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.

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW CITY OF AUSTIN PUBLIC MEETINGS / AGENDAS FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 6, 2024

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[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

Local community groups fear Tesla job cuts could result in communications void (Austin Business Journal)

When members of the Del Valle Community Coalition recently attempted to get in touch with one of their contacts at the nearby Tesla Inc. gigafactory in eastern Travis County, the reply was swift — a bounce-back email indicating he no longer was with the company.

It wasn’t a mistake. Amid Tesla’s mass layoffs — in which about 2,700 workers at the gigafactory lost their jobs last month as part of the electric vehicle maker's global cuts — its team that has dealt locally with community engagement and public policy appears to have shrunk significantly, either through voluntary exits or otherwise.

That has left a communication void at a time when some community groups have already been expressing concern about a lack of responsiveness from Tesla.

In addition, it comes in the wake of the company's recent decision to deploy a controversial new state law to remove the factory from Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction, a move that has enabled it to shed city regulatory oversight.

Leaving the city's ETJ "is a huge concern for us," said Susanna Ledesma Woody, president of the Del Valle Community Coalition and a member of the Del Valle Independent School District board of trustees. The organization doesn't want to see Tesla "skirting the line when it comes to environmental issues."

Last week, the Del Valle coalition attempted to invite Tesla representatives to its Del Valle Day event at Circuit of The Americas in June. That's when the bounce-back message arrived saying the email address for a contact was no longer valid and directing it instead to reach out to Karen Steakley, a longtime Tesla lobbyist in Austin and a senior manager of public policy and business development... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Council asked to consider ridership, access goals in revising e-scooter rules (Austin Monitor)

The Urban Transportation Commission wants the city to rework some of its recent regulations of e-scooters and other micromobility devices but stopped short of spelling out what changes should be made.

At its meeting this week, the commission approved a revised recommendation – crafted largely by Commissioner Spencer Schumacher – that cut several pages of text regarding the number of scooter vendors allowed to operate in the city, the total number of micromobility devices in operation downtown and elsewhere and changes to maximum speeds the devices are allowed to travel.

The revised recommendation, which is expected to go before City Council this month, hangs mostly on emphasizing the need for the city to make sure newer regulations for e-scooter vendors are made in line with the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan’s goals of increasing the availability and usage of the devices throughout the city.

Following a presentation from Transportation and Public Works Department staff on recent updates to rules governing micromobility devices, the commission discussed how precise its recommendation to Council should be, while signaling a desire for more data and public input on the need for greater regulations… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Austin airport to consolidate PreCheck, CLEAR to one TSA checkpoint. (Austin American-Statesman)

Austin's airport on Wednesday will consolidate two of its fast-track security screening options to one checkpoint until construction to expand part of Barbara Jordan Terminal is completed in 2026, officials announced this week.

Since February, passengers flying through Austin-Bergstrom International Airport have been screened through three of four Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. Each checkpoint is designated for specific screening services, including TSA Precheck and CLEAR, a biometric identity verification system that expedites the security screening process.

As of Wednesday, passengers using TSA PreCheck and CLEAR will be directed to Checkpoint 2 West… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Kyle buys water from San Marcos to keep up with growth for third year in a row (KUT)

Not even five months into the year, the City of Kyle is expecting it will need more water than it had been allocated for 2024.

Kyle has been struggling to keep up with water demand, and city council members agreed to buy more from the City of San Marcos for the third year in a row on Tuesday. The San Marcos City Council and Kyle City Council voted unanimously in favor of the agreement at separate meetings. The agreement will last for the rest of the year and go through 2026.

“San Marcos has not grown as quickly as they were anticipated to grow,” Kyle Council Member Lauralee Harris said. “We have grown much more quickly than we were anticipated to grow.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

Dade Phelan directs House leaders to revisit vouchers, property taxes in the next legislative session (Texas Tribune)

House Speaker Dade Phelan directed his committee leaders to examine the use of school voucher-like programs in other states and consider new ways to further drive down property taxes for homeowners.

Released Wednesday, Phelan’s list of priorities includes a broad range of policy issues, from evaluating housing prices and the closures of rural pregnancy centers, to revisiting previous, contentious legislative debates over foreign ownership of Texas agriculture land and determining whether the state has “sufficient resources” at the U.S. Mexico border.

