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December 18, 2025
✅ Today's BG Reads include:
🟪 Austin Firefighters Association votes to ratify collective bargaining agreement (CBS Austin)
🟪 Austin PAC sues city, claiming unlawful rejection of convention center petition (KVUE)
🟪 Austin launches survey on parking, loading zones and sidewalk space (Community Impact)
🟪 Hannah Terrell named Austin Public Library Director (Austin Chronicle)
🟪 Austin PAC sues city, claiming unlawful rejection of convention center petition (KVUE)
🟪 Texas launches database tracking local bond projects, tax rate elections (Community Impact)
🟪 Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson: Republican Mayors Association to play role in 2026 elections (Dallas Morning News)
🟪 Trump gives a partisan prime-time address insisting the economy is stronger than many voters feel (Associated Press)
🟪 US announces massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion (NPR)
READ ON!
[FIRM NEWS]
Learn more about Bingham Group’s new practice — and review all of our services here: binghamgp.com/services
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
🏛️ Memo: Austin Government Relations / FY27 Congressional Community Project Funding Requests (12.15.2025)
🏛️ City Manager Executives and Advisors Staff Visual Chart
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
✅ Austin Firefighters Association votes to ratify collective bargaining agreement (CBS Austin)
The Austin Firefighters Association (AFA) voted on Wednesday to ratify its proposed collective bargaining agreement, passing with 72% approval and 809 total votes.
AFA President Bob Nicks previously stated that the agreement offers the city more flexibility than the Safer Austin Petition in determining when a "severe financial crisis" has been reached.
Nicks emphasized the importance of incorporating the Safer Austin Petition language into the agreement, stating, "The AFA Executive Board and AFA Bargaining Committee agree that this CBA satisfies the promise we made to the citizens of Austin."… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Austin launches survey on parking, loading zones and sidewalk space (Community Impact)
The city of Austin is seeking public input as it develops a citywide Curbside Management Plan aimed at addressing competing uses for curb space, according to a recent update from the Transportation and Public Works Department.
Curbs play a key role in daily transportation, serving as areas for parking, passenger pick-up and drop-off, deliveries, transit access, biking and scooter use, as well as building access, according to the update. City officials manage these spaces through tools such as signage, designated loading zones, pricing and enforcement.
The upcoming plan is intended to help prioritize curb uses, reduce conflicts and prepare for future changes, with a focus on safety, fairness and efficiency.
As part of the planning process, the city has opened an online survey to better understand how residents use curb space, the challenges they encounter and what improvements they would like to see… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Hannah Terrell named Austin Public Library Director (Austin Chronicle)
Two weeks after the Austin Public Library hosted the public for a meet-and-greet with the four finalists for the APL director position, Hannah Terrell was named the new director of the public library system on Monday, Dec. 15.
With nearly 20 years of experience working in libraries under her belt, Terrell has been with APL for just over four of those years, first as the division manager of branch services, then as the assistant library director.
She has been serving as APL’s interim director since 2024 after former Director Roosevelt Weeks joined the Fort Bend County Library system as its director. Terrell beat out three other finalists, Cedric Clark, Kathy Donellan, and John Trischitti, all of whom have years of experience serving in various library roles… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Austin PAC sues city, claiming unlawful rejection of convention center petition (KVUE)
A local political action group fighting against the plan to revamp Austin's downtown convention center is now suing the city.
Austin United PAC claims Austin's city clerk unlawfully rejected the group's efforts to get the convention center project on the May ballot. PAC leaders want to stop the project because of how much it costs.
While the city has put the price tag on the convention center project at $1.6 billion, Austin United PAC leaders say the long-term cost will be around $5.6 billion. They argue this project is too big to not get approval from voters.
Demolition of the old convention center started in May and the building is gone, making room for a facility that's set to be about double the size. Construction is set to last until at least spring of 2029.
PAC leaders say they submitted 25,000 signatures to the clerk's office in October to get this on the May ballot. In November, the clerk's office ruled their petition invalid, saying after verification, they were about 500 signatures short of the 20,000 they needed.
