BG Reads 10.16.2023

🗞️ BG Reads | News - October 16, 2023

October 16, 2023

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October 16, 2023

In today's BG Reads:

âś… In trying to close its coal power plant, Austin encounters obstacles to going green

✅ Trump is crushing his GOP competition in polls — and cash (Politico)

✅ And more…

Read on!

[BINGHAM GROUP]

🎙️ BG Podcast Ep. 222:

  • On this episode the Bingham Group CEO A.J. Bingham and Associate Hannah Garcia wrap up the week of October 9th in Austin politics.TOPICS INCLUDE:âś… Progress in the City of Austin's search for a new city managerâś… The appointment of a permanent head for the Office of Police Oversightâś… Special Session at the Texas Lege

  • The BG Podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

🔎 Jobs List

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

$25B in mobility projects will require 10,000 new workers every year through 2040 (Austin Monitor)

With $25 billion in infrastructure and mobility projects on tap over the next two decades, the Austin area will have 10,000 new jobs in those sectors per year for the next 17 years. That total is one of the findings of an analysis shared last week with local political and business leaders during a summit on how to address the area’s mobility and infrastructure needs.

The report from Austin-based consulting group CivicSol was one of the primary points of discussion during last week’s Moving Forward summit that was focused mainly on the workforce development needs for the many projects about to launch in Austin. That list is topped by the expansion of Interstate 35, Austin’s light rail construction and the expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.. (LINK TO FULL STORY)

In trying to close its coal power plant, Austin encounters obstacles to going green (Texas Tribune)

Two dates in recent memory have shaped the uncertain future of the Fayette Power Project, a coal-fired power plant near La Grange.

First, on March 26, 2020, the Austin City Council approved an emissions-reduction plan that called for its city-owned utility to shut down its portion of the plant by the end of 2022.

The second, after missing the 2022 goal, was on August 17, 2023, when Austin Energy made $11 million from the plant on that day alone.

Austin has already moved away from fossil fuels faster than the rest of the state, and today, the Fayette plant is responsible for most of Austin Energy’s remaining carbon emissions. But closing the plant in the name of fighting climate change has proven easier said than done… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Austin’s office market is exploding. But no one is moving in.  (Washington Post)

Shooting up from the downtown skyline is a gleaming 66-story glass behemoth, a place “where Fortune 500 companies, high-rise residents and premier retailers come together to create a community of their own,” as sleek marketing brochures put it. The tech giant Meta scooped up all 19 floors of office space as construction was underway in early 2022.

But when Austin’s tallest building officially opens later this year, all that office space will be empty. Meta has ditched its move-in plans and is now trying to sublease 589,000 square feet of offices, 1,626 parking spots, 17 private balconies and a half-acre of green space. So far: no takers… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

Gov. Greg Abbott says he’ll add teacher pay to the special session — but only if lawmakers pass school voucher bill (Texas Tribune)

Just hours after the Texas Senate approved its priority school voucher bill, Gov. Greg Abbott said he would add teacher raises and public school funding to his special session agenda if the Texas Legislature passes vouchers.

Abbott, who spoke Thursday at a parental rights event organized by the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation, so far has listed education savings accounts, a voucher-like program, as the only education item in his agenda for the special session.

Though lawmakers have already drafted a bill on public school funding — which was also cleared by the Senate on Thursday — it cannot pass unless Abbott adds the issue to his agenda. The school vouchers and funding bills now head to the Texas House… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Allred blows past Gutierrez 20-1 in donations as Texas Democrats try to unseat Cruz (Dallas Morning News)

With his leading rival reporting Sunday that he’s raised only $631,000 so far, Dallas U.S. Rep. Colin Allred has emerged as the runaway favorite of Democratic donors aiming to topple Sen. Ted Cruz. Allred now has nearly a 20-1 edge over state Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio, who entered the primary months later than Allred. The three-term House member, a former NFL player and civil rights lawyer, has also edged out Cruz, bringing in $10.9 million since announcing his Senate bid May 3. Cruz’s tally for the last six months is $8.8 million. Most of that — $5.3 million — came in during the third quarter, according to reports he filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission.

