SAFE Austin Now Reboots With Goal Of 50K Petition Signatures

Save Austin Now and its related PAC were wildly successful in attracting a bipartisan majority of Austin voters to reverse the city's disastrous homeless camping policy.

Now as they attempt to wrestle the City of Austin into enforcing the restored camping ban, another project begins as the group shifts gears. Police reform is now the focus as Save Austin Now begins its Safe Austin Now initiative, starting with a goal of reaching 50,000 petition signatures by mid-summer. See press conference video for specifics.

The petition aims to place on the November 2021 ballot a sweeping package of proposals that, according to a press release distributed at the event:

ANALYSIS: 2021 Local Elections Yields Mixed results for Travis County conservatives

The passage of Austin's Proposition B -- the homeless camping policy reversal -- took the spotlight of the May 2021 local elections in Travis County and was a victorious moment for conservative activists and a much wider coalition firmly behind it. 

Democrats, Republicans, and independents came together (an estimated 55% of those who voted were Democrats), but it was a conservative solution that reached across the aisle to turn back a dangerous policy, though ultimately the Travis County GOP was supportive (with Chairman Matt Mackowiak as a co-founder of a supportive PAC) and the established leadership of the Travis County Democratic Party were in firm opposition.

The increased bipartisan turnout may have sunk some conservative aspirants across the county, however -- though it's difficult to determine exactly what factors led to some surprising defeats of conservative-friendly and Republican candidates and positions around the Austin metro area.

We take a look at how conservative candidates and positions performed on election night over the weekend, starting with one that was just determined today in the Pflugerville ISD. Candidates and positions endorsed by The Travis Tracker are followed with an asterisk.

✅ = Overall conservative victory
❌ = Overall conservative defeat
⛖ = Mixed results

✅ PFLUGERVILLE ISD

Separated by a mere two votes on election night, the PfISD Place 1 race was the squeaker race election night, with mail-in and provisional ballots yet to be counted. Travis and Williamson County ballot boards met today. At the time of writing, and according to observers, David Aguirre* gained additional votes in the final unofficial count, putting him 3 votes ahead of Marc Garcia and is therefore the projected winner. (The count is not official until canvassing, however.)

In Place 2, incumbent Tony Hanson* was unopposed.

Socialist hopes dashed in Austin as homeless camping policy reversed

Based on early results, it appears a reversal of Austin's ill-advised homeless camping law is on it's way to passage by the voters.

May 1 is Local Election Day in Texas, and the capitol city of Texas is reporting a mixed bag of results based on early voting totals and over half of precincts now reporting.

Your Travis County voting guide for the May 2021 local election

Early voting begins April 19 on elections across Travis County, including the prize fight of the year so far -- the rollback of the homeless camping ordinance in Austin. 

But act fast -- early voting ends in just one week, on April 27, with election day Saturday, May 1!

Below are recommendations The Tracker has put together from various conservative sources with some of our own admonitions thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, local input has been hard to gather, which is something we hope to remedy in future local elections. Therefore, not every race will have a recommendation. But this year we are including ALL candidates with our preferred candidate(s) or position(s) in bold. Some races have more than one recommendation due to intra-conservative conflicts.

Voting Guide: City of Austin May 2021 ballot propositions

Early voting begins Monday, April 19, and continues through Tuesday, April 27. Election Day is Saturday, May 1. Below is a quick rundown of each proposition on ballots within the city of Austin, with our recommendations in red. For more information visit www.VoteTravis.com.

Proposition A:
Collective bargaining for firefighters

FOR

Would require city and firefighters association to participate in binding arbitration when an agreement cannot be reached through collective bargaining regarding working conditions.

Pro: Saves taxpayer money by discouraging expensive litigation as a first step in solving disputes such as labor contracts (e.g. the lengthy dispute that took years to settle over the last decade). 

Con: Could greatly accelerate the number of complaints regarding working conditions and give labor unions additional power when negotiating contracts.

Supporters: Firefighters Local 975

Note: Filed by petition.

* * *

Proposition B:
Homeless camping rollback

FOR

Would (re)create Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine for anyone to sit, lie down, or camp in public areas without official permission; prohibits panhandling at specific hours and locations.

