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BG Reads 4.29.2024

BG Reads 4.29.2024

🗞️ Bingham Group Reads - April 29, 2024

April 29, 2024

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Bingham Group Reads

Presented by:

4.17.24 // Bingham Group celebrates 7 years in business!

April 29, 2024

Today's BG Reads include:

🟣 Leadership and Budget Profiles of New Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax

🟣 Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson’s revisionist history

🟣 More than 200 faculty say they’ve lost confidence in UT Austin President

🟣 Texas DPS could pursue criminal investigation into photojournalist arrested at UT-Austin protest

🟣 Supreme Court seems skeptical of Trump’s claim of absolute immunity but decision’s timing is unclear

Read On!

[BINGHAM GROUP]

✅ (NEW) BG Memos - Leadership and Budget Profiles of New Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax

With the upcoming (May 6th) start of Austin's new City Manager T.C. Broadnax, we've put together three memos intended to provide background for organizations with City Hall interests.
The first and second memos are reviews of Mr. Broadnax's time as city manager of Dallas and Tacoma, respectively. The information was pulled from news articles from the time. We've provided links where appropriate.
The last is a review of the seven city of Dallas budget's Mr. Broadnax spearheaded. This was compiled through review of publicly available budget documents.
BG Memo Link - Contact me for general questions or comments. If there are specific business/policy concerns, we’re happy to schedule time to consult -> [email protected].

✅ BG Podcast Ep. 246: 2024 Elections - Austin Mayoral Round Up

On this episode we welcome back Jack Craver, independent reporter and founder of The Austin Politics Newsletter. Jack and Bingham Group CEO A.J. Bingham discuss the candidate field for the 2024 Austin Mayoral elections, including incumbent Mayor Kirk Watson.

✅ BG Blog: Land Development Code Amendments (4) Overview

✅ BG Blog - City of Austin org chart red line (as of 2/9/2024)

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW CITY OF AUSTIN PUBLIC MEETINGS / AGENDAS FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 29, 2024

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

City Manager T.C. Broadnax gets fond farewell — from Dallas leaders who once wanted him fired (KERA News)

Just weeks after some council members reportedly suggested he resign due to his relationship with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson in late February, outgoing City Manager T.C. Broadnax was praised for his contributions over his five years at city hall. That includes Johnson and council members who suggested Broadnax leave.

Council members took turns during Wednesday’s meeting recalling memories of Broadnax, talking about policy implemented while he was the city manager — and wishing him well in his new job.

Broadnax will become Austin’s city manager in just a few weeks.

“T.C. I just want to say thank you for how you’ve served,” District 3 Council Member Zarin Gracey said during the meeting. “How you’ve represented the Black community and you’ve represented those students in public service of how you’ve led.”

District 1 Council Member Chad West said during Broadnax’s time as city manager, Dallas has had to face a lot of unexpected issues. He cited the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

“We have had a lot of things happen to this city that were not caused by us, but we’ve had to deal with it as a community and as a council,” West said. “You led the charge in a very calm, professional way with these unexpected things in addition to just doing city business.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Mayor Eric Johnson’s Revisionist History (D Magazine)

Yesterday, the Dallas City Council sent off outgoing City Manager T.C. Broadnax during what is likely his final council meeting in Dallas. He’ll start in Austin as its city manager on May 6. His resignation is frequently tied to his relationship with Mayor Eric Johnson, which has been marked by attempted firings, arguments, and poor communication.

But to hear the mayor tell it, the media is the real reason everyone thinks that Broadnax and Johnson can’t get along. The council recognized Broadnax yesterday morning, and Johnson’s remarks were, well, interesting.

The mayor said that he and Broadnax actually agreed about “90 percent” of the time. “That’s not a secret,” he said and then claimed that the media didn’t write about the “wins” that happened while he and Broadnax were at the helm. He pointed to several policies and moves the city has adopted over the past five years, including its racial equity plan, its approach to environmental issues, economic development opportunities, the importance placed on parks, and improvements in crime rates. Those things, he argued—incorrectly—didn’t get attention from journalists.