The Beaumont Republican issued his interim charges for the next Legislative session starting in January, even as it remains unclear whether he’ll still be a member of the body by then… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Longtime Henry Cuellar aide is eager to help feds make bribery case, his lawyer says (San Antonio Express-News)

A longtime aide and adviser to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar is eager to help federal prosecutors make their case that Cuellar and his wife accepted bribes from foreign interests, the aide’s lawyer said. A federal indictment unsealed on Friday accuses Cuellar, 68, and his wife, Imelda, 67, of collecting nearly $600,000 in payoffs from a Mexico City bank and an oil company controlled by the government of Azerbaijan from 2014 to 2021. In return, Cuellar allegedly used his position in Congress to advance their interests. The indictment depicts Colin Strother, who has served as Cuellar’s campaign manager and chief of staff, as a middleman in the bribery scheme. Strother allegedly helped launder $242,000 in illegal payments.

His lawyer said Tuesday that Strother, who was not charged in the indictment, is ready to cooperate with the Justice Department. “Colin is a good and decent man and has always cooperated with the government,” criminal defense attorney Michael McCrum told the San Antonio Express-News. “He wants nothing more than for truth and justice to see the light of day.”

“If I were Henry or Imelda Cuellar, I’d be concerned,” McCrum added. Strother declined to comment, referring questions to his lawyer. The 50-year-old consultant has been a fixture in South Texas politics for years. In San Antonio, he’s managed numerous city council campaigns, advised the firefighters' union in its push for better contract terms and served as a spokesman for area business interests.

A constant in Strother’s career has been his close association with Cuellar. For more than 20 years, he was the Laredo Democrat’s chief strategist and political eyes and ears. Cuellar was first elected to represent the 28th Congressional District in 2004. A partial review of campaign finance records shows that Cuellar’s political action committee, Texans for Henry Cuellar, paid Strother $111,798 for consulting services between 2015 and 2021… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner announces retirement amid dropped cases scandal, Whitmire says (Houston Chronicle)

Troy Finner has stepped down as chief of the Houston Police Department, Mayor John Whitmire announced in a late-night, four-paragraph email to city employees Tuesday. "I have accepted the retirement of Troy Finner as Chief of Police, and have appointed Larry Satterwhite acting Chief of Police effective 10:31 p.m. tonight," Whitmire wrote. "This decision comes with full confidence in acting Chief Satterwhite's abilities to lead and uphold the high standards of the department."

Finner's sudden retirement comes amid the monthslong internal police investigation into the department's use of a internal code — "SL" — to mark criminal cases and incident reports as suspended due to a lack of personnel. Finner announced the investigation into the internal code in February and has delivered periodic updates on the investigation and reviews of the suspended cases as it progressed.

Last week, Finner announced that the internal investigation had concluded, but the police department had yet to release any information on its findings. Similarly, an independent investigative group organized by Whitmire to conduct its own review of the police department has yet to make any disclosures about its findings. On Tuesday, multiple Houston TV stations reported a new development in the scandal: an email written by Finner in 2018 referring to the suspended case issue. Finner had previously said that he first became aware of the code in 2021… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

Bid to oust Speaker Johnson fails but GOP turmoil remains (NPR)

The House voted overwhelmingly to set aside a motion by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to call a vote to remove Mike Johnson as speaker of the House. The vote was 359-43 with seven members voting present. 196 Republicans and 163 Democrats voted to table the motion.

"Hopefully, this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th Congress," Johnson told reporters after the vote. "It's regrettable. It's not who we are as Americans and we're better than this — we need to get beyond it."

Only 10 Republicans voted alongside Greene… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Biden says US won’t supply weapons for Israel to attack Rafah, in warning to ally (Associated Press)

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah — the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza — over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there.

Biden, in an interview with CNN, said the U.S. was still committed to Israel’s defense and would supply Iron Dome rocket interceptors and other defensive arms, but that if Israel goes into Rafah, “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[2024 Austin City Council Race Watch]

This fall will see elections for the following Council Districts 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, and Mayor.

Declared candidates so far are:

Mayor

District 2

Council Member Vanessa Fuentes

District 4

District 6

District 7 (Open seat)

District 10 (Open seat)

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