Pro: Takes city back to pre-2019 camping restrictions; makes pedestrian areas and roadsides safer; removes "signaling" to other homeless persons in other locations to move to Austin; addresses aesthetic and sanitary concerns.

Con: Allowing camping in more public places has made it visually clear that there is a homeless problem in Austin that needs to be addressed; government and social workers more easily able to find, access, and treat homeless persons in homeless camps.

Supporters: Save Austin Now PAC, SafeHorns, Travis GOP Chairman Matt Mackowiak; individual Democrats (TCDP framing this as a right-wing effort -- it is not, being clearly bipartisan).

* * *

Homeless camping, recall petitions organizers racing against clock to gather signatures

With deadlines forthcoming in the new year for inclusion on the May election ballot, petition circulators in Austin are hard at work on several major initiatives.

Here's an update on the petition drives we know about:

5 reasons why election fraud should NOT stop you from voting

Election irregularities are nothing to take lightly. And neither is voting, the core function of any true republic.

From mystery USB drives, to missing ballots suddenly discovered during a recount, to remote logins, election integrity activists have made valiant strides in recent years to make sure each and every vote is counted.

Voting fraud is real, though difficult to prosecute. And proving that votes are miscounted in an election can take longer than the projected victor's entire first term.

Misdirected postcard found in Austin unveils stealth campaign for Georgia U.S. Senate election

 An incorrectly delivered postcard found in an Austin mailbox sheds light on a way liberal activists are using out-of-state volunteerism to drive turnout in the Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs. 

It appears a stealthy postcard campaign is responsible for the misplaced mail. The effort is being conducted relatively under the radar, without a noticeable way to trace who is paying for the cards or stamps, no disclaimer on the cards, or information on who offered the manpower to process the cards.

The wayward postcard, discovered this week in a North Austin post office box without a postmark or stamp cancellation, urges a vote in the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock. Ossoff and Warnock are opposed by incumbent Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, respectively.

The recipient requested he remain anonymous. He suspects the card may have been dropped and returned to a random USPS mailbox by a Good Samaritan or it was written locally but was not properly processed by postal employees.

Here are some last-minute resources for 'choosy voters'

According to early voting and polling data, Texas Republican voters are keeping true to their reputation as good closers. 

By week 2 of early voting it seemed there were enough swing voters and Republicans still waiting in the wings to radically affect any outcome. An analysis in The Federalist today indicates that Republicans are narrowly outperforming Democrats in the Lone Star State, with Democratic turnout having actually dropped by around a point-and-a-half.

Travis County conservative voters guide 2020

A word of caution: It is incredibly important to be acquainted with these candidates as there will be no straight ticket box to select on the ballot on the 2020 general election ballot. We recommend voters visit iVoterGuide and the Travis County League of Women Voters to learn more, or click on the names where there is a link to visit the candidate's website and/or social media page.

To find out which races you're eligible to vote for visit www.VoteTravis.com to generate your sample ballot and find your nearest voting location.  Early voting runs through Oct. 30. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Austin Council recall election re-ignited for 2021

Becky McMillian (center) gathers with volunteers this weekend.

On the heels of the creation of a new PAC to push for restoring public safety, another local political movement is already well-on its way toward bringing back the Austin City Council recall effort.

"We had 30 people attend our meet and greet on Sunday, so we could finally meet each other face to face, and we have 111 people signed up to volunteer so far who are serious about volunteering to undertake this task," said Becky McMillian, founder of Your Minute Is Up. 

"With community-led efforts before, we’ve only seen 50 to 80 people show support to volunteer throughout the several-months-long process. Within one week of making this announcement we are seeing volunteers pour in at a faster rate. That just goes to show how the community is really behind this! The fire in people’s voices and outrage is amazing! They want their city back, and for the council and mayor to be out of office."

We quote the inaugural press release from Your Minute Is Up below.

AUSTIN -- [...] The recall effort that got started by Our Town Austin at the end of 2019 got crushed by COVID-19, and their petitions became invalid. Your Minute Is Up is a fresh, community-based approach to the goal of placing a recall of the current Austin City Council (those left after the November election, that is) on the May 2021 ballot, with eager Austin citizens behind it. 

