Vote No on PropQ: There’s no need to raise taxes, programs Austinite’s want should be prioritized, and the city should spend your money carefully.

> PropQ will raise your taxes 200 times more than the city says it needs. City Council proposed PropQ to fill a $30M shortfall in the total $6.3B budget. But in just 10 years, PropQ will raise your taxes by ~$10B! That’s 210 times more than they say they need.
> City Council is holding basic city services hostage. PropQ says the new tax money will be spent to:
>>> “reduce homelessness; improve parks and recreation facilities and services; enhance public health services and public safety …”
>>> “housing affordability”, and
>>> “ensure financial stability”
Don’t you think such basic city services should be part of the base $6.3B budget?
> What in heaven’s name will the rest of the $6.3B budget be spent on, if PropQ funds those named programs?
> Vote no until you know the city will spend your money carefully.
>>> If PropQ passes, your city property taxes will be more than 60% higher than in 2019. Sixty percent higher taxes in just 6 years!
>>> The city wastes your money. Just look at salaries. In 2023, the City of Austin had over 4,000 employees making $100K or more. That’s one expensive employee for every 240 Austinites. How does Austin compare with other Texas cities? Austin has twice as many expensive employees per resident as Dallas, 3 times as many as Fort Worth, 3.5 times as many as Houston. In 2022, Austin had 10 times as many as San Antonio. (Source: www.OpenPayrolls.com)
>>> Do you think public safety is less important than Austin’s new logo? The city does.
>>> The city has resisted an outside audit for years. What is the city hiding?
Vote No on PropQ. There’s no need to raise taxes, programs Austinite’s want should be prioritized, and the city should spend your money carefully.

Vote No on Prop Q: The PropQ ballot proposition is purposefully misleading.

PropQ is written to make you think:
>> Your taxes will increase for a fixed period of time, like a bond issue.
>> Your new tax payments will pay for specific programs.
That’s not true. 

The truth is PropQ simply gives the city more of your tax money to misspend ... forever.
>> The tax increase is not for a limited time. PropQ is a “forever tax”.
>> The tax revenue is not legally required to be spent on any specific programs. The PropQ write-up describes “…reduce homelessness; improve parks and recreation facilities and services; enhance public health services and public safety …” But that’s not true. The new tax revenue will just go into the city’s general fund to be spent as council decides.
>> Some of the new tax revenue might be spent on “housing affordability” and to “ensure financial stability” as the write-up describes. But both of those terms are so ill-defined that the city can spend the money anyway it wants.
>> Texas Supreme Court Judge Evan A. Young stated “The City’s lengthy purpose statement [for PropQ] includes a laundry list of programs and then tacks on a catchall provision: ‘and provide for other general fund maintenance and operation expenditures included in the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget as approved or amended by City Council.’ In other words, what the new revenue ultimately does is increase the City’s general budget …” https://cases.justia.com/texas/supreme-court/2025-25-0754.pdf?ts=1757978524  

Judge Bill Aleshire’s letter explains in detail how PropQ’s wording is misleading. https://www.oraatx.com/bill-aleshire-on-prop-q-misleading-language

Vote No on PropQ: PropQ will cost you money and make Austin even less affordable for home owners and renters.

>PropQ will raise your city property taxes by 18.8%. Every year. Forever.
>Official estimates say the “typical” tax payer’s payment for PropQ will be $302.68.
>Your tax bill depends on your home’s value. Official estimates show your PropQ city tax will likely be between $94.62 and $964.20 (or more) per year.
>PropQ will be felt by renters; not just home owners. PropQ will increase your landlord’s taxes, just like a homeowner’s taxes. Do you think the landlord will “eat” the tax increase? Or increase your rent to cover the new tax?
>Many taxes are going up. The city’s PropQ proposes an 18.8% property increase. Travis County proposes a 9.1% increase, and Central Health approved a 9.3% increase, which not on the ballot. However, they are doing good work!
>If all those increases occur, official estimates say your total tax increase will be between $137.71 and $1,377.10 (or more) per year. 
>In addition, city fees this year for the “typical” tax payer will increase $114, for things like electricity, water, refuse

Vote “No” on Prop Q or your city property taxes will increase 18.8% and Austin will become more unaffordable.

