18 Sep Ann Kitchen Receives the Endorsement of the Austin Environmental Democrats for the District 5 City Council Seat

The Austin Environmental Democrats overwhelmingly endorsed Ann Kitchen for the the District 5 City Council seat at an endorsement meeting held on Wednesday. The only other candidate from District 5 to appear at the meeting was Dan Buda, who received 22 percent of the votes. What follows is a recording of that endorsement meeting, in which the candidates both had the opportunity to introduce themselves and then answer a series of environmentally-minded questions from the audience. And just a word of warning, the meeting was held at El Mercado, so please excuse the loud munching noises in the background. 

And if you don't have time to listen to the whole thing, I've pulled out some of the highlights for you….

Dan Buda

• Buda is a small business owner.
• He spent the last four legislative session working at the State Capitol, initially on matters dealing with flood mitigation, flood control, and emergency preparedness. He then moved over to Wendy Davis’ office and was her chief of staff for the last two legislative sessions. At Davis’ office he worked on issues related to public education, school finance, payday lending reform, transportation, and air quality and water issues associated with natural gas drilling. He also worked on getting air quality monitors installed around the DFW area to get a better idea of the pollution coming from natural gas drilling and cement refineries. He then worked to reduce pollutants in cement factories throughout the state.
• Buda identified the drought as a major issue for Austin and Texas, but emphasized the need to do that through longterm sustainability measures and not just short term fixes.
• Buda said that he lives in a condo where he isn’t allowed to have solar on his roof and does not have access to recycling. So, he recently got on the condo board, specifically to bring recycling to his neighborhood.
• Buda said that he supports the Austin Generation Resource Planning Task Force Report, agreeing with the idea that the city needs to set higher renewable standards since the old ones were met early. But, he also said that council needs to be mindful of its affordability goals, and decide how and when to shut down the Fayette coal-fired power plant in a way that is financially responsible. Buda also expressed his support for continued council control over Austin Energy and recommended a full and independent audit of the utility.
• Buda opposes SH 45SW and said that he doesn’t think that it’s inevitable that the road will get built. He said that there is still an opportunity to turn it around with the new county commission. 
• Buda dubbed himself as a coalition builder, having worked at the State Capitol with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. He said that he has spent time in a leadership role bringing people together and explained that that is what Austin needs on this new council under this new 10-1 system. 

Ann Kitchen

• “I think that the difference that I can offer you is that I can hit the ground running,” Kitchen said in her opening remarks to the Austin Environmental Democrats. 
• She has lived in District 5 for over 20 years and has experience as an elected official, something that she said is especially important at a time when 9 out of 10 council members will be new. 
• She has been a small business person, an attorney, a state representative, and an assistant attorney general.
• Kitchen said that she has a long history supporting and fighting for environmental issues.
• “I was a founding member of the S.O.S. coalition and part of that fight that changed the direction of our city,” she said. “That was a sea change for our city, where we put the environment on the map, we changed the city council to where we were focusing on environmental issues.” Then she continued on to stay that Austin is facing a similar threat now. She said that there are significant challenges in District 5 and that Austin needs to make sure that the new council has strong environmentalists on it.
• When Kitchen was a state representative, she fought against the longhorn pipeline, even though that was a tough fight. 
• “What I can offer you is my experience, my ability to hit the ground running, and my track record,” Kitchen said. “You can trust me to fight for you on the environment, and that includes in a proactive way.” 
• She continued on to say that not only is she against SH 45SW, but she is actively against it. She said that city council should play a role in making sure that it never gets built. That can be done by reexamining who is representing council on several boards and commissions and working with people in south Austin in order to show them that there is a way to address their concerns about neighborhood roads that doesn’t require SH 45SW.
• To reduce her own personal carbon footprint, Kitchen said that she has solar panels on her home, owns a Toyota Prius and a Nissan Leaf, recycles, and has an almost entirely xeriscaped yard.
• She supports the Austin Generation Resource Planning Task Force report, especially the idea of moving more toward renewables. She said that Austin needs to set as aggressive a goal as possible with renewables, while maintaining its affordability goals. She also said that Austin needs to phase out  the Fayette and Decker power plants, all the while understanding the economic implications of how and when the city does that. She added that Austin Energy needs to be kept under city council control and that Austin needs to continue to be a leader with its electric utility.
• Kitchen closed things up by saying that she has a track record of acting as a leader for the community and fighting for environmental issues and that she would continue to do that if elected to city council.