BG Update - Austin mayoral candidate Carmen Llanes Pulido files for recount (KUT)

View this email in your browser

Austin mayoral candidate Carmen Llanes Pulido files for recount of votes in November election (KUT)

Austin mayoral candidate Carmen Llanes Pulido has filed for a recount in the November general election.

"It's important that we do what we can to make sure every vote counts and that this is a fair process," she said after filing the petition Thursday. "I owe that to my supporters, and I feel that I owe that to half of Austin who voted for new and accountable leadership."

Llanes Pulido had the second most votes in the race for mayor behind incumbent Kirk Watson.

Mayoral candidates must earn a majority of the vote, or 50% plus one vote, to secure a win; otherwise, the race goes to a runoff between the top two vote-earners.

Watson declared victory last week, with just 13 votes to avoid a runoff.

Llanes Pulido said because the margin was razor thin, she felt the community deserved reassurance that every vote was properly counted. She cited irregularities in the vote count across Travis, Williamson and Hays counties.

Earlier this week, Travis County reported it found 75 provisional ballots from the Nov. 5 election that had not been fully processed. The ballots were processed and 20 were added to the county's total tally — 13 of those included votes in the mayor's race.

Her request specifically targets the city's 11 precincts in Williamson County.

"I know how much work goes into securing accuracy and fairness," Llanes Pulido said. "And so this is not a criticism of any of those leaders, but it is a desire to get a clearer picture of what really happened."

Llanes Pulido told KUT she is not interested in changing any outcomes unless that's what the numbers show.

"I am going to respect the results of the election," she said.

Llanes Pulido, director of nonprofit Go Austin/Vamos Austin, has been vocal about addressing the city’s affordability issues, including housing, and has been critical of the city’s recent changes to the land development code.

She also said the city has to do more to address climate change, improve infrastructure and public transportation and help child care providers.

"I hope this administration — this mayor — can look at this result and see that this razor thing margin says something," she said. "It says that we need to be coming together and stop excluding people we disagree with. We need to be brave and honest and engage in dialogue and work with our opposition to come up with better solutions for Austin."

Watson was not immediately available for comment.

The city has 48 hours to respond to the petition.

____________________________________________________________________________

www.binghamgp.com

Bingham Group is proud to represent and have represented a wide range of clients in the Austin Metro and Texas Capitol at the intersection of government and business.

Learn more about Bingham Group’s experience here, and review client testimonials here.

Copyright (C) " target="_blank">unsubscribe