Trump Boat Parade in Austin brings in 1,300+ vessels, no serious incidents

Central Texas supporters of President Donald Trump showed up in force today with a Labor Day weekend flotilla of around 1,300 boats on Lake Travis, just outside of Austin.

Press coverage soon turned to "reports" of multiple boat sinkings, even being repeated in the New York Times. But according to eye-witnesses and Austin-Travis County EMS, one confirmed sinking this afternoon was not associated with the parade and with no serious injuries reported.

The Democrat-controlled Travis County Sheriff's Office tweeted that it "responded to multiple calls involving boats in distress during the Trump parade on Lake Travis. Several boats did sink" (emphasis ours). Replies to the tweet were disabled. An Austin American-Statesman photographer reported at least three vessels appearing to have been "swamped" in the somewhat choppy waters following rainfall in the area over the week, but these incidents appear to have been at the onset of the event and not en route and easily mitigated.

As a precaution, organizers arranged for an aquatic towing service to provide five boats, all monitoring VHF channel 21 as an assigned frequency for inter-craft communication. Participants to whom we reached out reported seeing no sinking boats on the parade route.

The event began with a prayer and singing of the National Anthem broadcast over the radio channel. At noon five parachute jumpers, among them three combat veterans, displayed flags and trails of red, white, and blue smoke. 

A "Keep Texas Great: Vote Trump 2020" banner was flown around Lake Travis throughout the event, with air cover by a vintage biplane and a World War II-era B-52 bomber piloted by members of the Commemorative Air Force.

A variety of waterborne vessels -- from small fishing boats to personal yachts (and, we believe, a pirate ship-like boat) took to the route between 12:20 and around 2 p.m. between Emerald Point and the area around Point Venture on the North Shore and back.

______________

Photo credit: Ray Ward, via Facebook

Austin City Council defies public with massive $150M cut to police budget

Despite recent polls that indicate a majority of Austinites support maintaining full funding for law enforcement, multiple sources are reporting the Austin City Council approved $150 million in cuts to the Austin Police Department. 

The unanimous vote of the all-liberal Council gave a preliminary but definitive nod to a $4.2 billion city budget. The cuts came after a hearing Wednesday in which current Council member supporters and Black Lives Matter activists spoke in favor of diverting law enforcement funds to other entities or cutting them entirely.

According to the Austin American-Statesman the cuts came in the form of:

• $129 million -- moved into a transitional fund to explore "alternative policing."
• $21.5 million -- three upcoming police cadet classes.
• $3 million -- overtime payroll costs
• $3 million -- "commodities and contractuals"
• $1 million -- records management
• $220,000 -- equine patrol and license plate reader program.

Poll: Majority supports full funding for Austin PD; indicates unrest with City Council

A poll commissioned by the Greater Austin Crime Commission helps confirm that there is growing dissatisfaction with the direction the Austin City Council and the Travis County Commissioners Court has taken the city.

Some takeaways from the poll:

• 53% responded they oppose slashing funding for the Austin Police Department
• 40% responded they support reducing funding for APD
• 47% responded city is on "wrong track"
• 34% responded city is going in "right direction"
• 84% responded they are dissatisfied with the city's homelessness policy
• 74% responded they are dissatisfied with how traffic is being addressed
• 92% responded they feel safe at home and in their neighborhoods
• 56% responded they feel safe downtown
• 80+% responded they are satisfied with Austin Fire and county EMS

3 reasons why Democrats outvoted Republicans 6:1 in mid-year election (and why that's no prediction of November)

Democrats are crowing about high turnout across Texas for Tuesday's (July 14, 2020) primary runoff and special election, hoping the performance will translate into victory in November 2020. 

The turnout for Democrats was around 6 percent statewide. That's actually high for Democrats. They haven't seen those kinds of crowds in a runoff since 1994, back when they were the majority party in Texas. 

Slightly under a million Texans voted in this round. In Travis County, there was roughly a 6:1 ratio between Democratic voters (123,596 ballots cast) and Republican voters (19,199). That's a big difference, especially considering countywide Republican candidates can often crack 40% with a well-funded and volunteer-filled campaign (that's about how statewide Democrats perform, by the way). 

