Content about Lee Leffingwell
Students should make sure to exercise their hefty political potential by voting in city elections, as early voting begins today. All of the incumbents — Mayor Lee Leffingwell and city council members Mike Martinez, Bill Spelman and Sheryl Cole — should be re-elected.
As mayor, Leffingwell has successfully guided Austin through three years of tremendous growth during a devastating global recession. In the past year, Austin’s unemployment rate has stayed below 6 percent, lower than both the state and national average.
In February, Austin’s Charter Revision Committee approved a “10-1” proposal for City Council representation — with 10 geographic, single-member districts and one at-large mayor — which, though imperfect, would likely increase student representation at the city level. Now, more than two months later, the council has yet to agree on or fully discuss the plan, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Austin became a little bit more rock and roll last weekend when rocker Ian McLagan became the first Austinite to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Hot topics at Monday afternoon’s mayoral debate included the addition of a medical school to the UT campus and solutions for traffic congestion throughout the city.
Apple Inc. has announced it will create a $304 million operations center in Austin after being attracted by the “new Silicon Valley” of Central Texas and acquiring funding from the city and state.
Mayor Lee Leffingwell endorsed Student Government presidential candidate John Lawler and running mate Terrence Maas last week in efforts to get the city to collaborate on issues affecting students this election year.
After 25 years of strolling around the streets of downtown in women’s clothing and heels, the iconic vagrant Leslie Cochran remains in critical condition.
Leslie was found unconscious Feb. 16 on South Fifth Street only days after announcing plans to move to Colorado, said Debbie Russell, the president of the Central Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Surrounded by friends, Leslie was transferred to hospice care Friday.
Mayor Lee Leffingwell launched his re-election campaign with an homage to his favorite movie, “Ferris Bueller's Day Off.”
The Leffingwell campaign hosted a kickoff party Saturday night. The party included free beer and food provided by Austin Barbecue Company, live music and a showing of “Ferris Bueller's Day Off” provided by the Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow. The mayor was present at the event to visit with supporters.
City officials welcomed Code for America to Austin yesterday, an organization that helps make government work better for everyone with the efforts of people and the power of the Web.
“Rail is the future of Austin, as it is the future of every great city in the United States.” This is how Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell characterized his support for the city’s proposed urban rail system during a Twitter Town Hall event hosted by the University Democrats last week. Though Leffingwell made future rail service within the urban core part of his campaign message in 2009, just how far into the future students and other city residents must wait until benefitting from the service remains unclear.
Social media and politics combined Wednesday when the University Democrats hosted a Twitter town hall meeting with Austin mayor Lee Leffingwell.
Editor’s note: From developments in the Occupy movement to Willie Nelson’s endorsement of Mayor Lee Leffingwell, the following quotes are among the best from the last few days.
Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell has a new challenger in former City Council member Brigid Shea. Shea is a co-founder of Save Our Springs, an environmental group that advocates the protection of the Edwards Aquifer and Barton Springs. As a one-term council member, she was often critical of urban development projects and sometimes “savaged opponents,” according to the Austin American-Statesman.
After months of debate, the city of Austin’s 2012 Charter Revision Committee is poised to hold a final vote on a proposal that has the potential to create single-member districts for city council elections.
In December, Austin Energy, the city-owned utility company, proposed increasing electricity rates by 12 percent. Austin City Council’s consideration of the proposal is ongoing, but the plan is drawing increasing scrutiny because the rate increase would disproportionately affect low-usage residents.
Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell launched his re-election campaign Wednesday at Becker Elementary, his childhood school in South Austin. First elected in May 2009, Leffingwell elaborated on his role as a steady hand guiding Austin amid an anemic national economy. Although the mayor deserves praise for his sensible environmental policies, his initiatives on transportation have fallen short of expectations. Nevertheless, a confluence of factors in Austin’s political history leads Leffingwell to be the heavy favorite in next May’s election.
Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail was officially renamed Thursday to the Roy and Ann Butler Hike and Bike Trail, after former Austin mayor and UT alumnus Roy Butler and his wife Ann.
Austin City Council will most likely approve the next phase of construction on the Lance Armstrong Bikeway, connecting East and West Austin for cyclists with dedicated riding paths for the first time.
Austin City Council granted preliminary approval Thursday to a measure targeted against disabled parking violators. The council plans to allow members of the public to photograph and report cars illegally parked in disabled spots using a smartphone application. UT students and Austinites in general should note this serious infringement of civil liberties. This measure will inevitably lead to gross abuses and promote vigilantism among city residents.
Months of meetings with Austin residents, business owners and city officials led to an open forum Monday night seeking the public’s final input on plastic bag prohibition.
Public commentary on the proposed plastic bag ban
The following quotes are from Monday’s open forum during which Austinites voiced their opinions on the proposed plastic bag ban. City officials began considering the ban in April, and Austin City Council members voted in August to draft an unofficial ordinance outlining possible provisions for the ban, according to The Daily Texan.
While many UT students geared up for a trip to Dallas on Friday, Austin’s City Council made a controversial and highly questionable decision regarding a seemingly innocuous topic: election dates. Instead of moving the 2012 municipal elections to November, the council voted 4-3 to keep them in May.
Austin has some of the most eco-friendly municipal buildings in the state, thanks in part to a plan created by former city officials.
Hundreds of UT students and members of the community protested for quality environmental conditions Wednesday evening at the LBJ Library, hoping to influence the U.S. State Department to look into greener solutions to replace the proposed Keystone Oil Pipeline.
YMCA East Communities Branch reached out to the community on Saturday to encourage physical activity in children and facilitate family fun.
Mayor Lee Leffingwell partnered with the YMCA to sponsor the “Let’s Move Austin Play Day.”