“The media is going to feast on those times when we’ve not agreed,” he said. “But I am going to acknowledge that there have been times that we haven’t, that 10 percent is real. I believe that the times we’ve disagreed have been very much overblown and very much exaggerated and played up for various reasons.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

More than 200 faculty say they’ve lost confidence in UT Austin President Jay Hartzell (KUT)

UT Austin President Jay Hartzell is facing criticism from hundreds of faculty who say they've lost faith in his leadership following layoffs related to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and the police presence at a student-led pro-Palestinian protest this week. In an open letter, the UT Austin chapter of the American Association of University Professors said they “no longer have confidence” in Hartzell. The letter points to Hartzell's decision on April 2 to shutter the Division of Campus and Community Engagement in response to a Texas law banning diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programs at public universities and colleges, which resulted in 49 staff being laid off. The staff were no longer working on DEI initiatives when they lost their jobs and professors described the terminations as a “purge.”

The faculty also said they no longer trust Hartzell because of his decision to call in several law enforcement agencies, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, to respond to a peaceful protest on campus Wednesday that was calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and urging the university to divest from weapons manufacturers that provide supplies to Israel. “We think those two things are connected. Neither was done with faculty input and we are a campus that has principles of shared governance where important decisions should be made together with faculty,” UT Austin AAUP Chapter President Pauline Strong said.

“These decisions both came as surprises." Strong, an anthropology professor, has worked at UT Austin for more than 30 years. She said in that time, she has never seen the number of police on campus that she saw Wednesday during a student-led demonstration. At different points in the protest, officers surged into the crowd and pushed people to the ground before binding their hands with zip ties. Strong said the UT Austin chapter of AAUP holds Hartzell responsible for the decision to call additional law enforcement to campus, including state troopers in riot gear and a mounted horse patrol… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Far East Austin's development pipeline is packed (Austin Business Journal)

A wave of development is washing over far East Austin, turning empty fields into hulking buildings.

The area around Tesla Inc.'s mammoth gigafactory is considered by many to be Austin's final frontier, and developers are taking the plunge now that Elon Musk has warmed the water. Mixed-use projects, multifamily housing, office towers, shopping centers and more are poised to transform the "eastern crescent" of Austin, which roughly follows the relatively new State Highway 130 toll road.

Here is a look at some of the largest projects on tap in the area. They will create a mountain of work for construction crews and yield abundant opportunities for others. County and municipal planners — especially road builders — also have much to do, given all the sudden progress… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

Campuses across Texas had pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Why did only UT-Austin crack down? (Texas Tribune)

When the wave of protests related to the Israel-Hamas war washed over Texas colleges this week, most schools didn’t see much of a stir. Students staged a sit-in near the president’s office at the University of Texas at Dallas. They marched through campus waving flags at the University of Texas at San Antonio. They crowded a plaza at Texas A&M.

But only one protest drew mass arrests — the demonstration at the University of Texas at Austin. No one accused the people gathered of turning violent. But 57 were hauled away by police and state troopers, who showed up to the rally in riot gear and on horseback.

UT-Austin officials have defended their response, arguing they tried to break up the group because there were signs ahead of the rally it might get violent or engage in antisemitic behavior. When the protestors didn’t disperse, they were arrested on trespassing charges. (All those charges have since been dropped.) That has led critics on campus and beyond to argue that more restraint was possible and to question whether the university and state police overstepped.

State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin — herself, a UT School of Law alum — raised those questions to Harzell and UT System Chancellor J.B. Milliken by text message on the day of the crackdown… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Texas DPS could pursue criminal investigation into photojournalist arrested at UT-Austin protest (Texas Tribune)

The Texas Department of Public Safety could launch a criminal investigation against a broadcast news cameraman arrested at this week’s University of Texas at Austin demonstration, the agency said Friday. That announcement came shortly after Travis County officials said they dismissed misdemeanor criminal trespass charges against all 57 people known to have been arrested at the protest.

The photojournalist for FOX 7 in Austin was among the people arrested. He was covering the protest and law enforcement response, and identified himself only as “Carlos” to local media. Neither DPS nor the television station have publicly named him.

In a statement Friday, DPS accused him of hitting a trooper with his camera.

“The department believes strongly in a journalist’s right to cover events of the day in a safe way; however, that does not except a person from following the law or the rules that have been put in place for the safety of others,” Sheridan Nolen, DPS press secretary, said in a Friday statement.. (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[NATION/WORLD NEWS]

Supreme Court seems skeptical of Trump’s claim of absolute immunity but decision’s timing is unclear (Associated Press)

The Supreme Court on Thursday appeared likely to reject former President Donald Trump’s claim of absolute immunity from prosecution over election interference, but several justices signaled reservations about the charges that could cause a lengthy delay, possibly beyond November’s election.

