CITIZINE VOTER GUIDE
Austin City Council Elections: Ten candidate profiles

Citizens of Austin:

This is a friendly reminder that on Saturday, May 10, three of the seven Austin City Council spots are up for grabs, and many of you reading this are allowed to vote in the election. In this, our first CITIZINE VOTER GUIDE, you will find some information on the biographies and issues that distinguish the candidates on this year’s ballot.

Some of the candidates who have stepped forward represent the interests of politically ascendant property developers (and with panoramic views from their towering condominiums, these figures are literally ascendant as well). Some of our choices are young 40-somethings who have spent the bulk of their careers working for “non-profit” “charity” organizations, though they do quite well for themselves while directing resources for the community. The “top-tier” candidates aim to continue the “vertical mixed-use” revolution that could make everything in Austin tighter, more crowded and more expensive, thus creating so much pressure on people that one day (someday), Austinites all over will wisely decide to park their cars indefinitely, climb on a bicycle, and glide down city-sponsored bike paths to the light rail station of their choice.

So there are three seats up for election this May 10th, two with incumbents (Place 1 and Place 3), and one that is wide open (Place 4), given the retirement of Mayor Pro Tem Betty Dunkerley. If you are so inclined to inform yourself about your choices in these City Council contests, then please vote on Election Day. However, if you are going to vote based on slanted information from the TV, in the Statesman, and in the Chronicle, then please reconsider. Democracy does not work when the electorate is ill-informed.

PLACE 1

Lee Leffingwell
voteleffingwell.com

Lee Leffingwell was elected to the City Council in 2005, and he is the son of an Austin firefighter. His online biography details his professional career in the U.S. military and as an airline pilot:

Austin City Council member Lee Leffingwell is an Austin native and a retired airline pilot. An alumnus of UT with a degree in mechanical engineering, Leffingwell joined the U.S. Navy in 1962 and attended aviation officer training school, flying transport aircraft during the Vietnam War. In 1967, Leffingwell left active military duty, joined the Naval reserves, and became a commercial airline pilot at Delta Air Lines. He retired from the reserves in 1982 with the rank of Commander, and from Delta in 1999 as a Captain flying MD-11 aircraft.

Upon retirement from Delta Airlines, Mr. Leffingwell immediately became immersed in Austin municipal politics:

That year [1999] Leffingwell was appointed to the city's Environmental Board, where he served as Chair for almost five years until stepping down to run for Place 1 on the Austin City Council in 2005. He was elected with more than 62% of the vote. Leffingwell is the father of two and grandfather of five. He is a regular runner and hiker, and an accredited soccer referee.

Misfortune befell Mr. Leffingwell in the midst of his victorious City Council run in 2005 -- his wife was found dead at their home in the Wilshire Woods neighborhood. The Austin American-Statesman reported (4/23/05): "Mary Lou McLain, the board president for Family Eldercare and wife of City Council candidate Lee Leffingwell, was found dead this morning inside her Northeast Austin home. Police are investigating the death as a suicide."

After suspending his campaign operations for a few days, Mr. Leffingwell and his campaign manager Mark Nathan held a press conference on April 28, where he read a statement renewing his candidacy for the election 10 days later:

"My wife was a wonderful woman who cared for people and who cared about her community. Losing her is a great tragedy in my life. But it cannot and will not be the end of my life. The easiest thing for me to do now would be to go back inside this house, lock the doors, pull the shades, and mourn for Mary Lou. But I know that is not what she would have wanted, and so it is not what I intend to do.

"My wife, a nurse and a passionate health care advocate, was devoted to serving others. I know in my heart that she would not be pleased if I ended my work to make a difference in our community. So, I will stay in the race for Austin City Council, and if I am fortunate enough to be elected by the voters, I will serve in honor of her memory."

On May 7th of 2005, Mr. Leffingwell won his place on the Austin City Council.

According to recent news reports, Mr. Leffingwell is now "leading an initiative to consolidate Austin's four law enforcement agencies under a single chain of command and standardize training procedures for all sworn peace officers." Airport police and other law enforcement have independent leadership from the Austin Police Department, but Mr. Leffingwell's plan would change all that.

