With over 500 people in attendance, Central Texas Interfaith's Austin Candidate Accountability Assembly was the largest nonpartisan gathering this electoral season centered on City of Austin politics. CTI Leaders organized the assembly at a critical juncture in the history of the City, as recent decisions by the State of Texas threaten to strip Austin of its public utilities, pave the way for Austin to be the epicenter of a Data Center economy, and limit the ability for cities to raise their own revenue.

“In the face of the State’s punitive measures towards its municipalities, it is more important than ever for City of Austin elected representatives to uphold the mission of making this a 'Livable City' for everyone,”

said Tracy Cornelius of All Saints Episcopal Church. 

In the session, CTI Leaders asked candidates running for Austin City Council Districts 1, 3, 5, 8, and 9 to concretely commit to a people's agenda built from thousands of face-to-face conversations.

Specifically, candidates were asked to:

• Address Poverty and Affordability by committing to vote for level-funding for Capital IDEA, a long-term workforce development project started in 1998. Capital IDEA helps hundreds of individuals every year to go from poverty wages to earning $70,000/year in high-demand careers.

• Protect Austin’s Affordable Housing Stock of Mobile Homes which are under increased threat from developers seeking to redevelop land in the interest of profits, risking the displacement of generations of Austin’s most vulnerable working families.

• Rectify Decades of Disinvestment in Parks & Greens Spaces in Austin’s Eastern Crescent, home to park deserts due to present-day effects of the 1928 Master Plan, which forcibly segregated the Black population to East Austin.

• Address the Caregiving Crisis affecting families all across Austin by working with CTI to develop a local solution to ease the financial burden of taking care of our elderly loved ones.

In response, candidates for office in all four districts committed to supporting: $2.1 Million for Capital IDEA workforce development; protection of Austin’s critical affordable housing stock of mobile home parks; $3 Million for Tillery soccer field maintenance and development; prioritization of a park near St. John’s Episcopal Church; protections for ratepayers from data center construction; and the removal of permitting costs and delays for housing modifications that help elders age in place. 

Over the next two weeks, leaders will engage their neighbors in low-turnout precincts to encourage participation in the election.  

[Photo Credit: Jose Guerrero]

Austin City Council Candidates Face Community Questions Ahead of November Election, KVUE ABC

Austin City Council Candidates Face Voters at Accountability Forum Ahead of Elections, CBS Austin