If you own, we want to make sure you still own. If you rent, you’ll continue
to rent at the same price,” Mitchell said.
Judging from the collective stomping and cheering at the two-and-a-half-hour
meeting, which at times had all the fervor of a Southern revival, Mitchell was
preaching to the converted. He also had the help of numerous speakers, many of
whom he had personally hand-picked, who employed all the available microphone
time to lend their support to the $75 million plan which would build new
infrastructure and commercial buildings along East 11th and 12th streets. Some
described the plan as a much-needed “shot in the arm” for the lagging East
Austin economy. Others admitted that they’d like to get in on the action by
opening their own businesses once the corridor is revamped. To them, Mitchell
promised first dibs, as long as they are “first in line. We want [local
businesses] there, except for the liquor store and the Quickie Pickie.”
A smattering of opponents, however, refused to accept Mitchell as the
neighborhood’s savior. “I don’t need Mr. Mitchell… or nobody to relocate me,”
said one senior citizen who piped up early in the meeting to decry the plan’s
proposed use of eminent domain. She explained that she has seen past East
Austin communities wiped out by “urban renewal,” and criticized the lack of
neighborhood representation on the board of the proposed Austin Revitalization
Authority (ARA), whose members were hand-picked by Mitchell to oversee the
redevelopment process. Referring to the fact that at least eight ARA members
reside outside the redevelopment area, she complained, “Not a one of them…
live in East Austin.”
Other ARA opponents at the meeting were members of the Guadalupe Association
of Independent Neighborhoods (GAIN) and the East Austin Strategy Team (EAST).
Only one other attendee, also a senior citizen, attempted to rain on Mitchell’s
parade. Mary Kimbles boldly seized a place on the agenda by interrupting a
Mitchell-supporter. “We’re not against progress, we’re not against what 11th
and 12th streets should be… but involve us. We live here, you live across
town.”
Mitchell replied that the ARA board members were considering expanding the
board to allow more local appointees. But Kimbles left unconvinced — and
perhaps with good reason, if Mitchell and the ARA board manage the
redevelopment the way Mitchell ran the meeting. Mitchell, who was recently
named the A.M.E. Metropolitan Church “Man of the Year,” took only 15 minutes of
questions from the audience; all were from his supporters.
The opposition will get a greater role on a more neutral turf come November
16, when Mitchell will ask the council to accept his proposal for the ARA
board, as well as the $9 mil-lion loan that will pay for the acquisition of the
properties to be redeveloped. The public hearing is set for 6:30pm that
Thursday. — A.M.
Cedar Avenue Fallout
The City of Austin may end up paying a high price for the Austin PoliceDepartment’s crowd-control tactics at a Valentine’s Day party last February.
But as one Austin attorney sees it, the psychological damage suffered by the
young people at the party far outweighs any monetary compensation he intends to
seek from the city. “When a police officer grabs a 13-year-old kid, holds a gun
to his head and asks another officer, `Is this the nigger that did it?’… That
kind of stuff can stay with a kid a long, long time,” says Austin lawyer Kelly
Evans. “That kid went home crying that night. He cried for a long time.”
So far, three attorneys say they will seek an undetermined amount of money in
separate cases involving nearly 20 people — about half of them minors — who
claim physical injuries or mental stress from the chaos that unfolded the night
of Feb. 11. Witnesses say police indiscriminately sprayed mace and used their
nightsticks and flashlights to quell what had otherwise been a peaceful
gathering of children, teenagers, and adult chaperones, as nearly 70 officers
responded to a report of an “officer down” at the Cedar Avenue address of Ira
and Charmaine Bedford. The Valentine’s Day party was an annual event in the
Bedford household. The officer down, in this case, sustained a nasty head gash
in what police say was an attack by an unknown assailant at the party. Police
are still investigating the injury.
Evans represents the Bedfords, and says the Valentine’s Day incident has taken
an especially heavy toll on Ira Bedford. Stressed out over the turn of events,
he missed several days of work and subsequently lost his job, though he has
since found other employment. Bedford feels chiefly responsible for what
happened, Evans says, because it was Bedford who summoned police to the scene
in the first place, when he called 911 requesting a patrol car to drive through
the neighborhood to make sure an armed gang member, who had been turned out of
the party, wouldn’t be returning to cause trouble. The melee that followed is a
point of controversy that likely will go unresolved.
Meanwhile, lawyers are seeking other ways to settle the case. Evans, who also
represents nearly a dozen other adults and minors who were at the party, says
he’s agreed to a request from the city attorney’s office to try to negotiate a
settlement outside of court so the city can avoid messy litigation. He is
amassing a stack of medical and psychological reports to determine a dollar
figure in damages.
While legal action against the city is gearing up, the APD’s criminal charges
against the Cedar Avenue party-goers continue to unravel. A county court judge
last month found Bernie Durst, a chaperone at the party, not guilty of
assaulting his brother-in-law David Jackson. A police officer had reported
seeing Durst strike Jackson, but Jackson swore in an affidavit that it never
happened. What is particularly galling about Durst’s case, says his attorney
Bobby Taylor, is that Durst, whose arrest allegedly constituted a parole
violation, spent four months in jail before he was cleared of wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the misdemeanor charges against Jackson, who was arrested that
night for public intoxication and failure to obey a police officer, also fell
apart. A municipal court jury acquitted Jackson in August, after deliberating
just 10 minutes. “The jurors introduced themselves to one another and then
voted not guilty,” attorney Terry Davis said of the jury’s quick turnaround on
his client’s verdict.
Jackson’s wife, Evada, has yet to stand trial on charges that she tried to
interfere with police officers’ arrest of another person and, in so doing,
elbowed an officer in the chest. Davis is representing her and her two minor
children who were at the party, one of whom required stitches after being
struck with a police flashlight. Both kids are receiving twice-weekly
counseling, Davis said.
In the wake of the community relations disaster stemming from the incident,
APD has started trying to heal long-standing wounds with African-American
residents in East Austin. APD has set out trying to build a stronger yet
friendlier presence in the community, and has staged a series of forums
designed to improve communications between police and minorities. Internal
efforts are underway as well. In September, Mike McDonald, a career police
officer recognized for his ideas on community policing, was promoted to
assistant chief of the department, making him the highest-ranking black officer
on the force. — A.S.
This article appears in November 3 • 1995 and November 3 • 1995 (Cover).