Mr. Leffingwell is supported in the 2008 elections by the "public safety" labor union triumvirate, the Austin Police Association, Austin Firefighters Association, and Austin / Travis County EMS Employees Association. There are a couple challengers to Mr. Leffingwell, both younger and with differing views on how land and transportation should be developed in Austin.

* * *

Allen Demling
allendemling.org

Allen Demling is referred to first and foremost as a "competitive beard grower," but there is likely more to him than that. Mr. Demling has worked as a mechanical engineer, and has an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois. He came to Austin to get a master's from UT, and "fell in love" with the city like many recent arrivals.

Some of his platform goals include to "Make Austin the premier green technology city," "improve transportation and reduce congestion," "responsible growth," and "Transparency in local government." To encourage "green technology" implementation, he wants the city and Austin Energy to offer more money to property owners who renovate their facilities using "green-approved" building materials and fixtures.

As far as improving transportation, Mr. Demling is the first to admit he's got a soft spot for bicyclists: "Cycling is my passion, so naturally this is my focus … Cycling is efficient, healthy, quiet, and emission-free. And in a temperate city with 300 sunny days a year, cycling is a very realistic alternative for the urban commute." Mr. Demling hopes to introduce measures that will make it safer and more convenient for bicyclists, and he is also a proponent of the new light rail system that is about to open.

This candidate also proposes a more "open" City Council. His prescription for obtaining this? No more closed-door meetings, and all Council members' e-mails would be available as part of the public record. This would help citizens stay informed on what's really going on within the City's business negotiations.

* * *

Jason Meeker
jasonforaustin.com

While both of his opponents are mechanical engineers, Jason Meeker earns his bread as a "professional copywriter and all-purpose sentence engineer." He is running for Place 1 on an "anti-Wal-Mart at Northcross" platform, and to warn other neighborhoods that "Wal-Mart can happen to you too." On his web site, he frames himself as a friend to those brave souls fighting the "insiders" at City Hall.

Mr. Meeker has served as a spokesperson for the Responsible Growth for Northcross (RG4N) business/neighborhood group that has been pressuring the city and developer Lincoln Property Co. to NOT build a Wal-Mart at Northcross Mall. Unfortunately, his organization has yet to gain any legal validation for all their trouble. After a good deal of courtroom wrangling in 2007, judges have determined that it is in fact legal to build a Wal-Mart at the moribund shopping center, however unpopular that may be. Place 1 incumbent Lee Leffingwell sided with the developer in the RG4N/Wal-Mart dispute, and so Mr. Meeker will be taking shots at the sitting Councilman over the matter.

Councilman Brewster McCracken's friend, Jason Stanford, is acting as a campaign consultant for Mr. Meeker, and some observers claim that one purpose of Mr. Meeker's negative campaign against Mr. Leffingwell is to help smooth the way for Mr. McCracken's bid to become mayor in 2009. Mayor Will Wynn's term expires next year, and Mr. Leffingwell is shaping up to be a potential opponent for Brewster in the mayoral race.

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PLACE 3

Randi Shade
randishade.com

Randi Shade has lived in Austin since about 1990 and she is a member of several prestigious organizations, including the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Hillel Foundation, and the Austin Clean Energy Initiative. Ms. Shade did her undergrad studies at the University of Texas, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

On her website, Ms. Shade vows that, "If I'm elected, I'll work to solve our traffic problems, keep our air and water clean, keep Austin affordable for middle-class families, deliver reliable and efficient city services, and restore the community's trust and confidence in City Council Place 3."

This is Ms. Shade's first run for office, although she was student body president during her days at UT. She has a strong political background as a Democratic Party financier, and worked as Ann Richards's fundraising coordinator during Ms. Richards's successful run for Governor in 1990.

Ms. Shade has experienced political assistants for her insurgent campaign against incumbent Jennifer Kim. One of Ms. Shade's top political consultants is Mark Nathan, who one source describes as "notorious as the string-puller behind the Mayor [Wynn], [Lee] Leffingwell, and [Mike] Martinez."

