BG Reads 12.16.2024

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Bingham Group Reads

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December 16, 2024  

➡️ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 After a close race, Bledsoe and Siegel share perspectives on runoff results (Austin Monitor)

🟪 Austin went on a land-buying spree in 2020. So far, little has been built on it. (KUT)

🟪 De Urioste secures decisive win for District 8 Austin school board seat (Austin American-Statesman)

🟪 Texas will have a $20B surplus next legislative session, comptroller projects (Community Impact)

🟪 A new risk for employers: Losing millions of migrants with temporary work permits (Wall Street Journal)

Read On!

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🟪 Review: City of Austin job posting (closing today) - Deputy Intergovernmental Relations Officer - Grants Division.

• The position will lead and directs grant activities, including but not limited to, application development, submission, compliance and reporting.

• The Grants Division was announced by City Manager T.C. Broadnax  in an October 30th memo.

• The Division will serve as a City-Wide resource to solicit and secure funding for City programs and activities and will work to bolster public/private partnerships.

• In addition, the Division will identify potential funding sources, write and package grant applications, provide grant writing and grant management training to City staff, and manage grant funds.

🟪 Review: The 2025 Austin Council Meeting Calendar 

🟪 MEMO: City of Austin Executive Leadership Team and Organizational Announced (Effective November 4, 2024)

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

➡️ After a close race, Bledsoe and Siegel share perspectives on runoff results (Austin Monitor)

After what looks to be a narrow victory in Saturday’s runoff election, Mike Siegel will serve as the next representative for North Austin’s District 7. 

Cinching the win over opponent Gary Bledsoe by around 200 votes, Siegel will be the second Council member to represent the area since the creation of the current district representation system in 2014. To date, the district has been represented by outgoing Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool.

Out of a crowded initial field of six candidates, Siegel and Bledsoe snagged the most votes for the District 7 seat on Nov. 5, although neither managed to obtain a majority. The weeks leading up to Saturday’s runoff became increasingly heated as the two candidates focused their communications on their differences and sources of support and funding.

Siegel, a former assistant city attorney and co-founder of Ground Game Texas, obtained around 40 percent of the vote during the November election. He first gained name recognition during two prior attempts to unseat U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul.

Siegel told the Austin Monitor in November that during the runoff he would be focusing on reconnecting with voters about his experience as an organizer and at City Hall… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Austin went on a land-buying spree in 2020. So far, little has been built on it. (KUT)

As Austin was coordinating COVID-19 test centers and trying to secure personal protective equipment at the start of the pandemic, it was also buying land. Lots of it.

Thirteen acres by July 2020. Another 3 acres that fall. Six more acres in December. By the end of 2020, the City of Austin through its affordable housing arm had paid nearly $24.5 million to purchase 22 acres of land. Over the next two years it would buy more, eventually amassing 60 acres of mostly undeveloped land throughout the city.

This land-buying spree was a new strategy to curtail the cost of housing in Austin. Instead of spending millions to preserve or build affordable housing, the city would instead use taxpayer money to buy land to build thousands of homes people earning low incomes could afford.

“Dirt is destiny,” Mandy DeMayo, the interim director of Austin’s housing department, said recently. “If we own it, we can work with the community to shape what gets built there. When we don’t own it, we’re in the sidecar.”

But four years out, almost all of this land remains vacant. The city has cited a lack of resources to be able to move faster. And as the cost of housing has risen in Austin since the pandemic, some people are anxious for the city to start moving... 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ De Urioste secures decisive win for District 8 Austin school board seat (Austin American-Statesman)

Fernando Lucas de Urioste secured a decisive victory over Lindsey Stringer for the Austin school district’s open at-large seat in Saturday’s runoff election.

De Urioste received more than 70%, or 12,455 of the 17,778 votes cast, to win the race to replace District 8 Trustee Noelita Lugo on the school board, according to complete but unofficial election results.

Stringer received almost 30% support, or 5,323 votes.

“Going into a runoff, I didn’t want it to be close because I wanted it to be very clear the community made a choice,” de Urioste said Saturday night. “That’s very inspiring to know that Austin is behind you.'“

Both de Urioste and Stringer made it to the runoff after rising to the top of a crowded six-candidate field in the Nov. 5 election, in which no candidate received enough support to meet the majority vote requirement.