Do you support Austin’s Prop Q “forever tax”?

The city has Proposition Q on the November ballot. Austenite's should choose carefully what they vote for.

Prop Q is a “forever” increase in property taxes. From The Statesman: “ … it, will cost the owner of a home valued at $500,000 about $300 more annually of city property taxes. That doesn’t include possible increases from county government, school districts or other taxing jurisdictions. If the tax-rate election fails, the same homeowner would pay just over $100 more in city property taxes next year.”

A “forever” tax is like the one we have been paying, and will continue paying for Project Connect, with no end in sight, and not one of the routes completed!

I’m voting “no”. I suggest that you vote “no” also.

Austinites must pay attention to City Hall to protect their city and their wallets

The City of Austin intends to increase your property taxes again this year by a percentage so large the voters have to approve the increase through an election. The city will put a Tax Rate Election (“TRE”) on the ballot in November and ask voters to approve another significant property tax increase. I will vote against that increase. I think you should vote “No” also.

The city does not need to raise your taxes again. The city can, and should, live within its means,

An example of over taxation is Project Connect. In 2020 Austinites approved a 24% property tax increase on the average Austin homestead. That tax has been collected since 2021. That tax money went to the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP). ATP has produced nothing but paper with that money. In the proposed ATP budget for 2026, there is nest egg of around half a billion dollars. Money tax payers paid to the city but the city sits on.

Do you think the City of Austin needs more tax revenue? I don’t.

Austinites will be asked to approve more taxes. You must decide whether you want to pay more taxes. Here are some resources that should help:

-The City of Austin’s budget - the budget, the process, how you can engage the city: https://speakupaustin.org/b66067
-Mayor Watson’s “Watson Wire” - how Mayor Watson justifies increasing your taxes: https://mailchi.mp/82dbf4da4b9d/watson-wire-the-budget-taxes-affordability
-Austin Monitor - coverage and analysis of the budget: https://austinmonitor.com/stories/newsletter/austin-city-council-tax-election-zoning/
-The Texas Standard - coverage and analysis: https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/austin-project-connect-moodys-rating-false-assumptions-light-rail/
-Austin Free Press - coverage and analysis: https://austinfreepress.org/moodys-blues/
-KUT.org - coverage and analysis: https://www.kut.org/austin/2025-07-23/austin-tx-property-tax-rate-election-budget-city-council

My farewell to City Council

Thank you, Mayor Adler and colleagues for the opportunity to offer some final comments.

Good morning everyone in the Chamber, those watching on your electronic devices or those listening on KAZI 88.7 FM.

Ephesians 4:1-16 reminds us to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called. With all humility and gentleness, with patience. I have tried to live my life by this conviction and with bold intention,

This Council began over 175 years ago with the intention of serving citizens. In the past, our city was under the “gentlemen’s agreement” which had the goal of artificially reserving 2 seats to represent the diversity in our city. With the new 10-1 form of governance, we must continue to be even more deliberate in our actions, as we are losing much of the historic diversity in our community.

I hope the City will continue to be deliberate with regards to equal representation, not only in the makeup of the Dais but - perhaps even more importantly – equity in our actions.

The district #1 office operated with intention and conviction. Intention to truly demonstrate equality; to demonstrate deliberate diversity and inclusion; to put partisan issues aside and intentionally listen to different perspectives. I have tenaciously held to my convictions, even when it may not have been the politically expedient thing to do.

My intention has always been in the best interest of the “blended family” who call District 1 home, especially those who have been marginalized, neglected, ignored and left behind.

The blended family contains many wonderful ethic and cultural groups, a myriad of religious traditions, different political ideologies, a variety of languages and different abilities.

The family also includes some stark contrasts – in the areas of educational attainment, income levels, employment opportunities and health inequalities. I have represented the individuals in the district to the very best of my ability.

From the work on a resolution addressing the lack of protections for individuals residing in boarding homes; to the passage of the preservation & rehabilitation plan for Rosewood Courts, which includes additional living units in an area that continues to change.