Ms. Shade is hoping to be the first openly-lesbian person to be elected to the Austin City Council. In her online bio, it says, "Randi and her partner, Kayla Shell, an attorney and Dell executive, live in the Clarksville neighborhood and are the parents of a 17-month-old son, Ethan." No openly gay or lesbian person has yet been elected to the Austin City Council, but this is the 21st century, a period that historians may someday refer to as "The Gay Century." Austin has a large and influential homosexual class, and so Ms. Shade's lifestyle choice should not affect her chances of winning a seat on the Council here in '08.

The Statesman describes Ms. Shade as, "an internet entrepreneur." She worked for consumer products giant Procter & Gamble at one point, but other than that, she has been firmly entrenched in the "non-profit" and "community service" industries. She founded an internet company in 1999 called CharityGift.com, which aimed to ease the processing of donations to charities. In 2005, she sold the company, either to make preparations for her current political exploit, or because the enterprise was getting to be a little too "non-profit-y" (This writer tried to log onto CharityGift.com, but to no avail; the company no longer exists). All the same, business experience is likely a non-issue in this race given that Ms. Shade's main opponent, Jennifer Kim, cannot advertise herself as any sort of businessman or entrepreneur.

* * *

Jennifer Kim
kimforaustin.com

Jennifer Kim has been around the world and back on her way home to Austin, Texas. From her web site, a writer describes her background: "Jennifer is half Korean and half Chinese. As a child, her parents worked for the Department of Defense, and she has lived and traveled abroad. She was born in Los Angeles and lived in Japan, Korea, Germany, Arizona, and then Houston where she graduated from Alief Hastings High School."

Influencing the political process has been a long-term passion for Ms. Kim. She got a political science degree from Texas A&M in 1993, graduating magna cum laude. She then went into politics, working for two years as a legislative aide to State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo). After this practical stint in politics, she returned to school to get a more advanced degree, earning a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University in 1998. Ms. Kim then worked as a U.S. government bureaucrat for the Dept. of Commerce from 1998 to 2002, doling out federal money to "economically distressed communities" in the Southwest. She then arrived in Austin in 2002, and began to make a name for herself in local politics. In 2005, she was elected to the Austin City Council at the youthful age of 32.

Much like the Hillary/Obama match-up that has shaken up the national stage, in a battle of PC-identity politics between Jennifer Kim and rival Randi Shade, it really comes out as a draw. Ms. Shade may be vying to be the first member of the "LGBT" club elected in Austin, but Ms. Kim has already earned her stripes as the first Asian-American to serve on the City Council.

In 2005, the firemen's union gave money and support to Jennifer Kim in a runoff election, but this year, they have shifted their support to Ms. Shade. Mike Bewley of the firefighters PAC has been elusive in saying exactly why they have withdrawn their support for Ms. Kim. The candidate told the Statesman that she believes, "the firefighters' primary beef is over their request for an additional contribution to their pension system …"

In another political role, Ms. Kim serves on the board of CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization), which determines funding for local road projects. In the fall of 2007, she notably voted against the toll road plan being pushed by State Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin), so "kudos" to Ms. Kim for listening to the people, and voting against this plan to convert our existing highways into toll roads.

* * *

Ken Weiss
weissforplace3.com

Also in the running against the two heavily-financed frontrunners is Ken Weiss. He has lived in Travis County nearly his entire life, and is running on a strong "pro-education" platform, saying, "Education should be the cornerstone in any society and should not be allowed to be anything less than excellent." He has attended both Austin Community College and Concordia University, and has run several small businesses over the years. Mr. Weiss joined ROTC while he was at ACC, and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army, and has also served in the Texas Army National Guard. Ken Weiss has done a lot of volunteer work for the Blue Santa program, and also assisted in disaster relief during the Houston flood of 2001, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Mr. Weiss is a strong proponent of "changing all city-owned street lamps from mercury vapor bulbs to LED bulbs." He also wants to make sure the Austin Fire Department is prepared for fires in the new high-rise condos, and has a plan to fight possible brushfires in the west Austin / Loop 360 area that could threaten newly-erected million-dollar mansions. Mr. Weiss recognizes that residents out there run the risk of suffering a wildfire disaster like those that have burned down expensive homes in the arid hills of Southern California in recent years.

