Fiscal conservatives top ABJ's list of top economic development leaders

Austin District 6 City Councilman Don Zimmerman

It's a good day in Austin when a Republican City Council member and the Governor of Texas make the list of the city's top Five Economic Development Leaders to Watch in 2016.

Gov. Greg Abbott and District 6 Austin City Councilman Don Zimmerman made the list, compiled by the Austin Business Journal today. The article highlighted Zimmerman's work in opposing ride-sharing app regulations (Uber Technologies CEO Travis Kalanick also made the list, as it happens).

The ABJ also noted Republican District 8 Council member Ellen Troxclair as part of a "fiscally conservative faction" of the Austin City Council along with Zimmerman.

One week, they might try to cut economic development funds on principle, the next week they are fighting against increased regulation of ride-hailing companies. While they may not bring a lot of votes to their side, the[y] represent an increasingly influential strain of politics seen here and across the country. 

Read more:
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2015/12/30/5-economic-development-leaders-to-watch-in-2016.html#g3

While it may be true that Troxclair and Zimmerman make up a small minority of the 10-member council, many issues are not decided along conservative-liberal lines. Sometimes they result in some "strange bedfellow" arrangements, such as Zimmerman's support of Democratic Council member Ora Houston's plan to build the new Travis County Civil Courthouse in East Austin.

Fiscal conservatives and Republicans make up a large portion of Austin's electorate, and more so in Travis County as a whole. A Republican candidate running in a county-wide race will usually secure anywhere between 38-42% of the vote -- a figure that's increasing year-by-year. Now that's something to watch!