 "Photo: Maxx Scholten/The Daily Texan")
City Council candidates made their environmental issues known to the public Thursday.
Candidates discussed environmental issues and the energy concerns of Austin citizens at the 2009 Austin Combined Environmental Forum at City Hall.
“Having council members who are willing to stay in touch with the public and be leaders is really important,” said moderator Brandi Clark, who co-founded The AustinEcoNetwork and other environmental programs.
When posed a question about solar energy, Councilwoman Sheryl Cole offered her input.
“I have received a proposal to put a green roof on the convention center, which looked really cool,” she said.
During the question-and-answer session, a citizen asked the participants about the possibility of banning plastic bottles, particularly at fast food establishments.
Cole responded by expressing her distaste with the current state of plastics polluting creeks in Austin.
“I get tired of seeing plastic bottles in many of our creeks,” she said. “I don’t think we have enough initiatives to deal with water quality along the Colorado [River].”
During the second forum session, Chris Riley and Perla Cavazos took their turn to battle for the Place 1 council seat. The two candidates were asked about the way they would handle a plan for renewable energy in Austin.
In her opening statement, Cavazos outlined her three main priorities: “helping families in small business, making Austin more affordable and pursuing a long-term comprehensive plan for the city.”
Riley, who co-founded the Alliance for Public Transit and Austin CarShare, said he wanted to move away from reliance on coal and other fossil fuels.
“I am an advocate of a rapid transition to clean energy,” Riley said. “We need to move aggressively to put that into place.”