I was intentional about collaborating with business and tech companies to encourage and connect them to the historic black universities in the State. To develop a pipeline that allows the city, business and companies to recruit interns and employees at the two state institutions that were built intentionally for Americans of African ancestry and my alma- matter Huston-Tillotson University, the oldest institution of higher learning in Austin and the heartbeat of District 1.   

I was intentional about assisting constituents living far from healthcare alternatives by partnering with Central Health to begin the process to provide medical care and behavioral healthcare east of Hwy 183 south.

I have been intentional about engagement and inclusion; over the years, my staff and I attended countless community and neighborhood association meetings to connect with the people of the district.

We were intentional about engagement – making it the hallmark of my service to this community.  We hosted quarterly town halls, and coffee chats throughout the District’s 46 square miles.

I worshipped at over a hundred different communities of faith, in variety of languages from Arabic to Vietnamese to make certain that they were aware that this Council represents them.  

Those of you know me, know that I have been intentional in bringing everyone to the conversation. Something as small as asking staff and colleagues not to use acronyms. This deliberate action removes the distance between experts and ‘we the people’ by eliminating a mysterious language that only a few speak. Because the business that goes on in this building is the people’s business and we should be intentional about speaking in a way that allows and encourages the people to participate. (O.mit R.idiculous A.cronyms!)

I have been intentional in my mission to rebuild trust in government; looking deliberately at everything we touch from budgets, to contract, to programs, to purchasing, to identify and create opportunities for diversity. To involve, engaged and encourage constituents to be part of the solutions. Always asking the question, “who are we missing”? My intention was always to bring my experience and the life experiences of individuals often-overlooked and marginalized to conversations around public policies in this City.

I want to thank my colleagues for their dedication and their service. I want to thank my amazing and selfless staff: Genoveva Rodriguez and Chris Hutchinson were on the campaign trail with me. Beverly Wilson, returned to City Hall to be the wind beneath my wings; Andre Ewing, a Veteran, and the voice of the District on the phone; Sophia Williams came on board to help with the 2017 budget process; Alex Uhlmann joined us in August to help get us across the finish line at the conclusion of the land development process.

To the wonderfully diverse community volunteers who served on the various Boards and Commissions, thank you for your service.

My heartfelt thanks to the dedicated, unseen staff who work tirelessly day in and day out, behind the scenes for those of us who have ability to live in this city…building services, public works, resource recovery…next time you see a crew out and about, say thank you.

To my daughter – Gina Houston, my rock, confidant, encourager and technology guru – I love you a bushel and a peak~

Congratulations and best wishes to Ms. Harper-Madison. It is my desire that you will delight in your public service to the District. As I have shared, the job is 8 days a week/24 hours a day.

And finally, to the residents of the District and all Austinites – thank you for trusting me, for working with me, for arguing with me, for laughing with me, for crying with me and for being my strength and constant reminder for me to work with intention.

I close with a quote from one of the most intentional leaders of my lifetime, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “Don’t worry about being safe, political or popular nor make decisions out of cowardice, expediency or vanity; but simply take actions your conscience tells you are right.“

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve.

 

The “gentlemen’s agreement” - A Relic of Austin’s Racist Past: Or, why did we need to change the system, anyway?

Until the passage of 10-1, Austin, Texas used an at-large ‘places’ system to elect city council members.  “At-large” means every voter votes for every council member – and that means none of us had a council member that represented our neighborhood. We were the largest city in the country without geographic representation.   (The ‘places’ don’t refer to geography or location at all -- just when a council member is up for re-election.) In a city the size of Austin, that means that each council member represented all 800,000 citizens.  

At-large elections are a system where communities of color or of lower-income levels have the cards stacked against them.  Citywide elections are expensive to run and in Austin, all elections were city wide before 10-1. Regular folks didn’t have the money to compete. But, we’re Austin. There’s no way that we would intentionally set-up a system that oppresses members of our community? We’re progressive, right?

Maybe not so much.  

