Early voting starts today in a runoff for a seat on Austin鈥檚 City Council. Elections were last month, but in the Place Three seat, challenger was three percentage points shy of the simple majority needed to oust incumbent
Now it鈥檚 , a process notoriously ignored by voters. The last runoff had a whopping five percent turnout. If you are one of those 95 percent of Austinites asking yourself, 鈥榃hy should I care?鈥� here are five reasons:
1. Influence: In an election with painfully low turnout, your ballot means more than ever because it makes up a larger percentage of the total vote. Be a kingmaker!
2. Alcohol: are offering drink specials, shuttle buses to voting locations and other incentives to get people to participate in local democracy. Most of those bars support Randi Shade, but you could take advantage of the deals and vote for either candidate.
3. : Do you consider Austin鈥檚 newest water treatment plant or something that ? Shade voted for WTP4 during her first term in council. Tovo has called the plant an unnecessary expense.
4. Formula 1 racetrack subsidies: Construction is in southeastern AG真人百家乐 County on a 3.5 mile F1 racetrack that developers say will bring wheelbarrows of tourist dollars to Austin. But the extent to which the city should help subsidize the project remains an open issue. Tovo says the city should not kick in cash. Shade is withholding judgment, saying she would wait for a specific proposal before make a decision. (The council is to get a briefing on a subsidies plan Tuesday.)
5. Downtown vs. Neighborhoods: It鈥檚 a recurring political dynamic in Austin politics, people who think the city should prioritize downtown development versus those who would prefer resources be directed to neighborhoods. This runoff race features that same theme. In the downtown corner is Randi Shade, with the support of . Kathie Tovo, on the other hand, has the endorsement of the , an umbrella group representing neighborhood associations across the city.
Now that you鈥檝e decided it鈥檚 a good idea to vote, !
Still not enough information to make a decision? Check out our pre-election interviews with and .
