Wednesday ·
Good morning, Austin.
The Briefing
Austin approves parks and library bonds; three council races head to Dec. 12 runoffs.
Both city bond measures are passing comfortably in Travis County's unofficial count. Proposition A, $260 million for parks, has 61.4% of the vote (211,842 for, 132,911 against), and Proposition B, $35 million for libraries, has 60.3% (207,036 to 136,142).
Proposition I, the citizen-led charter amendment that would have required an independent affordability and efficiency review, is failing with 56.0% against. Of the seven charter amendments the city placed on the ballot, five are passing: C (redistricting commission independence, 68.5%), F (campaign finance limits set each Jan. 1, 74.3%), G (petition elections moved to November of even-numbered years, 63.7%), H (council, not the city manager, hires and fires the city attorney, 65.5%) and J (cleanup of outdated charter language, 72.3%). Two are failing: D, which would have dropped the rule that council meet weekly (64.0% against), and E, which would have dropped the rule that council set its procedures by ordinance (72.2% against). Axios Austin and Community Impact report the bonds approved and Prop I rejected. Percentages are full-purpose city voters; limited-purpose voters, who vote only on C through J, went the same way on every measure except I, which they backed 58.5%.
These totals are Travis County's unofficial count. Travis County unofficial results
What's next: Runoff day for the races still short of a majority is Dec. 12.
Sources: Travis County unofficial results · Axios Austin · Community Impact
City Desk
Money & bills
Pflugerville Independent School District (ISD) voters reject joining ACC's taxing district
Austin Community College's Proposition A, which would have annexed the parts of Pflugerville ISD not already in ACC's district and added ACC's tax there, is failing about 63% to 37%. In the Travis County part of the vote it trails 16,105 to 27,550. Annexation would have given those students ACC's in-district tuition. The ACC board canvasses results Nov. 12.
Sources: Travis County unofficial results · Community Impact · ACC results page · Austin American-Statesman
Growth & infrastructure
Council meets Thursday on $695 million in energy bonds
Among 34 numbered items, it will consider letting Austin Energy issue up to $695 million in revenue bonds, committing up to $1 million for a center-running transit lane at Dean Keeton Street and I-35 as part of the Texas Department of Transportation's I-35 project, and directing the city manager to update the Strategic Housing Blueprint, including a look at a possible housing bond.
The current council meets at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5. Also up: two Austin Water eminent-domain filings for the NW Tarrytown wastewater pipeline, a Save Our Springs amendment for 5811 Southwest Parkway, and a North Lamar at Beaver Street rezoning. Today at 10 a.m., the Public Health Committee takes up Central Health board appointments and a homeless encampment management briefing.
Sources: Nov. 5 meeting on Legistar · Nov. 4 committee agenda
What council did: see the Nov. 5 meeting on Y'all City Hall.
City Hall & county
Three of five Austin council races head to a Dec. 12 runoff
A council candidate needs more than half the vote to win outright, and only two did. In District 9, incumbent Zohaib "Zo" Qadri won with 51.4% (20,905 votes) over Rich Heyman (24.7%) and Katie Kam (17.5%). In District 8, Selena Xie won the open seat with 64.4% over Jeffery Bowen.
District 1, an open seat, is the closest race on the ballot: Amber Goodwin (10,170 votes, 34.3%) and Misael Ramos (10,097, 34.1%) are separated by 73 votes and head to a runoff. In District 3, incumbent José Velásquez (47.4%) faces Neha Shah (24.7%), and in District 5, incumbent Ryan Alter (47.8%) faces David Weinberg (26.2%). Axios Austin and KUT report the runoff is Dec. 12.
Sources: Travis County unofficial results · Axios Austin · KUT, District 1
Nearly 59% of Travis County voters turned out, and four in five voted early
The county's preliminary count shows 557,129 voters, 58.7% of its 948,575 registered voters: 537,822 in person and 19,307 by mail. That's about 109,400 more than the 447,689 who had voted when early voting ended, so roughly 80% of all ballots were cast before Election Day.
The count isn't final: the county lists 6,533 mail ballots not yet returned or pending voter action and an estimated 3,430 provisional ballots that could still be added.
Sources: Bulletin calculation from the county's preliminary reconciliation, Nov. 4 · final early-voting totals
Schools
Austin Independent School District (AISD)'s at-large seat goes to a runoff separated by 74 votes; three newcomers win seats
Pamela Mathai (86,660 votes, 42.9%) and Cynthia Soliz (86,586, 42.8%) lead the three-way race for Austin ISD's At-Large Position 9, with Kirk Becker at 14.3%. Neither cleared 50%, so the two meet again Dec. 12, Austin Current reports. In the single-member races, incumbent Candace Hunter kept District 1 (56.9%), and newcomers Jessica Neufeld (District 4, 57.6%), Sarah Dille (District 6, 58.6%) and Laurie Solis (District 7, 59.8%) won.
Hunter was the only trustee seeking re-election, Community Impact reports, so at least four new trustees join a board facing possible state intervention over Burnet and Webb middle schools' fifth straight failing ratings.
Sources: Travis County unofficial results · Austin Current · Community Impact
The Back Page
City Council meets Thursday, Nov. 5, at 10 a.m.
One Good Thing: The Public Health Committee meets at 10 a.m. today and will take up Central Health board appointments.
Sources: Nov. 4 committee agenda