Regarding toll roads, Mr. Weiss is opposed to "managed lanes" on Mo-Pac (a code word for toll lanes) and does not believe "tax-paid right of way" should be used for toll roads. He says, "We need more major roadways and those should not be tolled."

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PLACE 4

Cid Galindo
cidgalindo.com

To understand the son, you must understand the father. Cid Galindo is the son of Bolivian businessman, diplomat, and author Ramiro Galindo. Ramiro brought his family to Texas in 1974 and has since earned himself and his family "The American Dream":

Ramiro Galindo graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering. He founded Consultores Galindo, Ltda., a consulting engineering firm, in Cochabamba, and a tin alloys factory in La Paz, Bolivia, and was knighted by the Queen of Denmark for his services as the Danish Consul to Bolivia . He returned to the United States to become a successful real estate developer and entrepreneur … [and] is also the author of the very well reviewed book "The making of an American", his autobiography.

Cid Galindo actually got his start in the professional world working for his dad's company in the early '80s while he attended Texas A&M. Cid graduated from A&M with a B.A. in Economics in 1986. In 1992, he earned an MBA and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas. Since 1995, Mr. Galindo has been president of Galindo Group Austin, a local real estate development subsidiary of his father's international conglomerate, The Galindo Group.

In his message to interested readers, Cid Galindo offers a stark "fork in the road" for Austinites and urges residents to allow the city to "grow up":

We are at the end of our adolescence as a city, and we have to decide what kind of grown-up we want to be. Do we want to continue being a string of suburbs dependent on commute times, traffic, and vehicles to do just about anything outside our homes? Or do we want to build a more urbanized future of neighborhoods in which we still have our cars but rely on them a lot less?

Cid Galindo is an out-and-out futurist. He has three grand plans for Austin: "The 2035 Sustainable City Initiative" (a Power Point presentation showing Mr. Galindo's overall "vision" for Austin's next generation); "Building the Safest City in America" (omnipotent surveillance cameras to photo-enforce all public activity); and "Toward a More Urban Future" (the intentional crowding of Austin).

Mr. Galindo the younger has served as a top executive for Envision Central Texas (ECT), a futuristic land development club. On their web site, they describe the organization's accomplishments since forming about five years ago: "The ECT visioning process was unprecedented, with thousands of people from throughout the five-county region discussing future growth as a connected community … In May 2004, we released the "ECT Vision" which paints a compelling portrait of what we would like life to be like in our community 20-40 years from today." The ECT plans specialize in three realms: transportation, land usage, and the environment. After the revelation of their vision, ECT leaders say they have now entered an "implementation" stage to turn their dreams into an undeniable reality for residents.

Mr. Galindo has been working "triple-time" to carry out his varied "non-profit" duties that influence municipal ordinances on property development. He served on the City of Austin Planning Commission for 3 years while also acting as Director of Caritas of Austin, and as leader of the Downtown Austin Alliance, a group spearheading efforts to install "Big Brother" police surveillance cameras on Sixth Street (see this article).

* * *

Laura Morrison
lauraforaustin.com

While Cid Galindo has "visions" of a tightly knit urban playland called Austin 2035, Laura Morrison writes, "This race is about vision and values … I'm running for Council to make sure that as we move into the future, we protect the things that we love about Austin …"

Laura Morrison lives in "Old West Austin" and if you go down Baylor Street, you'll see about ten houses in a row with her yard signs. As president of the Austin Neighborhoods Council, she has been an outspoken community leader the last few years, and worked for provisions that allow neighborhoods to "opt out" of "vertical mixed-use" regulations that permit skyscrapers to be built in residential areas.

Mrs. Morrison moved to Austin in 1981 and is married to Phil, a physics professor at UT; they have two grown children. Before being a community leader, Mrs. Morrison lived the life of an engineer. She worked for military contractor Lockheed Martin overseeing engineering projects for the U.S. Air Force and the Portuguese Air Force. Mrs. Morrison holds a Masters in Mathematics from UC-San Diego and a graduate degree in Disaster Management from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Laura Morrison's campaign slogan offers to make Austin "a city that works for all of us."