Ignorance and Influence: Austin, Texas in the ‘50s

Austin’s recent at-large council system was founded in racism. In 1951, after WW2, Arthur B. DeWitty, an African-American, ran for Austin City Council. DeWitty was the President of the NAACP and a leader in the growing civil rights movement. DeWitty almost won under the system then in place, infuriating the white majority. The next year, city council changed the way Austin held its elections by creating at-large council seats, making it impossible to elect a person of color to council. The new at-large ‘places’ system required that all Austinites approve all councilmembers. That meant that the 1950’s white majority controlled who won council elections.

The racist at-large system created in the 50’s was the same system we had in Austin until 10-1, with the addition of the 1970’s “gentlemen’s agreement” to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

So … What’s the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’?

In the early 70’s, after City Council’s racist history with DeWitty, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) forced Austin to allow minority representation. However, the white power elite found a way to maintain control. Rather than abolish the racist at-large system, Austin’s moneyed interests committed to only support an African-American for Place 6 and an Hispanic for Place 7.

The ‘agreement’ went something like this: To make sure that people of color were elected to council, rich, Anglo business leaders in town vowed to hold 2 seats on the council for people of color: 1 for an African-American and 1 for an Hispanic.

How could they be sure that Austin would consistently elect a minority to those seats? Easy. The power elite promised not to give money to anyone who was Anglo and ran in those spots. That commitment satisfied the VRA, but kept all the power in the hands of the moneyed interests and out of the minority communities.

How did the power elite remain in control? Simple. All council seats were at-large, which meant that all elections remained expensive to run. This also meant that the Anglo majority had to approve all council members – even those two reserved “minority” seats.

Since that time, 15 out of the last 17 mayors and a full 50% of council have come from 4 ZIP codes in downtown and West Austin. The Anglo majority still controls city council, and even controls which minority candidate “represents” the minority communities.

Shockingly, this is how the Austin City Council had maintained minority representation until now. There is history in the making in the 2014 City Council elections. Each corner of the city will have a designated council member, of their choice, on the city council, which means better representation and a better chance of being heard.

Be a part of making history by electing your first Austin City Council District Representative.  Vote early … and don’t forget to vote local at the end of the ballot!

 

A Brave and Startling Truth, By: Maya Angelou

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet 
Traveling through casual space 
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns 
To a destination where all signs tell us 
It is possible and imperative that we learn 
A brave and startling truth 

And when we come to it 
To the day of peacemaking 
When we release our fingers 
From fists of hostility 
And allow the pure air to cool our palms 

When we come to it 
When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate 
And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean 
When battlefields and coliseum 
No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters 
Up with the bruised and bloody grass 
To lie in identical plots in foreign soil 

When the rapacious storming of the churches 
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased 
When the pennants are waving gaily 
When the banners of the world tremble 
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze 

When we come to it 
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders 
And children dress their dolls in flags of truce 
When land mines of death have been removed 
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace 
When religious ritual is not perfumed 
By the incense of burning flesh 
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake 
By nightmares of abuse 

When we come to it 
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids 
With their stones set in mysterious perfection 
Nor the Gardens of Babylon 
Hanging as eternal beauty 
In our collective memory 
Not the Grand Canyon 
Kindled into delicious color 
By Western sunsets 

Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe 
Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji 
Stretching to the Rising Sun 
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor, 
Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores 
These are not the only wonders of the world 

When we come to it 
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe 
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger 
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace 
We, this people on this mote of matter 
In whose mouths abide cankerous words 
Which challenge our very existence 
Yet out of those same mouths 
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness 
That the heart falters in its labor 
And the body is quieted into awe 

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet 
Whose hands can strike with such abandon 
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living 
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness 
That the haughty neck is happy to bow 
And the proud back is glad to bend 
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction 
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines 

When we come to it 
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body 
Created on this earth, of this earth 
Have the power to fashion for this earth 
A climate where every man and every woman 
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety 
Without crippling fear 

When we come to it 
We must confess that we are the possible 
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world 
That is when, and only when 
We come to it. 

Like and Share Ora Houston's Facebook page.