The Austin mayoral and City Council races heated up Wednesday as a new string of campaign endorsements was announced.
Both the Austin police and Emergency Medical Services unions released their endorsements for City Council Place 1 candidate Chris Riley, while two state representatives, Eddie Rodriguez and Donna Howard, announced their support for mayoral candidate Lee Leffingwell.
The two city departments came to a decision after an extensive “ride along” process two weeks ago during which Riley and his opponent Perla Cavazos met with public-safety officials to assess the needs of the departments, officials said.
“Chris Riley actually came and rode with me in an ambulance all day, and we were able to discuss the issues that affect us,” said Steve Stewart, vice president of the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services Employee Association. “What I get from Chris is he wants to take politics out of public safety.”
The Austin Firefighters Association and the Central Labor Council, which represents 12,000 Austin families from 23 unions, have endorsed Cavazos.
“I feel that both Chris and I share the same values,” Cavazos said. “The question is who is the candidate that will bring unity at City Hall.”
Stewart said that because the medical services department is smaller than the other public safety departments, it does not have as much clout when it comes to budget cuts and negotiations with the city.
“Because we are small, it seems like we don’t get much action on what we ask,” Stewart said.
Stewart said that when city departments must cut their budgets, politics becomes involved, especially when unused resources from other city offices could be shifted to help fill shortfalls.
“We’ve cut 5 percent of our budget,” he said. “When I’m talking about politics, that’s part of the equation.”
Riley agrees.
“Politics really should not be in the picture,” Riley said. “When people call 911, they shouldn’t have to worry about shifting political winds.”
Riley also suggested increasing the efficiency of the medical services department by having wheelchair-accessible vans that would respond to nonemergency calls, allowing the department to dedicate other resources elsewhere.
The medical services union’s political action committee, of which Stewart is chairman, endorsed the Place 1 candidate on behalf of 250 union members. Riley’s list of supporters now totals nearly 700 community leaders.
“I’m excited to have their support. It lets you see things from their perspective,” Riley said. “I think it’s an important statement about my campaign.”
Leffingwell’s mayoral campaign has also benefitted from organizational and office-holder endorsements.
Rodriguez said he supports Leffingwell because he agrees that the council needs a stronger voice.
“He is a man of conviction, I share his convictions. He is unwavering on the issues that I care about,” Rodriguez said. “Really I just think he’s the right person for the job.”
Mayoral candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn’s campaign responded to the endorsements by saying the former mayor would focus on Austin voters.
“The endorsement process is still going on for some groups, but the biggest endorsement will be the people of Austin,” said Kevin Brown, Strayhorn’s campaign adviser.
Brewster McCracken did not return phone calls by press time.
Despite the endorsements, Leffingwell said he still expects a close campaign.
“As far as I know, there are no other organizational endorsements that have been handed out,” Leffingwell said. “I don’t think this is going to be a free ride at all. Strayhorn and McCracken are going to be strong candidates, and as much as I don’t want a runoff election, I feel there will be a runoff election.”
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