* * *

Robin Cravey
robincravey.com

On his web site, poet/publisher Robin Cravey says, "I'm running a grassroots campaign to bring common sense to this uncommon city … I've been in love with Austin since I arrived in 1969, and I've been working on environmental and city issues since 1970."

Like several other candidates, Mr. Cravey wants to focus the mind's eye of every voter on his "vision for the future." Feel the poetic justice in Mr. Cravey's vision for Austin: "We will shape a city where people can live within walking distance of where they work. We will also provide a comprehensive transportation system centered around shoe leather, bicycles, motorbikes, and effective public transit. It will transform the city, reducing traffic congestion, air pollution, noise, pavement, oil imports and our part in climate change. It will give us air sweet enough for a baby to breathe."

Basing his plans on the city's "Austin Tomorrow Plan" from the 1970s, Mr. Cravey says, "… we must protect our water quality lands to the west, and protect our farmlands to the east. That focuses our urban growth on the desired development zone, that north-south corridor …"

Some other key soundbites in Mr. Cravey's campaign: "Keep Austin green"; "Bring back affordability"; "Walkable, bikeable city"; "Intentional, strong, democratic city."

Mr. Cravey owns his own publishing imprint, Tilted Planet Press, which released books of poetry and short stories primarily during the 1980s.

* * *

Samuel Osemene
vote4alonghorn.com

Samuel A. Osemene has lived in Austin for almost 20 years. He is married with twin daughters. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Texas and will earn his Masters in the same subject in May 2008. He has served in the U.S. Navy and is currently employed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Mr. Osemene says he will "apply common sense to common problems." While other candidates desire to lead a revolutionary transformation of Austin 's transport systems and land usage laws, Mr. Osemene promises voters that he will obey the rule of law, and protect everyone's God-given natural rights, as laid out in Declaration of Independence (not such a simple task nowadays).

On his campaign web site, he makes reference to his visionary opponents: "Policymakers have constructed cocoons around themselves … exhibiting behavioral patterns that emphasized their own exalted status," disconnected from the "ordinariness of the people."

Mr. Osemene wants to protect homeowners from skyrocketing property tax increases that have forced many people to sell their property to speculators and land developers. "Power has been used and applied arbitrarily in confiscating private property in the name of eminent domain. Another method that has been used consistently to confiscate private property is an increase in property taxes. Many old neighborhoods such as the ones in East Austin, Travis Heights, Tarrytown, and Allendale have been affected by this taxation without representation." Mr. Osemene aims to protect Austin homeowners from this unjust taxation. If elected, he will propose an ordinance to cap property taxes for homeowners who are over 55 years of age, and for family homes that were built more than 30 years ago.

He is opposed to surveillance cameras at red-light intersections, and claims that City of Austin leaders "took advantage of public passion for road safety and convenience to adopt ordinances that limit freedom of movement … by installing cameras on public routes in the name of reducing auto accidents …"

Mr. Osemene has some harsh words for the way the "homeless situation" has been handled in downtown, and proposes moving the ARCH elsewhere, away from the entertainment district. He writes:

The downtown area is the face of the city. The idea that Austin has ignored the plight of the homeless should be looked upon with disgrace … When elected to the city council, I will propose setting up a commission that will look into this problem and recommend to the city council how to deal with it. One of the solutions could be to relocate the homeless shelter and make it more humane by providing permanent accommodations to these, our fellow citizens. The ARCH was built to address this issue but the policy of letting these men and women only spend the night and letting them out during the daytime to wander around the city is disgraceful. These are God's children. I will suggest a permanent site where these citizens will call home and have the opportunity to build on the skills they have and learn new ones to better improve their way of life.

Samuel Osemene doesn't think the government can solve all your problems, and in fact, he wants to get the government off your back. He explains why in a simple way: "Limited government interference in our personal lives promotes individual excellence." We've seen plenty of mediocrity with the current City Council, but are we ready to allow excellence to return to the political scene?

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