Anderson Mill Road improvement claim: another Flannigan shenanigan

A press release from the Don Zimmerman re-election campaign counters a strong rumor going around town that his Democratic opponent Jimmy Flannigan is responsible for placing improvements to Anderson Mill Road on the upcoming transportation bond.

We post the entirety of the press release below. Zimmerman is the incumbent for Austin City Council District 6.


AUSTIN, Texas -- Council Member Don Zimmerman’s opponent, Jimmy Flannigan, has been exposed for his exaggerations and deceit regarding his marque accomplishment claim: having Anderson Mill Road added to the Mayor’s Transportation Bond proposal.

Zimmerman first noticed this claim while listening to the Sept. 12, 2016, Austin Monitor interview when Mr. Flannigan said that the reason that Anderson Mill Road was included in the Mayor’s Transportation Bond proposal was because of Mr. Flannigan’s Northwest Austin Coalition (NWAC) work.

In an interview, the Austin Monitor’s Michael Kanin (starting at 4:10) questioned Mr. Flannigan’s boast that the Anderson Mill Road was included in Mayor Adler’s transportation bond “explicitly” because of the work done with the NWAC:

   Kanin: “Just to be crystal clear here, it was the Mayor's office that told you it was because of your work." Flannigan: "Yes"

   Kanin: "and not council member Zimmerman"

   Flannigan: "Yes"

   (Source: https://soundcloud.com/austin-monitor/austin-monitor-radio-jimmy-flannigan )

At the Sept. 15, 2016, League of Women Voter’s District 6 Candidate Forum Flannigan stated that the “[NWAC] kicked off the first ever citizen led corridor study for Anderson Mill Road which should save taxpayers $1M bucks and it got that road added to Mayor Adler’s Transportation Bond” (starting at 7:45) “…Hundreds of people participated in a corridor study that had never occurred on Anderson Mill Road. When I brought that study to City Staff and the Mayor’s Office, they got the road included in the bond. That is a fact.” (starting at 14:45)

(Source: http://lwvaustin.org/candidate-forums-austin-city-council/ )

In his political brochures, Mr. Flannigan is touting his ability to get Anderson Mill Road included in the bond package as his premier accomplishment.

Unfortunately for Mr. Flannigan, with a little fact checking, the lies are exposed.

   · According to the Results of PIR 29396 is that the Austin Transportation Department (ATD) and Public Works Department (PWD) have no record of his “Anderson Mill Corridor Study”. In fact, according to PIR 29328, the ATD and PWD have not corresponded with the Northwest Austin Coalition in 2016.

   · According to PIR 29412, the Mayor’s Office has not had any correspondence with the Northwest Austin Coalition relating to roads or the Anderson Mill Corridor Study in 2016 as well.

   · In a text conversation on Sept. 13, 2016 with Council Member Zimmerman, the NWAC’s “volunteer traffic engineer” Alex Reyna (who attended the NWAC’s October 26, 2015 meeting -- the last meeting which included Anderson Mill Road on their agendas) wrote “Whatever study Jimmy is talking about is worthless because I only attended 1 meeting and it was an intro to the coalition.”

   · The most damning evidence was the email the Mayor sent to his staff on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, at 6:28 a.m. in response to Council Member Zimmerman’s question for more context relating to Flannigan’s interview with the Monitor. Adler wrote “Has anyone in our office made such a statement? Should someone call Jimmy and find out why he said that?”

Here are the facts:

   · Within the first six months of taking office, Council Member Zimmerman held a District 6 Town Hall meeting at the Anderson Mill Limited District office in which staff from ATD and PWD attended to discuss the problems and solutions for Anderson Mill Road. Mayor Adler, as well as Mr. Flannigan, were at that town hall. That meeting made it abundantly clear that ATD had studies and knew about needed improvements years before the 10-1 Council existed.

   · As Mr. Rena accurately said, “The City had already identified improvements needed along Anderson Mill Road, but it was always on the back burner because we never had representation like we now have with CM Zimmerman.”

   · In August 2015, Zimmerman posted on the Council Message Board, with Council Members Houston's, Troxclair's, and Gallo’s co-sponsorship, to allocate $2M to fund a study to widen Anderson Mill Road between US 183 and RR 620 along with other projects. Unfortunately at that time, a majority of Council did not agree. (Source:http://austincouncilforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=355&hilit=anderson+mill )

To say that the reason that Anderson Mill is included in the bond is due solely to the NWAC bringing the corridor study to City Staff and the Mayor’s Office is a lie. Everyone in District 6 knows that Anderson Mill Road is a key artery that needs to be improved. Multiple groups have been working on fixing Anderson Mill Road.

As recently as Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the Hotel and Lodging Association’s Candidate Forum, Mr. Flannigan was still professing to be the reason why Anderson Mill was added to the Transportation Bond.

Supporting documentation available upon request. For more information on the Don Zimmerman re-election campaign visit http://www.austinites-for-zimmerman.com.

Disclosure: The author of this article is also the author of this press release and volunteers for the Don Zimmerman re-election campaign.