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- BG Reads 9.26.2023
BG Reads 9.26.2023
🗞️ BG Reads | News - September 26, 2023
September 26, 2023
In today's BG Reads:
🚗 60K Tesla workers in Austin? That's the plan
🐘 Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson is now a Republican
🗳️ In some states, more than half of the local election officials have left since 2020
Read on!
[BINGHAM GROUP]
On this episode the Bingham Group (CEO A.J. Bingham, Associate Hannah Garcia, and firm Economic Development Consultant Larry Holt) wrap up the week of September 18th in Austin politics.
The BG Podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
➡️ Check out our red lined City of Austin org chart. The changes reflect the many changes in city leadership since February 2023.
➡️ You can view those here: BG Blog: Tracking City of Austin Leadership Changes (Updated September 1, 2023).
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison takes temporary leave to address mental health (KUT)
Austin City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison will temporarily step away from her position to address her mental health, she announced Monday.
“This year has been extremely challenging for me,” she said. “I live with depression and anxiety. Thankfully these issues can be treated with focused care.”
Her leave is effective immediately and will last 60 days.
Her absence means she will not have a vote in decisions that could impact District 1, which covers parts of East Austin. The area traditionally is home to people of color and low-income residents.
Sharon Mays, Harper-Madison's chief of staff, told KUT that staff will continue to show up and advocate for the District 1 community. She said staff will carry out day-to-day duties, including communicating with and addressing the needs of residents, and any ongoing projects.
“As an office, our support of the district goes well beyond what happens on the dais and that does not change,” Mays said. “So our job here is in addition to policy-making.”
Harper-Madison said she has every intention of returning to her post.
“I understand the importance of our work and the commitments we have made to our constituents, and I assure you that my decision to take this leave has not been made lightly,” she said.
“I have every intention of returning to my duties in good health with renewed energy and dedication to continuing to serve District 1 and the entire Austin community.”
Harper-Madison is not the first elected official in Texas to take medical leave to address mental health. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo took a leave of absence over the summer to treat depression. (LINK TO FULL STORY)
See also:
And in other Austin Metro News:
➡️ Good luck finding data center space in Central Texas (Real Deal) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
➡️ 60K Tesla workers in Austin? That's the plan (Austin Business Journal) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
➡️ Austin homes are staying on the market longer than national avg. (AXIOS) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
[TEXAS NEWS]
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson: America’s cities need Republicans, and I’m becoming one (Wall Street Journal)
I have been mayor of Dallas for more than four years. During that time, my priority has been to make the city safer, stronger and more vibrant. That meant saying no to those who wanted to defund the police. It meant fighting for lower taxes and a friendlier business climate. And it meant investing in family friendly infrastructure such as better parks and trails.
That approach is working. Alone among America’s 10 most populous cities, Dallas has brought violent crime down in every major category, including murder, year-over-year for the past two years. In a recent Gallup poll asking Americans to rate the safety of major cities, Dallas came out on top. We have also reduced our property tax rate every year since I took office, signaling to investors that Dallas intends to remain the nation’s most pro-business city. This philosophy has helped attract growing small businesses and several Fortune 500 companies, including Goldman Sachs, the construction-engineering firm Aecom and the global commercial real-estate outfit
CBRE.
After these wins for the people of Dallas—and after securing 98.7% of the vote in my re-election campaign this year—I have no intention of changing my approach to my job. But today I am changing my party affiliation. Next spring, I will be voting in the Republican primary. When my career in elected office ends in 2027 on the inauguration of my successor as mayor, I will leave office as a Republican.
I realize this will come as a surprise to many. During the decade I spent serving my hometown in the Texas House of Representatives, I was a Democrat in a Republican-controlled Legislature. I prided myself on finding common-sense solutions and worked closely with my conservative colleagues to improve policing, public education and water infrastructure. I was never a favorite of the Democratic caucus, and the feeling was mutual. By the time I was elected mayor—a nonpartisan office—in 2019, I was relieved to be free from hyperpartisanship and ready to focus on solving problems.
