5 Reasons Why You Should Vote in This Year’s Local Election (Even if you don’t like politics)

 

1. The Texas state government isn't doing anything about climate change…

 

Source: EDF 

 

…But Austin Is. 

 

Source: Austin Chronicle

 

Austin has one of the most aggressive carbon reduction goals of any city in the country. The city’s municipally owned utility is also on track to get 35 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2016. Nationally, the country gets about 6 percent of its electricity from renewables (excluding hydropower). 

Austin's progress and leadership is in jeopardy this election. The most contentious environmental issues that the candidates have squabbled over are climate change and renewable energy. Several candidates reject the very existence of man-made climate change.

 

2. Traffic stinks.

 

 

Everybody hates it. 

 

 

It also hurts Austin’s air quality. Ozone levels (or smog) are of particular concern in Austin, since we lack a major public transportation network and rely heavily on our cars to get around. Vehicle emissions create ozone. 

 

Why care about ozone?

High ozone levels leads to increased respiratory problems, especially for young children and the elderly. That means that working off last night’s happy hour with a long run along Lady Bird Lake might get a whole lot more difficult. 

You have the power to keep Austin’s air clean. There is a ballot measure in this year’s election cycle that allows voters to decide whether or not the city should take out a $1 billion bond to pay for a new urban rail line in Austin. As a voter, you get to decide if a new rail will improve the city’s air quality enough to justify its cost. It’s up to you. 

After that decision has been made, a new city council will be taking office in January with its own list of ideas about how to reduce Austin’s traffic. And believe me, each one of the 78 candidates running has their own unique plan to abolish Austin’s traffic woes, running the gamut from a massive bus rapid transit rollout to road expansions, and from the well-researched to the far-fetched.

 

3. You are a human. You drink water. We are in a drought. That’s a problem.

2011 was the driest year ever in Texas. Dry conditions helped to fuel a series of fires across the state that year, including the Bastrop Complex Fire, which scorched over 34,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,300 homes. 

The highland lakes that supply Austin with its water supply are only 34 percent full. That makes for a pretty depressing trip to Lake Travis.

 

It also means that the city council needs to come up with new and creative solutions to maintain a steady drinking water supply for Austin. As they have done with traffic, the candidates are aggressively stumping their big ideas for water as they meet with constituents across their districts. Ideas that have been proposed include expanding the use of graywater (recycled water from showers, dishwashers, and washing machines), transforming Decker into a new water supply for the city, and fixing the city’s leaky water infrastructure. 

 

4. Our water bills are high. 

Austin Water is anticipating a 13.5 percent rate increase in 2015 because the drought has reduced water usage throughout the city. That means that we are being charged more on our water bills because we have all done such a good job conserving water during the drought. 

 

I know, it stinks. The candidates think so too. That’s why several of them have made Austin Water a centerpiece of their campaigns, calling for a complete restructuring of the utility so that customers can be financially compensated for their conservation efforts. Of course, some of these big ideas for Austin are more well-thought out than others, which is why it’s definitely worth giving the candidates’ environmental platforms a second look.

 

5. Austin is growing fast. How the city looks in 20 years is up to us, right now. 

Parks don’t build themselves. If you like them, you have to choose a candidate who will make their maintenance and expansion a priority, particularly as more and more people move into the city. 

 

The future density of Austin is also up for debate in this election. Do you like being able to walk to your neighborhood grocery store? Or are you worried about the impact that increased density will have on the city’s historic neighborhoods? All of these things effect the environment, culture, and health of Austin, and all of them are being debated by the candidates. Make sure that you pick one who’s values and opinions align with your own. If not, you can’t complain when the city doesn’t progress in the way that you want it to.

 

So stop feeling sorry for yourself because you just wasted an hour of your life sitting in traffic or you just got an outrageous utility bill in the mail….

 

And make a change, make an impact, go vote. 

 

You’ll be glad you did it. 

 

———-

Written by Amy Stansbury, Editor of the Austin EcoNews, published weekly by Austin EcoNetwork.
Austin EcoNetwork provides year-round info about Austin's local green scene.

For Austin's first 10-1 vote on November 4th we created the Election Navigator. It's got infographics, videos an interactive Candidate ViewFinder tool, and summaries of the candidates' positions on issues of sustainability.

See our Election Night Parties blog to see where the various campaigns will be watching the returns.

Stay tuned…We'll be updating the Election Navigator site for runoffs too. Voting December 16th will be JUST as important.

 

 

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