Under the current system, Austin’s City Council is composed
of six members which are elected citywide along with the Mayor. According to an article in the Austin American-Statesman*, that could change in the coming
months. A petition signed by nearly 33,000 Austinites was brought to City Hall
yesterday, proposing that the City Council include ten members rather than six,
and that each member be elected by a different geographic district of Austin.
Council members, however, are in support of a different plan, a hybrid which
would include eight district seats and two citywide seats. At present, both
plans are scheduled to be on the ballot in November. Petitioners say the hybrid
plan is a distraction aimed at splitting the vote so that their plan will not
get the required 50% approval. They claim the hybrid was created and is
supported by the Real Estate Council of Austin, which funds council members’
citywide elections, something those candidates would not be able to afford on
their own.
The story of council replanning is a complicated one, and
its ending is in our hands. Go read the article for yourself and decide what is
best for our city.
*Toohey, Marty. "Petition with 30,000 signatures calls for 10-district City Council plan." Austin American-Statesman. Local News. Published July 16, 2012. Accessed July 17, 2012.
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