Thursday, May 27, 2021

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:

Friday, May 7, 2021

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.

Saturday, May 1, 2021

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.