Much like everyone else in Austin, we're endorsing Laura Morrison for City Council, Place Four.
BECAUSE WE TRUST HER
We can't say the same about her opponent, Cid Galindo. This little bit makes it very clear. You'll also notice this at the end...
Morrison said residents have been getting push-poll phone calls — in which callers ask a question and then push a particular point of view — that are critical of her. Galindo said his campaign placed calls asking residents only whom they plan to vote for.Carl Tepper, president of the Small Business Group of Austin, said his group has placed calls asking voters if they're aware of Morrison's stance on the energy upgrades.
Carl Tepper, it just so happens, is a Republican. Which is interesting since he's using his time and resources campaigning in a non-partisan race against a Democrat. It's also interesting since Galindo has made a big deal about being independent. Which, of course, naturally makes us wonder why a Republican would expend time and resources supporting Galindo. After watching our former Republican electeds screw things up, not to mention the ones currently in office, this an absolute deal killer for us.
No, we're not at that point where we can afford to let even one Republican in. Right now, the only thing they are good at is mucking things up.
The Statesman basically said Galindo was a single issue candidate. That issue is density which, as you know, we support. However, there have to be limits for it work and having a council member focused narrowly on high cost housing in the central city ignores the very real needs of the city as a whole (which does, for those who don't realize it, extend beyond SoCo/SoLa and Midtown). We love his plan to build town centers to the north and east, but that's already happening without him.
While we'd absolutely adore having mass transit everywhere, it's not reality and won't be for a decade or more. That means we need roads and a rational traffic plan to alleviate our current choke points. Morrison, at least, has some solid ideas on things to do NOW with an eye on what needs to happen in the future. Galindo is focused on changing where people live which will take a lot of time and depends on infrastructure that does not yet exist. Needless to say, we're going with better ideas.
And the better candidate. We urge you to support Laura Morrison in this race.