Tonight it’s the City Council District 4 candidates’ turn in the barrel, in the fourth media forum sponsored by the Chronicle, Austin Monitor, KUT-FM, KXAN-TV, and Univision. We’re expecting a good crowd, presumably in the “Hall” of The Marchesa Hall & Theatre, 6406 N. I-35, 7pm sharp.
Tonight, the Kids in the Hall will be the eight candidates for District 4’s Council seat: Katrina Daniel, Greg Casar, Monica Guzmán, Louis Herrin III, Marco Mancillas, Sharon Mays, Roberto Perez Jr., and Laura Pressley.
(If you wander into the Theatre and tonight’s Austin Film Society showing of Tango Negro, the dancing will be better but the quality of District 4 voter information relatively low.)
District 4 was drawn to be the third Hispanic Opportunity District (2, 3, 4), at 65% Hispanic/Latino residents (as of 2010). It also has a high percentage of undocumented or non-citizen immigrants, as well as a preponderance of renters – both factors having had some influence on the campaign thus far, as candidates take positions on immigrants rights issues as well as whether proposed homestead tax breaks can be equitable for homeowners and renters. The district itself incorporates a wide range of neighborhoods: from the single-family residential in the southern sections along 51st and Koenig, ranging upward to the largely apartment complex and commercial development on the way to Braker Lane.
Local Proposition 1, the transportation bond, should also be a hot issue, as the northern section of the proposed urban rail line would run through District 4 to the new Austin Community College campus at Highland, with the whole area ripe for infill development. (Most of the candidates have said they oppose the rail project.) Another simmering issue is which candidates have lived in the newly drawn district the longest; electoral “immigrants” are under suspicion of venue-shopping in the low turnout district.
For more information on the forum or to RSVP, see the Chronicle’s election pages, where you can also find more detail about the candidates. The received RSVP’s reflect the venue is already at capacity: CORRECTION: The venue is bigger than we thought, and there should still be room to attend — but you can also listen to the forum on KUT, or watch the livestream on KXAN.
This article appears in September 12 • 2014.