Austin school closure order threatens private, religious schools

Eye-opening press release from the Travis County Republican Party this morning.

Contact Austin ISD Board
Contact Austin City Council

Outrageous New City of Austin Order Delaying School Reopening is Unconstitutional, Unjustified Power Grab

Order Threatens Religious and Private School, Predicts Death Rate of 1000x Current Rate

AUSTIN – Not only is the new order prohibiting in-person classes in schools within Austin rife with potential legal hurdles and probable constitutional rights violations, it also goes against the rights of parents and elected school boards, the chairman of the Travis County Republican Party said this morning.

According to a mandate issued by Dr. Mark Escott, interim health authority for the City of Austin, all schools within the city limits that offer any classroom instruction from pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade are prohibited from gathering in person until Sept. 8.

This order includes religious and private schools, not just public schools. Extracurricular activities including summer football practice, band rehearsals, and any number of other activities are also presumed to be prohibited.

Media: It's Not Communist Graffiti, It's 'Pro-Worker'

Austin City Hall, located several blocks south of the Texas Capitol on Cesar Chavez Boulevard, was vandalized early Tuesday morning by three males according to surveillance video. The vandals splashed red paint on the glass entrance of the municipal headquarters and left Communist messages on a nearby outdoor seating area.

"US imperialism is the virus. Socialist revolution is the cure," one message read, accompanied by a sickle-and-hammer and other marks indicative of Marxist affiliation. Watch the video of the vandalism below:

Shelter-in-place ... unless you're one of these hundreds of exceptions

UPDATE: Gov. Abbott's orders now supercede the city's.

Travis County issued a "Stay at Home, Safe at Work" order -- read, a shelter-in-place ordinance that requires residents to stay indoors and limit gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus/COVID-19.

Like any law, there are exceptions. And when we looked at the ordinance itself it was eye-opening just how many "essential activities" and "critical infrastructure" goods services made the cut.

See below for Travis County's list of exceptions, some of which appear in multiple categories (so forgive the many repetitions). For any attorneys reading this, no, this does not count as legal counsel, and if you want to make absolutely certain your activity is covered see the ordinance itself.

If you're in Williamson County click here, which is quite similar in scope. For some commentary on why these ordinances are similar read here.

2020 Primary Election results: Who made the runoff?

2020 TRAVIS COUNTY REPUBLICAN PRIMARY ELECTION
Primary Election Day Tuesday, March 3 (Early voting Feb. 18 through Feb. 28).

NEW: Unofficial election results are in! See below for winners (indicated by ✔️)

FULL RESULTS: COUNTY | STATE | NATIONAL

PRESIDENT
✔️ Donald J. Trump (i)   
     Roque De La Fuente Guerra
     Zoltan G. Istvan
     Matthew John Matern
     Bob Ely
     Joe Walsh (withdrew)
     Bill Weld

U.S. SENATE     Virgil Bierschwale
✔️ John Cornyn (i)
     Mark Yancey
     Dwayne Stovall
     John Anthony Castro
U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 10: 
✔️ Michael McCaul (i)

U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 17: GOES TO RUNOFF
     Ahmad Adnan
     Scott Bland
     George W. Hindman
     Todd Kent
     Laurie Godfrey McReynolds
     Jeff Oppenheim
     Kristen Alamo Rowin
     David Saucedo
✔️ Pete Sessions
     Trent Sutton
✔️ Renee Swann
     Elianor Vessali
U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 21:
✔️ Chip Roy (i)
U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 25:
     Keith Nuendorff
✔️ Roger Williams (i)
U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 35: GOES TO RUNOFF
✔️ "Guillermo" William Hayward
     Nick Moutos
✔️ Jenny Garcia Sharon
RAILROAD COMMISSIONER: 
     Ryan Sitton (i)
✔️ James "Jim" Wright
TEXAS SUPREME COURT, CHIEF JUSTICE:
✔️ Nathan Hecht (i)
TEXAS SUPREME COURT PLACE 6:
✔️ Jane Bland (i)
TEXAS SUPREME COURT PLACE 7:
✔️ Jeff Boyd (i)
TEXAS SUPREME COURT PLACE 8:
✔️ Brett Busby (i)
COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS PLACE 3:
     Gina Parker
✔️ Bert Richardson (i)
COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS PLACE 4:
✔️ Kevin Patrick Yeary (i)
COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS PLACE 9:
✔️ David Newell (i)
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION PLACE 5: GOES TO RUNOFF     Inga Cotton
✔️ Robert Morrow (TCRP recommends not voting for)
✔️ Lani Popp
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION PLACE 10:✔️ Tom Maynard (i)
TEXAS HOUSE DISTRICT 47: GOES TO RUNOFF**NOTE: Final revised count winners. Recount pending. ✔️ Justin Berry (2nd place)
 ✔️ Jennifer Fleck (1st place)
     Jenny Roan Forgey
     Aaron Reitz
     Don Zimmerman*