“Now I’m ready to get to work and serve the community in the way that I was campaigning to do,” de Urioste said. “I’ll try to give agency to the families and the constituents and the locals so that we can all be working toward the same goal and in the same direction.”

District 8 is one of two at-large seats on the Austin school board, meaning the elected member represents the entire district.

Board President Arati Singh holds the second at-large seat… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Leander City Council temporarily allows exceptions to roadway adequacy payments for developers (Community Impact)

Leander City Council voted to temporarily allow Robin Griffin, executive director of development services, to grant exceptions to roadway adequacy payment requirements for developers.

Roadway adequacy standards are meant to ensure roads can handle expected traffic. Some roads may not be wide enough, or they may be missing gutters or curbs. City staff evaluate roadways adjacent to developments early in the planning stages to see if they meet standards.If a road is found to be substandard, city staff requires the developer to make improvements to the road. If it doesn’t make sense to move ahead with the improvements in a given situation, the city has the authority to take a roadway adequacy payment in place of the needed roadwork, he said.

The RAP is used to make roadway improvements at a later date, and it can range from $5,000 to $175,000, said Ty Meighan, communications manager for the city of Leander.The city voted to allow exceptions to the payments to help address some confusion from developers in the area… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

➡️ Texas will have a $20B surplus next legislative session, comptroller projects (Community Impact)

Texas lawmakers will have about $20 billion in unspent money going into the 89th legislative session, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar told members of the Austin Chamber on Dec. 12.“The Legislature will have a lot of tools in the toolbox next session to deal with issues, whether it's road infrastructure, water infrastructure, electrical grid infrastructure, public education, higher education,” Hegar said. “I do think that those are some of the big pillar issues that they're going to work on.”The comptroller is expected to issue an official biennial revenue estimate ahead of the session, which begins Jan. 14.

The only bill Texas lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass each session is the biennial budget, which funds state agencies, public and higher education, health and human services, the criminal justice system, state courts, and more… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ 'Behind the times:' Lina Hidalgo says battle with depression doesn't make her unfit for office (Houston Chronicle)

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo fired back on Saturday at suggestions that the judge's personal struggles with depression would be a factor in her decision not to run, a claim Hidalgo deflected this week. “It’s behind the times to insinuate that a well-managed (mental or physical) medical diagnosis makes someone unfit to lead.

Too many people fail to seek treatment for mental and certain physical conditions out of shame. As leaders, let’s not continue to perpetuate harmful stigmas,” Hidalgo wrote on X Saturday. In an interview with the Chronicle, Houston Mayor John Whitmire claimed he had heard Hidalgo was “fixing to announce that she’s not going to run,” and then hinted at the judge’s battle with depression and the stress of the county judge job.

While Hidalgo did not confirm or deny whether Whitmire’s comments were accurate about her decision to run again, she told the Chronicle in a statement she is “fully focused on serving the people of Harris County.” "At this time, we have no announcement to make regarding future elections," her office said. “She’s not enjoying her work,” Whitmire previously told the Chronicle. “And she’s happy now. I saw on social media she got back this weekend from her wedding destination.”

“She’s obviously documented some of her emotional issues, which, this is a terrible profession to be in if you’re struggling with pressure,” Whitmire said, noting that politics was a ‘tough job on any level.’ Hidalgo has been open in the past about her mental health. The judge discussed her decision to seek treatment for her depression, despite not being open to the idea at first due to stigma and shame.

“I was holding myself back, just because I was too prideful and biased to not recognize that I needed that kind of care,” Hidalgo said in an interview with the Chronicle last year. “I don't want that for anybody else in the community.”… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US and World News]

➡️ Luigi Mangione retains high-profile former prosecutor as defense lawyer (NPR)

A prominent attorney who once served as a Manhattan chief assistant district attorney will represent Luigi Mangione as he faces murder charges in New York for the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Karen Friedman Agnifilo is currently working at Agnifilo Intrater, which specializes in "complex and sensitive criminal matters," according to its website.

The law group confirmed on Saturday that Mangione retained Friedman Agnifilo, adding that she "will not be making any statements at this time." Mangione, 26, is scheduled to appear in a preliminary hearing in Pennsylvania on Dec. 23 regarding charges related to a 3D-printed gun and fake ID. He is currently being held without bail. Earlier this week, Mangione contested extradition to New York, where he faces murder charges. An online fundraiser made to help with Mangione's legal fees has so far raised over $97,000.

