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Elon Musk was money behind mystery anti-José Garza group – plus District 7 wrap-up and more
Happy New Year folks. The Austin Independent is returning from a long break after losing part of our Christmas season to the Council runoff election (a little on the election results below). I realize that a lot of folks can’t face looking at the news right now, or...
The Christmas Season is Here — Time for an Austin Runoff Election
I was hoping to take December completely off to celebrate the holiday season, but I ultimately decided that, as the publisher of a local news source, I have a responsibility to remind readers that there is a runoff election for City Council on Saturday December 14....
Council Election Results – Mostly More of the Same
If you like the current make-up of the Austin City Council then you should be really happy with the recent Council election results. In fact it looks like the Council “progressive” supermajority — the one that merged progressive politics with the best interests of...
Council’s Lone Republican Loses Seat – Plus a Heretical Look at the Wisdom of November Elections for Mayor and Council
Given how long it’s been since the election I’m guessing that most readers already know how the District 6 race (far northwest Austin) turned out. Incumbent Mackenzie Kelly lost to challenger Krista Laine by less than 1,000 votes, 51% to 49%. I’m just going to...
Demographic Dreams of Texas Democrats Crash Into Reality Along the Border
The day before the election last week I made a rare foray into commenting on national politics. I mean, it was the presidential election. Everybody has a take on that. Given the widespread feeling that the race was a toss up, I listed five reasons Donald Trump might...
Why Trump Might Win, Why Harris Might Win – A Last Minute Look at Factors That Could Determine the Outcome
The Austin Independent is primarily a journal about local government and politics, but we reserve the right to occasionally comment on national affairs. It has been a long time since we did so, but now seems like the right time. What follows is just a list I made of...
True Stories
Task Force Recommends No Cadet Class and No Guns for Police – Plus A Short Check In on Greg Abbott
Let’s start by checking in on Governor Greg Abbott, who we haven’t discussed in a while. Abbott is actually an Austin voter and he took time after voting early on Tuesday April 20 to tell waiting media that he voted for Proposition B. That is the proposed reversal of...
Will Others in Texas Follow Austin’s Lead on COVID? Just Kidding
Travis County’s COVID-19 fatality rate is less than half that of Texas. Commissioner Shea wonders if others in Texas will try to learn from Austin
Explanations from ERCOT and Austin Energy Plus a Possible New Approach for Ted Cruz
Let’s hit a few points not covered in the accompanying article. First, a lot of questions were raised yesterday about why downtown Austin was still lit up while adjacent East Austin was almost totally dark — as were many other parts of town. Austin Energy responded...
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