TEXAS HOUSE DISTRICT 48:
✔️ Bill Strieber
TEXAS HOUSE DISTRICT 49:
     Jenai Aragona-Hales
✔️ Charles Allan Meyer

TEXAS HOUSE DISTRICT 50:
✔️ Larry Delarose

TEXAS HOUSE DISTRICT 51:
✔️ Robert Reynolds
THIRD COURT OF APPEALS CHIEF JUSTICE:
✔️ Jeff Rose (i)
JUDGE, 460th DISTRICT COURT:✔️ Geoffrey Puryear (i)
DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
✔️ Martin Harry
TRAVIS COUNTY SHERIFF:✔️ Raul Vargas
TRAVIS COUNTY TAX ASSESSOR-COLLECTOR:
✔️ Marilyn Jackson
TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER PRECINCT 1:
✔️ Solomon Arcoven
TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER PRECINCT 3:✔️ Becky Bray
COUNTY REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN
✔️ Matt Mackowiak (i)

PRECINCT CHAIRMAN PRECINCT 137
✔️ William Moorhouse (i)
     Sarah Saiz
PRECINCT CHAIRMAN PRECINCT 359
✔️ Russell Gallahan (i)
     Douglas Scherer

* * *

Primary ballot propositions:

This is an opinion poll of Republican voters and not binding referenda. These questions will appear on all Republican ballots.
✔️ 1.) Texas should not restrict or prohibit prayer in public schools. YES/NO
✔️ 2.) Texas should reject restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms. YES/NO
✔️ 3.) Texas should ban the practice of taxpayer-funded lobbying, which allows your tax dollars to be spent on lobbyists who work against the taxpayer. YES/NO
✔️ 4.) Texas should support the construction of a physical barrier and use existing defense-grade surveillance equipment along the entire southern border of Texas. YES/NO
✔️ 5.) Texas parents or legal guardians of public school children under the age of 18 should be the sole decision makers for all their children’s healthcare decisions including, but not limited to, psychological assessment and treatment, contraception, and sex education. YES/NO
✔️ 6.) Texas should ban chemical castration, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and genital mutilation surgery on all minor children for transition purposes, given that Texas children as young as three (3) are being transitioned from their biological sex to the opposite sex. YES/NO
✔️ 7.) Texans should protect and preserve all historical monuments, artifacts, and buildings, such as the Alamo Cenotaph and our beloved Alamo, and should oppose any reimagining of the Alamo site. YES/NO
✔️ 8.) Texas election officials should heed the directives of the Office of the Governor to purge illegal voters from the voter rolls and verify that each new registered voter is a U.S. Citizen. YES/NO
✔️ 9.) Bail in Texas should be based only on a person’s danger to society and risk of flight, not that person’s ability to pay. YES/NO
✔️ 10.) Texas should limit our state legislators’ terms to 12 years. YES/NO

* * *

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Voter guides: iVoterGuide | League of Women Voters
• Sample ballot (PDF file -- to see your eligible races visit VoteTravis.com)
• To verify whether you are registered to vote visit VoteTravis.com
  
• Travis County Clerk Elections Division (voting locations, FAQs, and more)
  
• Ballot order for 2020 Primary (from random drawing)

Updated: 3/11/20 7:58 p.m.