Friedman Agnifilo worked as a prosecutor for much of her career before she went into private practice in 2021. For seven years, she was the second-in-command at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. She worked under Cyrus Vance Jr. — who was known for going after former film producer Harvey Weinstein, as well as President-elect Donald Trump. At the Manhattan DA's office, Friedman Agnifilo prosecuted violent crime cases, including those that had "a mental health component," according to her law firm bio. She also served as the acting district attorney when Vance was out of the jurisdiction.

Two other attorneys from Agnifilo Intrater are representing Sean "Diddy" Combs in the criminal case against him, where he was charged with sex trafficking and racketeering. The killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO on Dec. 4 sent shockwaves across the country. It also brought issues around health care access in the U.S. into sharp focus, with widespread anger directed at health insurance companies on social media.

On Friday, Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, said he agreed that the health care system is flawed. "We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people's frustrations with it," he wrote in an op-ed published in The New York Times… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Trump wants his daughter-in-law in the Senate. DeSantis may defy him.

Washington Post)

President-elect Donald Trump has communicated to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that he wants his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to become the Sunshine State’s next senator — but it’s far from clear that DeSantis will acquiesce and appoint her, people familiar with the matter said. Lara Trump’s interest in replacing Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) — who is set to become secretary of state — complicates an already fraught relationship between Trump and DeSantis, who waged harsh campaigns against each other in the GOP presidential primary.

DeSantis is tasked with filling Rubio’s seat and could boost his standing with the president-elect by appointing Lara Trump, who announced this past week that she will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee. DeSantis is seriously considering Lara Trump and cares about the president-elect’s view, according to one person familiar with his thinking who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations.

But the person believes DeSantis is more likely to pick someone who has held public office in Florida and said other contenders include the state’s attorney general, Ashley Moody, and former statehouse speaker Jose Oliva.

“The governor has a choice,” said Florida state lawmaker Randy Fine, a Trump ally who recently received the president-elect’s endorsement to run for Congress. “Does he want to rebuild his relationship with Trump and give the president what he’s asking for, or does he want to move in a different direction? I think there’s a real opportunity for him if he chooses to support the president’s choice.” Two people familiar with Lara Trump’s thinking said this past week that she wants the job. A spokesperson for her did not respond to a request for comment.

“It is something I would seriously consider,” she told the Associated Press in a recent interview. A DeSantis spokesperson declined to comment. The Trump transition team did not respond to requests for comment. DeSantis himself appears uninterested in the Senate, several people familiar with his thinking said, despite the opening created by Rubio and some speculation this fall that he could appoint a “placeholder” candidate — perhaps his chief of staff — who would clear the way for him in 2026… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ A new risk for employers: Losing millions of migrants with temporary work permits (Wall Street Journal)

Nate Koetje, chief executive of an electrical contractor based in Grand Rapids, Mich., would like to hire as many as 200 workers next year. Despite a somewhat cooling labor market, he said he would be lucky to find 150. So if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his pledge to eliminate programs that provide temporary work permits to immigrants with no permanent legal status, Koetje’s growing company would face even more staffing challenges.

The company, Feyen Zylstra, now employs two people whose ability to continue working is at risk.

“Though the numbers are small, these individuals play a key role in the success of a company like ours,” Koetje said, adding that increasing opportunities for legal immigration is important for the continued growth of companies like his, and he sees it as a bipartisan issue.

Mass deportations are the most prominent of Trump’s immigration pledges, but a more urgent threat looms for millions of immigrants and their employers: losing access to legal work. Trump has promised to eliminate several programs that offer deportation protections and work authorization to immigrants in the country illegally or whose visas have expired. As many as 3.3 million immigrants covered by the programs could lose their ability to work, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

Those at risk include people from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and Ukraine as well as people brought to the U.S. illegally as children, often called Dreamers. Many immigrants with temporary status, known as TPS, enjoy deportation protections—and work authorization—because the government has determined their home countries are too dangerous.

Many more entered the country through a program set up by the Biden administration that rewarded them with work permits for coming legally rather than attempting to cross the southern border. Immigration advocates, and some Democrats in Congress, are urging the Biden administration to take executive action to extend immigrants’ work permits for as long as possible ahead of Trump’s return to Washington. That would include classifying new countries with large immigrant populations for TPS and renewing existing TPS populations whose status is about to run out… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

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