But I don’t believe I can stay on the sidelines any longer. I have always tried to be honest and say what I think is right for my city. The future of America’s great urban centers depends on the willingness of the nation’s mayors to champion law and order and practice fiscal conservatism. Our cities desperately need the genuine commitment to these principles (as opposed to the inconsistent, poll-driven commitment of many Democrats) that has long been a defining characteristic of the GOP… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Feud between Dan Patrick, Dade Phelan escalates as Texas GOP seeks House speaker's ouster (Austin American-Statesman)
A feud between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan escalated over the weekend as Patrick accused Phelan of being unworthy of his leadership post while the state Republican Party approved a resolution seeking the House chief's resignation.
Continuing the intraparty fallout after Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial earlier this month, the GOP's motion seeking Phelan's removal from the speaker's chair came via a 58-2 vote by the State Republican Executive Committee on Saturday in Corpus Christi.
Citing "pressure" on House Republicans to impeach Paxton, an inability to pass certain GOP legislative priorities during the regular session and allowing Democrats too much say in the lower chamber, the state Republican Party is seeking Phelan's ouster before the start of an anticipated special session in October… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
As Houston turns more blue, the mayoral race thrusts young progressives into the political limelight (Houston Chronicle)
Olivia Julianna typed “#johnnyboywhitmire” into TikTok's search bar. To her delight, her five videos critiquing Texas state senator and Houston mayoral hopeful John Whitmire had garnered a combined 350,000 views in a matter of months. She clicked on one of her uploads. “If you’re new here, and you’re wondering ‘Olivia, why are you so pressed about this Houston mayoral election,’ let me tell you why,” the 20-year-old activist influencer said in the clip. She then explained that the choice between the race’s two front-runners – Whitmire and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee – could help determine the future of Texas’ progressive movement. This year’s mayoral race has thrust Houston's emerging progressive voices into the political limelight.
While both Jackson Lee and Whitmire have deep Democratic roots and boast endorsements from major liberal groups, the congresswoman is seen by many as the more progressive candidate, drawing support from young activists like Julianna. Once on the sidelines, Houston’s progressive groups are gaining traction, experts and advocates say. However, they caution it may be years – if ever – before this segment of Houston voters can meaningfully influence city elections, where older and whiter residents traditionally dominate turnout.
“The city is definitely becoming more progressive and trending much more blue, but you haven't seen our local politics manifest in the same way,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. “Organizing in a big city like Houston is slow, and it means years of groundwork that may or may not pay off,” he added. Brianna Brown and Michelle Tremillo, co-executive directors of the progressive Texas Organizing Project, said they noticed a surge in activism across Texas after George Floyd's fatal arrest in 2020. Their organization, which advocates on behalf of Texas' Black and Latino communities, endorsed Jackson Lee for mayor and began canvassing for her earlier this month. The possibility of electing a new mayor and forging closer ties with City Hall is encouraging, they said. But Houston still needs a more robust progressive infrastructure, and “it will be many years before I think anyone feels like we have enough,” Tremillo said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[US/WORLD NEWS]
In some states, more than half of the local election officials have left since 2020 (NPR)
In some battleground states, more than half of the local election administrators will be new since the last presidential race, according to a new report from the democracy-focused advocacy group Issue One shared exclusively with NPR before its release.
The Issue One report focused on 11 western states and found that the problem of voting official turnover is particularly acute in the region's swing states, where conspiracies have flourished.
In Nevada, 59% of the state's county voting officials are new since 2020. In Arizona, 55%.
It's not clear how these numbers compare to previous cycles — data on trends in election administration is notoriously hard to come by — but experts have been saying for years that they worried about a mass exodus driven by the polarized environment… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
ChatGPT can now respond with spoken words (New York Times)
ChatGPT has learned to talk.
OpenAI, the San Francisco artificial intelligence start-up, released a version of its popular chatbot on Monday that can interact with people using spoken words. As with Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and other digital assistants, users can talk to ChatGPT and it will talk back.
For the first time, ChatGPT can also respond to images. People can, for example, upload a photo of the inside of their refrigerator, and the chatbot can give them a list of dishes they could cook with the ingredients they have.
“We’re looking to make ChatGPT easier to use — and more helpful,” said Peter Deng, OpenAI’s vice president of consumer and enterprise product.
OpenAI has accelerated the release of its A.I tools in recent weeks. This month, it unveiled a version of its DALL-E image generator and folded the tool into ChatGPT… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
OTHER US/WORLD NEWS:
➡️ Mexico eyes US energy exports from solar farm, chip supply chain role (Reuters) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
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