The clerk's office said it reviewed 25% of the signatures, as is allowed under state law, to make that decision… 🟪 (READ MORE)
[TEXAS/US NEWS]
✅ Texas launches database tracking local bond projects, tax rate elections (Community Impact)
Texans now have a new way to track the results of local bond propositions and tax rate elections, or TREs, in their communities and across the state.
The state comptroller’s office launched on Dec. 15 a searchable database containing information about local tax-related ballot measures from the past 10 years… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Texas Democrats fill every state and federal race on 2026 ballot, a first for either party (Texas Tribune)
A Democrat is running in every state and federal race on the Texas ballot next year, the first time in modern state history that either party has fielded a full slate of candidates, according to the Texas Democratic Party.
The complete field is the result of a recruitment campaign run by a network of the state’s top Democratic groups and politicians, including Texas Majority PAC, the Texas Democratic Party, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke and former state Sen. Wendy Davis.
Together, the groups recruited 104 candidates to fill every congressional, state House and state Senate seat up for election in 2026. The effort also ensured that a Democrat is running in every statewide judicial and State Board of Education race… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson: Republican Mayors Association to play role in 2026 elections (Dallas Morning News)
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the Republican Mayors Association, a group he launched after he switched from being a Democrat, could help the GOP make gains in the 2026 midterms by attracting urban voters. “For a long time, the Republican Party has basically conceded that Democrats are going to be dominant in our major cities and use them more as foils to talk about,” Johnson said in a CNBC interview that aired Monday. “But what we’re realizing now is that there are a lot of votes in these cities, and they actually impact the statewide races, and particularly swing states. It becomes very important in presidential years.” This comes nearly a week after the city of Miami elected Eileen Higgins, a Democrat, instead of a candidate backed by President Donald Trump in Florida, a red state.
Johnson said he wanted his association and the Republican National Committee to get involved early in scores of mayoral races in the top 300 cities where there may be an overlap in a key congressional race. “In Miami, the Democrats were really early involved in that race, and it paid off for them, and they outspent us 19 to one in that race,” he said. “We can’t let that happen,” he continued. The midterms next year have the potential to shift the levers of power, and Johnson, who has typically cast himself as opposed to policies that call for more government regulation, said affordability would remain relevant to the GOP.
“To a certain degree, people are forgetting that we do live in a free market economy, at least ostensibly, and prices of things are determined by the market,” he said, adding that supply and demand determine prices, and there was a growing feeling that the government can play a greater role in setting prices. “That, to me, is a little bit concerning,” he said. Republicans, he said, will have to be careful about how they respond to it. “If we go down that road, I think that we’re sort of playing to the socialist game here, and if we don’t, we appear not to be sensitive to the issue,” he said… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ 'Kim Ogg 2.0': Hidalgo denounces Parker's bid for county judge (Houston Chronicle)
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called on Democratic voters to reject former Mayor Annise Parker in a post made on Facebook Tuesday. Hidalgo labeled Parker, who announced in June her intent to run for Harris County judge, “Kim Ogg 2.0” in a subsequent post made on X. She said Parker, who was the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city, would “follow John Whitmire’s playbook” in capitulating to President Donald Trump.
“Harris County simply can’t afford another power player who treats the role like a political chessboard. Another individual who runs on the Democratic ticket and governs as a Republican,” Hidalgo wrote. “Today, I want to send a clear message to Democratic primary voters in Harris County: Annise Parker doesn’t represent our values.”
Hidalgo did not explicitly endorse another candidate, but went on to list a number of alleged grievances she believed Democratic voters were not aware of. She accused Parker of inviting the state takeover of HISD, and failing the party by endorsing former District Attorney Kim Ogg and refusing to support her 2022 campaign for reelection. Parker said in a statement that her focus was on fighting attacks from the Trump administration and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — not partisan squabbling. "My record of public service — stable, responsible, drama-free leadership — speaks for itself. These questions have all been asked and answered," Parker said.
