 "Photo: Emily Kinsolving, Daily Texan Staff")
Stop Domain Subsidies protested a city plan to give $65 million to Simon Properties over the next 20 years to finance the Domain luxury mall Thursday.
Protesters rallied outside Austin City Hall to support Proposition 2, waving red signs reading “Vote for Prop 2 … it’s a no-brainer.” The proposition calls for the city to stop using sales and property tax rebates to fund the Domain project because it could potentially hurt local businesses and increase the cost of living. The city’s first payment to Simon Properties, $1.5 million in tax subsidies, is due in October.
“We’re giving taxpayers’ money to help rich people shop at a mall,” said organization founder Brian Rodgers.
Protester John Bush said he hoped to raise awareness to people who do not know about the city’s expenditures.
“Libraries are closing, road maintenance fees are up, property taxes are up and [the council] wants to give money to one of the richest mall developers in the world,” he said.
About 500 local businesses and 27,000 voters have signed a petition in favor of Proposition 2, including Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Tyler’s and Waterloo Records.
“Most of the money are tax dollars from local businesses,” said Linda Curtis, an independent activist who helped coordinate the protest. “So the local businesses are funding their competitors.”
The Travis County Democratic Party voted Wednesday to back the proposition, and the Travis County Libertarian and Green parties have already backed the proposal. The Travis County Republican Party has also shown interest in expressing support, Rodgers said.
At the rally, a black-and-white hog named Charity basked in some of the limelight.
Bush said the hog represents greed, corruption and corporations “eating out of the public trough.”
“Feed the real hogs, not the developer hogs,” Curtis said.
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