Election Q&A: Austin City Council District 8 candidates

How would you work to tackle the issue of housing affordability for both renters and homeowners in the city?

Council should allow for a greater mix of housing supply to be built in more parts of town. The Land Development Code needs to be cleaned up, clear the backlog of site plan and permit applications, allow for greater density along corridors through alleviating compatibility restrictions or through zoning changes. I've been a consistent pro-housing vote on the dais. For people who already own their homes, increasing homestead exemptions can help take the pressure off of the increase in housing valuations from TCAD.

How safe do you believe Austin is today? Do you think any funding, staffing or operational changes are needed in the city’s public safety departments?

Austin is still a safe city, but the state Legislature's actions to make guns more accessible in Texas is doing real harm to families both inside and outside of Austin. I've been a leader in safe storage education campaign programming and distributing free gun locks. And while our EMS and police departments continue to recruit new talent, we must look at our facility needs for more training space to be able to fully staff our departments.

How should council address the implementation of larger transportation initiatives, including the I-35 expansion and Project Connect? What safety and mobility improvements would you propose for city roadways and bike/pedestrian routes?

Balancing competing timelines and space for projects. Each has their own funding source and oversight, but if the different entities are not speaking to each other there will be conflicts. I sit on the tri-party board for Project Connect and the nominating committee for ATP Board appointments, chair the Mobility Committee and serve on the CAMPO TPB. I have established relationships with the decision makers and project planners of all of these projects and want to see these projects succeed in providing the congestion relief and increased safety they were designed for.

Austin has weathered several disasters in recent years. How would you rate the city’s response to such incidents, and what changes, if any, would you propose for civic emergency management operations?

I've advocated for Homeland Security and Emergency Management to connect better with elected officials and their constituents. We know our resources and needs better than anyone else and have been able to quickly deploy assistance in times of crisis. While many families are better prepared now to handle the first 72 hours of emergency response, the strategies the city departments use need to be shared with the general public. I stepped up for my constituents during the winter storm and was in each neighborhood until they had water service restored, including apartments, which were offline for weeks. The city departments need to deploy quicker and communicate better in times of crisis.

How would you promote accessibility, transparency, and trust between City Council and the public?

I'd look at ways to incorporate public comments in a way that we are not taking votes late into the night. We have to be able to listen to residents with undivided attention and find ways to work through our amendments more efficiently. We can restructure how we use our work session time, hear staff briefings, and work on amendments prior to the council meeting itself so that residents know what work is left to be done on the council meeting day.

How would you work to tackle the issue of housing affordability for both renters and homeowners in the city?

Affordability begins at City Hall. I would cut property taxes, fees and bureaucratic delays. I would also modify property taxes for first-time homebuyers with a tiered approach that reaches full tax payment at the third year of ownership. Similarly, I would reduce property taxes on the elderly with a tiered reduction in taxes after age 75. The term “affordability” begs the question “affordable for what individuals?” Affordable at a small percentage (20%) below market rate may well be too expensive for most Austin residents. The focus should be on affordable for those making $60,000 or less per year.

How safe do you believe Austin is today? Do you think any funding, staffing or operational changes are needed in the city’s public safety departments?

Austin is more dangerous than ever, with record homicides and traffic fatalities (due to lack of speed enforcement). Funding, staffing and operational changes are needed in all public safety departments. At least EMS, 911, and APD are dangerously understaffed. The cause of this varies between departments. 911 and APD clearly have morale issues due to council actions. In all cases, City Council must make public safety a priority in funding, staffing, and morale.

How should council address the implementation of larger transportation initiatives, including the I-35 expansion and Project Connect? What safety and mobility improvements would you propose for city roadways and bike/pedestrian routes?

The questionnaire was not returned by the deadline.

The questionnaire was not returned by the deadline.