"I’m running to fight Donald Trump and Greg Abbott, not to engage in Democratic infighting." Parker previously told the Houston Chronicle in a live interview that her 2022 endorsement of Ogg was part of her mandate as CEO and president of the Victory Fund, a political action committee that funds LGBTQ+ candidates. She added that, since losing the 2024 Democratic primary to District Attorney Sean Teare, she thought Ogg had "lost her mind a little bit and gone hard right."… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Trump gives a partisan prime-time address insisting the economy is stronger than many voters feel (Associated Press)
President Donald Trump delivered a politically charged speech Wednesday carried live in prime time on network television, seeking to pin the blame for economic challenges on Democrats while announcing he is sending a $1,776 bonus check to U.S. troops for Christmas.
The remarks came as the nation is preparing to settle down to celebrate the holidays, yet Trump was focused more on divisions within the country than a sense of unity. His speech was a rehash of his recent messaging that has so far been unable to calm public anxiety about the cost of groceries, housing, utilities and other basic goods.
Trump has promised an economic boom, yet inflation has stayed elevated and the job market has weakened sharply in the wake of his import taxes. Trump suggested that his tariffs — which are partly responsible for boosting consumer prices — would fund a new “warrior dividend” for 1.45 million military members, a payment that could ease some of the financial strains for many households. The amount of $1,776 was a reference to next year’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ US announces massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion (NPR)
The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, a move that is sure to infuriate China.
The State Department announced the sales late Wednesday during a nationally televised address by President Donald Trump, who made scant mention of foreign policy issues and did not speak about China or Taiwan at all. U.S.-Chinese tensions have ebbed and flowed during Trump's second term, largely over trade and tariffs but also over China's increasing aggressiveness toward Taiwan, which Beijing has said must reunify with the mainland.
The eight arms sales agreements announced Wednesday cover 82 high-mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, and 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS — similar to what the U.S. had been providing Ukraine during the Biden administration to defend itself from Russia — worth more than $4 billion. They also include 60 self-propelled howitzer systems and related equipment worth more than $4 billion and drones valued at more than $1 billion.
Other sales in the package include military software valued at more than $1 billion, Javelin and TOW missiles worth more than $700 million, helicopter spare parts worth $96 million and refurbishment kits for Harpoon missiles worth $91 million… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Trump targets defense giants' shareholder payouts as cost overruns mount, sources say (Reuters)
The Trump administration is planning an executive order that would limit dividends, buybacks and executive pay for defense contractors whose projects are over-budget and delayed, according to three sources briefed on the order. President Donald Trump and the Pentagon have been complaining about the expensive, slow-moving and entrenched nature of the defense industry, promising dramatic changes that would make the production of war equipment more nimble.
Industry groups have been on high alert about the closely-held proposal, which is tied to a Treasury Department initiative, two of the sources said. Reuters could not determine exactly how the order would compel defense firms to enact any restrictions. The sources, who declined to be named because the information is confidential, said the language of the order could still change. A White House official said: "Until officially announced by the White House, discussion about potential executive orders is purely speculation."
Share buybacks are common among defense firms, and several pay a dividend. Lockheed in October, for example, raised its dividend for the 23rd year in a row, to $3.45 per share. At the same time, it authorized the purchase of up to $2 billion of its shares, raising the total amount promised for repurchases to $9.1 billion. Lockheed's F-35 fighter jet, one of the most expensive U.S. defense programs, has been plagued by rising costs and delays.
Many big defense programs take much longer to deliver a product than initially promised and at a far higher price. The $140 billion Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program that will replace aging Minuteman III missiles, designed and managed by Northrop Grumman, will be years behind schedule and 81% over budget, the U.S. military said last year.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth unveiled sweeping changes in November to how the Pentagon purchases weapons, allowing the military to more rapidly acquire technology amid growing global threats, in accordance with an executive order signed by Trump in April. That restructuring will have direct authority over major weapons programs to eliminate bureaucracy… 🟪 (READ MORE)
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