There鈥檚 no City Council meeting this week: Instead, City Hall watchers鈥� eyes were on Mayor Lee Leffingwell鈥檚 , delivered at a luncheon on Tuesday.
Owing in part to Austin鈥檚 good fortunes, the mayor鈥檚 speech is traditionally a rosy affair, full of economic achievements. And that was the case this time: 鈥淎ustin, Texas is today, I think without question, one of the most widely admired and most emulated cities in America,鈥� said Leffingwell in one of the speech鈥檚 many paeans to the city.
But Mayor Leffingwell also used the occasion to champion a couple big initiatives.
First was what he calls an 鈥渋nnovation district鈥� to accompany and . Similar to Kendall Square near MIT, the district would focus on medical research and development. The location: the northeast corner of downtown Austin.
鈥淓蝉蝉别苍迟颈补濒濒测 ,鈥� Leffingwell told KUT News. 鈥淎nd I know that they鈥檙e looking very hard at trying to redevelop some of that land for a profitable purpose, to monetize some of their assets.鈥�
Urban rail has in Leffingwell鈥檚 previous State of the City addresses 鈥� and this year was no different. As he has in years past, the mayor called for a vote on urban rail 鈥� this time, before he leaves office in 2014.
While Leffingwell won鈥檛 be running once Austin switches to single member districts next year, he offered a defense of the way the city does business 鈥� including Austin鈥檚 involvement in . He called the event 鈥渆verything that most supporters hoped, and nothing that most opponents feared.鈥�
鈥淥f course that鈥檚 the thing about Austinites,鈥� Leffingwell said early in his speech. 鈥淭hey all know exactly what they think we should be doing to keep Austin special, and they all know they could be doing a better job of it than the mayor is.鈥�
Rounding Out the Agenda
contributor Mike Kanin joined the Hustle to unpack the rest of the mayor鈥檚 speech 鈥� including the politics of , and the push for rail.
And pivoting from one speech to another, the Hustle revisits council member Bill Spelman鈥檚 comments last week allowing lobbyists to serve on a commission overseeing the rewrite of Austin鈥檚 land development code 鈥� and what it may mean for the mayor鈥檚 race.
鈥淚 think lurking in the background 鈥� was perhaps the ambitions of a few council members,鈥� Kanin says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e heard 鈥� that council members Mike Martinez and Laura Morrison and Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole are all thinking about running for the mayor鈥檚 spot in 2014. We also hear that Representative Mark Strama may want to get in.鈥� (You can read more here .)
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