BG Reads | News You Need to Know (November 6, 2019)

2i.png

[BG PODCAST]

NEW -> Episode 60: Opportunity Zones with Christine Maguire, Redevelopment Division Manager at City of Austin (LINK TO SHOW)


[AUSTIN METRO]

Voters overwhelmingly reject Proposition A (Austin Monitor)

Austin voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected city Proposition A. With the final tally complete, more than 64 percent of those voting cast ballots against the proposition, which began as a reaction to the city’s decision to lease McKalla Place for a 20,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium.

Mayor Steve Adler, who worked against both propositions, told the Austin Monitor he was relieved. “Both propositions A and B had some pretty significant unintended consequences that would be real damaging to the city,” he said, praising Austin voters for seeing through “the confusion and the haze.” Pointing out that “the propositions took a lot of time and cost a lot of money,” he urged citizens to think critically before adding their names to such petitions. Fewer than 49,000 voters cast ballots for and against Prop A…(LINK TO STORY)


Music advocates seen as key in defeat of Proposition B (Austin Monitor)

Austin voters have defeated a ballot measure that sought to restructure how the city spends its Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue, and would have forced a public vote on a proposed expansion of the Austin Convention Center. The vote count just after midnight on Election Night showed a clear loss for the Proposition B measure pushed by the Unconventional Austin PAC, with 29,387 “no” votes to 23,138 “yes” votes.

Proposition B’s defeat clears the way for City Council and staff to move forward with the creation of funding mechanisms, requests for proposal and other actions related to an expansion of the convention center expected to be completed in phases over the next 15 to 20 years. The defeat also allows work to continue on a variety of initiatives tied to the expansion, including a further self-levied tax by local hotels to provide funding for homelessness relief, and new money to support the city’s commercial music industry… (LINK TO STORY)


Pilot Program Will Clear Cars From Rainey Street On Weekend Nights (KUT)

On weekend nights, Rainey Street can be crowded with cars, scooters and pedestrians. Pretty soon, only one of those groups will be allowed on the street.

The City of Austin is getting ready to shut down Rainey Street to vehicle traffic on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights as part of a pilot program that begins Nov. 14. The closure would cover Rainey between Driskill and River Streets. Emergency vehicles would be exempt.

The plan comes after months of research and discussions with community members. Neighbors had raised concerns about growing congestion and access for emergency vehicles during the most crowded times on the street… (LINK TO STORY)


[TEXAS] 

Texas 2019 constitutional amendment election results (Texas Tribune)

Texas voters took to the polls to decide on 10 proposed amendments to the state Constitution. Texans approved nine amendments, including a proposal making it harder for future lawmakers to enact a personal income tax and a proposal concerning bonds for cancer research. Voters rejected one amendment… (LINK TO STORY)


Sylvester Turner leads in Houston mayoral race (Texas Tribune)

Incumbent Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner held a strong lead in his bid for reelection early Wednesday, but was short of the majority he would need to win outright.

As unofficial election results continued coming in, Turner appeared poised for a runoff with Houston attorney Tony Buzbee. But it was unclear Wednesday when a final vote count would be complete. By 3:45 a.m., less than a quarter of Harris County's voting centers had their results posted online. That was more than two hours after Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman said in a statement that her office would work "through the early morning to get this done."… (LINK TO STORY)


[NATION]

Seattle council race stays tight despite Amazon's hefty donations (Reuters)

Seattle’s city council race was a toss-up between a pro-business and a progressive council on Tuesday night, despite record election campaign donations from big donors, including tech giant Amazon.com.

Amazon donated $1.5 million to a “Super PAC” run by the local chamber of commerce, which endorsed candidates for the seven seats up for election in the nine-seat city council. Four years ago Amazon donated $25,000 to the political action committee.

Marilyn Strickland, president and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, said late on Tuesday, “Tonight’s initial returns are not definitive enough to call these close races.” … (LINK TO STORY)


Democrats Win Control in Virginia and Claim Narrow Victory in Kentucky Governor’s Race (New York Times)

Democrats won complete control of the Virginia government for the first time in a generation on Tuesday and claimed a narrow victory in the Kentucky governor’s race, as Republicans struggled in suburbs where President Trump is increasingly unpopular.

In capturing both chambers of the legislature in Virginia, Democrats have cleared the way for Gov. Ralph S. Northam, who was nearly driven from office earlier this year, to press for measures tightening access to guns and raising the minimum wage that have been stymied by legislative Republicans… (LINK TO STORY)


The Bingham Group, LLC is an Austin-based full service lobbying firm representing and advising clients on municipal, legislative, and regulatory matters throughout Texas.

PLEASE RESHARE and FOLLOW:

Twitter #binghamgp 

Instagram #binghamgp 

Facebook

LinkedIn

WANT TO GET OUR DAILY MORNING UPDATES? CONTACT US at: info@binghamgp.com