District 9 City Council Candidates: Similarities, Differences, and Bold Ideas

 

There are many reasons why District 9 is unique. It is Austin’s downtown, urban, and dense district. It is home to the only district-level race that features not one, but two incumbents on the ballot. And it is the only district that has pit two environmental titans against each other to vie for its city council seat.

Those eco leaders are current city council members Chris Riley and Kathie Tovo, and to make things even more interesting, their opponent (and the only non-incumbent in the race) has expressed a strong commitment to the environment as well. For this reason, experience has reared itself as one of the primary issues in the race, with Riley and Tovo touting their own proven records (or in some cases attacking each others) and Erin McGann highlighting her own new-kid-on-the-block status as a virtue in and of itself. And to tack onto the unique nature of the District 9 city council race, transportation, affordable housing, and land use have also been raised as major issues in this urban downtown district.

 

Transportation – Prop 1

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two current city council members, Riley and and Tovo, have both expressed their support for Proposition 1 and urban rail. The two were involved in the development of that transportation plan, and Riley even sits on the board of Cap Metro. “We need to do much better at all modes of transportation, especially public transit,” Riley wrote in his questionnaire responses, “and rail will be an important part of our network in the future.”

 

McGann, on the other hand, disclosed her opposition to Proposition 1 in her answers to the eco questionnaires, writing that while she is generally pro urban rail and pro public transportation, the current proposal is simply too expensive. She also questioned the wisdom of the proposed route and suggested that the city could move more people around more efficiently with buses and dedicated bus lanes with curb cuts, so that the buses do not block traffic.

 

Land Use and Density

Closely related to transportation, land use concerns have been raised by the candidates in District 9. This is one area where Tovo and Riley, who generally agree on most issues, separate themselves. While they both advocate for sustainable development and planning practices, their visions of what exactly that means differs. Riley has taken a more enthusiastic and hard line approach to increasing density in the city’s core in order to encourage people to embrace, “living smaller, living closer, and driving less.” This allows them to have a much smaller environmental impact than those living in the suburbs, Riley said, making it a worthy goal to pursue.

 

At the same time, Riley added that increased density can only be achieved if there are more housing options within District 9, particularly, small and reasonably priced homes. “I’ve initiated a number of measures aimed at facilitating more housing options on our nodes and corridors, as well as better ways of accommodating density within neighborhoods, and there will be much more to do as we move ahead with the overhaul of our land development code,” Riley said. This has included sponsoring a resolution to ease regulatory barriers on tiny houses or accessory dwelling units (500 square feet or less).

 

Tovo has also advocated for density as a way to live more sustainably, but has done so with more of a focus on affordability and inclusivity. “By creating communities where people live closer to jobs and have access to high-quality childcare, neighborhood schools, and open space, we can combat sprawl realistically and enhance the sustainability of our neighborhoods,” Tovo wrote. She continued on to say that Imagine Austin and individual neighborhood plans must work together to make sure that Austin can grow wisely and sustainably while preserving and expanding affordable housing options that can accommodate families of all sizes and income levels. “As a community advocate, mother, and now as a Council Member, I have been a leader on issues related to retaining families with children in the central city,” Tovo wrote.

 

Clean energy and climate leadership

Energy has also emerged as a major issue in the District 9 race, largely because of Riley and Tovo’s leadership on clean energy in their current roles as city council members. Riley has been at the forefront of aggressive renewable goals, sponsoring the resolution recently passed by city council that calls for the retirement and replacement of Austin’s gas-fired Decker power plant with 600 MW of west Texas solar by 2017. That resolution also called for meeting 50 percent of Austin’s energy needs with renewable sources by 2020 and 65 percent by 2025, both of which Riley supports.

 

Tovo has also expressed her support for all of these goals and resolutions, but has offered more leadership on issues related to energy efficiency and Austin Energy programs for low-income customers. At a recent city council meeting, she sponsored a resolution directed at creating policies that will increase energy efficiency program offerings to low and moderate income customers, we well as creating a Low Income Customer Advisory Task Force to ensure that Austin Energy has the most effective and far reaching programs as possible.

 

McGann has also said that she supports the city’s renewable energy goals, so long as its affordability goals are also met. An advocate for an end to nuclear energy, McGann also wrote that Austin ultimately needs to work to wean itself off nuclear. “We cannot risk the potentially devastating effects of an accident,” McGann wrote.

 

Yet once again, when it came to the candidates’ questionnaire responses on issues related to energy, their level of experience clearly shined through. Both Tovo's and Riley’s answers included lengthy paragraphs filled with bulleted lists detailing their thoughts and accomplishments on the subject. Riley even named his work on energy and climate issues, including his authorship of Austin’s newest climate resolution (which established a goal of achieving net-zero community wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050) as one of his greatest environmental achievements. “I’ve been honored to be able to advance environmental goals on a number of fronts as a Councilmember,” Riley wrote.

 

Big Ideas: A collection of the candidates' most unique plans for Austin

From McGann – The city should implement work days from home in departments where it is possible and encourage all staff to use public transportation a minimum of twice a month by offering incentives for increased use.

 

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