A majority of the justices did not appear to embrace the claim of absolute immunity that would stop special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump on charges he conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. But in arguments lasting more than 2 1/2 hours in the court’s first consideration of criminal charges against a former president, several conservative justices indicated they could limit when former presidents might be prosecuted, suggesting that the case might have to be sent back to lower courts before any trial could begin.

Justice Samuel Alito said that “whatever we decide is going to apply to all future presidents.”

The timing of the Supreme Court’s decision could be as important as the outcome. Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has been pushing to delay the trial until after the election, and the later the justices issue their decision, the more likely he is to succeed. If Trump regains the presidency, he could order the Justice Department to dismiss the case or, as two justices suggested, pardon himself if convicted… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

As Oracle headquarters moves in, Nashvillians reckon with the pros and cons of being a boomtown (Wall Street Journal)

Remacia Smith watches her children play in a grassy park by the Cumberland River, not far from where software giant Oracle said last week it would base its new headquarters. It is bittersweet—her hometown is thriving, but it has reached a point where it no longer works for her. With skyrocketing housing prices in the city, Smith recently fled to the suburbs. It is where she could find a home she could afford for her and five children. “It almost doesn’t look like Nashville anymore,” she said, as she watched her children frolic in the same park where she played as a child.

“Whew Lord, I wish people would stop moving here.” That is unlikely. Oracle’s move from trendy Austin, Texas, marks the latest corporate win for Middle Tennessee, a booming region with Nashville at its heart. The area has spent decades trying to draw major corporations and workers to the area. Now, many Nashvillians, from political leaders to residents, are talking more about how to grapple with all of its success.

“There are pain points of this growth,” said Kate Webster, a 35-year-old real-estate agent who has lived in Nashville for 14 years. “But at the end of the day, I’d rather live in a city that is growing than one that is declining.” In 2000, the metro Nashville region had about 1.3 million residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2023, the Census estimated the area’s population to be 2.1 million. Nashville, Tennessee’s capital, was seen in the mid-20th century as the home of state government and country music, but not much else. Outside of the capital city, much of Middle Tennessee was rural. In 1983, Nissan set up a plant in Smyrna, southeast of Nashville, and General Motors launched production at a plant in Spring Hill, south of the city, in 1990. But Nashville was severely hurt during a national economic downturn in the late 1980s, according to Ralph Schulz, chief executive of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Leaders decided to launch more strategic efforts to draw companies and workers to the area after a 1989 article in The Wall Street Journal highlighted how the downturn had hit Nashville so much harder, in part because of overbuilding and a lack of planning by regional leaders. Other Southern cities had fared better… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Lawsuits test Tesla claim that drivers are solely responsible for crashes (Washington Post)

As CEO Elon Musk stakes the future of Tesla on autonomous driving, lawyers from California to Florida are picking apart the company’s most common driver assistance technology in painstaking detail, arguing that Autopilot is not safe for widespread use by the public. At least eight lawsuits headed to trial in the coming year — including two that haven’t been previously reported — involve fatal or otherwise serious crashes that occurred while the driver was allegedly relying on Autopilot.

The complaints argue that Tesla exaggerated the capabilities of the feature, which controls steering, speed and other actions typically left to the driver. As a result, the lawsuits claim, the company created a false sense of complacency that led the drivers to tragedy.

Evidence emerging in the cases — including dash-cam video obtained by The Washington Post — offers sometimes-shocking details: In Phoenix, a woman allegedly relying on Autopilot plows into a disabled car and is then struck and killed by another vehicle after exiting her Tesla. In Tennessee, an intoxicated man allegedly using Autopilot drives down the wrong side of the road for several minutes before barreling into an oncoming car, killing the 20-year-old inside. Tesla maintains that it is not liable for the crashes because the driver is ultimately in control of the vehicle.

But that contention is coming under increasing pressure, including from federal regulators. Late Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a new review of Autopilot, signaling concern that a December recall failed to significantly improve misuse of the technology and that drivers are misled into thinking the “automation has greater capabilities than it does.” Meanwhile, in a surprising twist, Tesla this month settled a high-profile case in Northern California that claimed Autopilot played a role in the fatal crash of an Apple engineer, Walter Huang… (LINK TO FULL STORY)