Of that, $2.4 million went directly to Cruz’s Senate campaign. The rest went to a pair of joint fundraising committees he controls. He sent $900,000 of that to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party’s Senate campaign arm, and $390,000 to the Texas GOP. The senator’s $3.4 million haul from April to June fell short of Allred’s by a wide margin, though he closed the gap somewhat in the next three months. Cruz headed into October with a $5.7 million stockpile, and as a two-term incumbent, he likely won’t need much to win his primary in March. Allred showed $7.9 million in the bank in the quarterly report he filed Sunday. He announced the top-line tally last week. Gutierrez reported $380,000 in the bank. He’ll need millions more to advertise and to run a robust get-out-the-vote operation in a state as vast as Texas. The 2018 contest was the costliest Senate race in Texas history. Allred has been outpacing Cruz’s adversary that year. At this point in the 2018 contest, former three-term El Paso Rep. Beto O’Rourke had raised just $3.3 million of the $80 million Democrats nationwide ended up showering on him… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Sheila Jackson Lee wants to 'come home' to Houston, but is Houston ready for her return? (Houston Chronicle)

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is in her element when she is in front of a crowd. On a Sunday in March, Jackson Lee marched to the podium at City Cathedral Church and told the congregants, “I’ve been a humble servant for you for 28 years.” She said, “Sheila Jackson Lee wants to come home to be your mayor for the city of Houston.”

At 73, Jackson Lee, perhaps the most recognizable member of Houston’s congressional delegation, is taking a gamble with a mayoral run that recent polls predict will culminate in a tough runoff between her and her main competitor, state Sen. John Whitmire. The congresswoman has the benefit of name recognition — only 5% of likely voters said they were unfamiliar with her, according to a recent University of Houston poll. But her widespread recognition cuts both ways. Over half of those surveyed view her unfavorably, and 43% said they would never vote for her.

Jackson Lee said her fervent advocacy for social justice causes, combined with right-wing efforts to paint her in a negative light, may have shaped some residents’ narrow views of her. At her core, she said she is “a no-nonsense person who’s worked hard and who wants to get things done.” During her five-year tenure on City Council, Jackson Lee advocated for anti-crime policies, including adding more prison beds and ending “good time credits” for violent offenders. She also led the charge on an ordinance to curb firearm use by minors, which ruffled conservatives but ultimately won council approval. Following the police shootings of two Black residents, she chaired the newly formed Committee on Human Relations that led discussions about race and pushed for anti-hate crime measures. Her attempts to educate folks on race did not stop in the council chamber. When City Hall’s security officers confused Jackson Lee with another Black council member, Beverley Clark, one time too many, she asked them to hang their photos in the basement for a daily refresher.

It was also during those early years that Jackson Lee started to develop a reputation as a demanding boss, recalled Jim Greenwood, a former council member who served alongside Jackson Lee. “She was considered to be a person who expected the staff members to work hard and not necessarily look at the clock when it got close to the end of the day,” he said. Just hours after taking her oath for a third term on City Council in January 1994, Jackson Lee announced her bid for higher office. She took aim at a congressional seat, then held by Craig Washington, in a heavily Democratic district. After a bitter primary, she defeated Republican nominee Jerry Burley in a general election, 73% to 24%, securing her seat in a district known for producing some of the country’s most prominent Black lawmakers… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

Trump is crushing his GOP competition in polls — and cash (Politico)

Former President Donald Trump continues to blow his GOP primary opponents out of the water — not just in the polls, but at the bank. The $24.5 million Trump’s campaign reported raising during the third quarter is more than double what any of his Republican rivals reported over the same period. And he has more than seven times as much cash on hand available for the primary as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has polled in second place for most of the year. And Trump’s fundraising momentum is only accelerating.

His third quarter number, reported in a Sunday night filing with the Federal Election Commission, far exceeds the $17.7 million his campaign raised in the second quarter and the $14.4 million it brought in during the first three months of the year. In turn, he has added significantly to his cash on hand. Whereas he ended the first quarter with $13.9 million in his coffers, his campaign now has $37.5 million.

“All the political elites want him to run out of money and keep hoping something bad is gonna happen. And he just continues to chug along and improve,” said Dave Carney, a veteran Republican consultant. “And without any clarity on the alternative across six or seven people right now, you know, he’s just gonna continue to roll forward.” The fundraising total reported by Trump’s campaign was notably lower than the more than $45 million in cash that his team said his joint fundraising committee raised from July through September. That suggests the joint fundraising committee was spending heavily on its own expenses before it was able to transfer proceeds to the Trump campaign. (The joint fundraising committee is not required to disclose its finances until the end of January.) But Trump still finds himself in an enviable position financially. DeSantis’ fundraising has tailed off, with the Florida governor boasting about $12.3 million in the bank.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley reported $11.5 million on hand at the end of the third quarter. The practical effects of Trump’s cash advantage are huge. The former president could comfortably outgun his primary opponents on the airwaves if he finds his prodigious polling lead slipping. He can also sustain a larger payroll to boost a ground game advantage over the competition. DeSantis has a well-funded super PAC to help close these gaps, but that committee cannot legally coordinate with the Florida governor’s campaign… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

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