Mandy Dealey is Endorsed by the Austin Environmental Democrats for the District 10 City Council Seat

The Austin Environmental Democrats endorsed Mandy Dealey for the District 10 city council seat at an endorsement meeting held earlier this month. The other candidates from District 10 in attendance were Tina Cannon and Jason Meeker. What follows is a recording of that endorsement meeting, in which each candidate had the opportunity to introduce themselves and then to answer a series of questions on a variety of topics ranging from SH 45SW to Water Treatment Plant 4. 

 

 

And if you don't have time to listen to the whole recording, I've pulled out some of the highlights for you below: 

Tina Cannon

  • “Why I’m running is because Austin is more than home to me. Austin is my family,” Cannon said, kicking off the District 10 forum.
  • Cannon is a first generation American.
  • She explained that Austin is very important to her, noting that the city has raised her, educated her, allowed her to open a businesses, and given her the opportunity to live openly as who she is. It is because of all that, Cannon said, that she is ready to give something back to the city that she loves.
  • Cannon started her career as an EMT in Las Vegas. She went on to put herself through business school at Texas State University in San Marcos. From there she went on to become a financial auditor, a board member for the Certified Internal Auditors, and a board member of the Certified Fraud Examiners.
  • “So at the end of the day for me it’s about budget, budget, budget, but its also about that family connection with people here in Austin,” Cannon said.
  • She has started a couple of companies in Austin, including petsmd.com 
  • Cannon said that she is a huge water advocate, and one of few candidates who put out a press release calling for a full financial audit of Austin’s water utility. “It is high time that a numbers person gets in there,” she said, advocating for a new and hard look at what the city is doing with its water utility and planning for the future. “We cannot grow if we don’t have water, if we’re not taking water seriously,” Cannon said. 
  • Cannon continued on to say that Austin can undo Water Treatment Plant 4, suggesting that it  can be mothballed.
  • She is opposed to SH 45SW and said that she is ready to go into litigation over it.
  • In her personal life, Cannon said that she upholds her environmental principles by living in an one bedroom condo that’s xeriscaped and riding her bike as much as possible.
  • Cannon said that she would love to see Proposition 1 be a rail and bus rapid transit package, asserting that the city has not done enough to emphasize bus rapid transit. She continued on to say that having roads mixed with rail on a single bond package is counterintuitive. “If the idea is to get people off the roads, then why are we building more of them?” Cannon said.
  • She also said that Austin needs to control its property taxes, insisting that the taxes are raging out of control and pushing good people out of their homes.
  • On the issue of coal, Cannon said that, “we need to get rid of Fayette. We need to shut that bad boy down. Why this council for the last 8 years has not had the cahones to do it is beyond me.” Then, pointing down at her shoes she said, “these boots are not just for show.” 

 

Mandy Dealey 

  • Dealey began her introduction to the Austin Environmental Democrats by saying that she is a community activist and advocate.
  • Dealey has lived in Austin for over 30 years.
  • Growing up, Dealey said that her mother instilled in her four key values – fairness, empathy, excellence, and respect – all of which she continues to embody today.
  • Dealey has served on six different city boards and commissions and about a dozen different nonprofit boards.
  • She spent seven years on the planning commission and six years on the downtown commission.
  • “You can tell from the votes I took on the planning commission that I never sacrificed the environment for development,” Dealey said. “I think the two are not incompatible, but you have to work really hard.”
  • She also spend one year as the chair of the Waterfront Overlay Task Force, which looked at all the development regulations along Lady Bird Lake and recommended new environmental protections. These included impervious cover limits and several other recommendations about how development should be handled along the lake. They were adopted by the council and, according to Dealey, have been ignored ever since. “That’s one of the reasons I want to run for council,” Dealey said. “I’m not an insider, but I have been close enough to see what works and what doesn’t work in the city.”
  • Dealey said that she was against Water Treatment Plant 4, but that she doesn’t think it’s something the city can undo because it’s about ready to go online. She added that Austin should have and must continue with its water conservation efforts. 
  • Dealey wants to institute personal purple pipe in Austin to collect water from AC condensate and washing machines and then use it on personal property for irrigation. She said that it’s been done in Colorado and that she would like to see it be done here.
  • Deaily is against SH 45SW. She said that it costs too much and adds more traffic to an already failing MoPac and added that she will do whatever is necessary to stop it, including launching a lawsuit against the project.
  • In effort to lower her own personal carbon footprint, Dealey said that she has refitted her house with double pane glass on the windows, added new insulation, planted a drought tolerant lawn, and always turns off the water when she brushes her teeth.
  • Dealey said that despite the fact that she doesn’t think it’s perfect, she will be voting for Proposition 1, because it really does address density and where people are going to want to go. She added that the rail is not being built for today, saying that, “right now the demand is not there. In 20 years, it will be. It is the density that is identified in Imagine Austin and it is density that we know is going to occur. So it is not a best guess. We are doing it because it is where density is going to be and where ridership is going to be.”
  • Dealey identified zero waste as something that she hopes the city can achieve. She said that she has long advocated for buildings to be deconstructed, as opposed to simply demolished. So much of what is in Austin’s landfill is debris from demolition, Dealey said, noting that this is unacceptable. “We need to reuse every bit of construction material that we can,” she said.
  • Dealey also mentioned that she loves the idea of curbside composting pickup.

 

Jason Meeker

  • Meeker began his introduction to the Austin Environmental Democrats with a story about the Lakeline Drafthouse. He asked the audience to think about what the parking lot looks like and pointed out that the lot is full of old trees. “Why are they still there?” Meeker asked. They are still there, he said, because as a zoning and planning commissioner, he wouldn't vote for development unless the trees were saved. “I’m very proud of that,” Meeker said.
  • He continued on to say that we are dealing with bullies in Austin, that he has always stood up to bullies, and that he wants to continue to stand up to bullies on city council. He said that he has years of real experience in fighting for things.
  • He fought to stop the Walmart at NorthCross Mall, he fought to stop short term rentals in his neighborhood, he fought to stop Water Treatment Plant 4.
  • Meeker said that he also gives money to the S.O.S. Alliance, Sierra Club, and the Environmental Defense Fund because he believes in those things.
  • Meeker said that he was against Water Treatment Plant 4, even wring an article in the ABJ about his position against it. He also started a grassroots group called Responsible Water, which held some press conferences out by the lake to try and get people to understand the issue. 
  • Meeker is fully opposed to SH 45SW. He said that it’s a bad plan and that it makes no sense. What the city should be doing instead, Meeker said, is developing a comprehensive plan to address its traffic problem. That’s why he is voting against an urban rail bond. He said that he believes Austin should take the road concept map that the city paid millions of dollars to develop and the Imagine Austin plan and connect the city with a transportation plan that is comprehensive.
  • Meeker said that he is sincere in his desire to have a comprehensive transportation plan that looks at new technological options, including Google driverless cars. “Could you imagine that instead of putting down a rail line we could have a dedicated lane for driverless cars in as soon as 10 years?” Meeker said. “That’s possible.”
  • He continued on to say that he wants to work hard and fast on council to get a transportation solution going that people throughout the city will want to invest in. One of the problems that people in District 10 have, he said, is that they don't see how and why they should invest in urban rail that wont let them where they want to go now. 
  • Meeker also mentioned the need to push harder to get the people of Austin to recycle more. He said that this is going to take strong leadership.
  • To reduce his own personal carbon footprint, Meeker said that he has xeriscaped his yard, installed energy efficiency updates in his home, and tries to make environmentally-friendly purchases whenever he can, including a Smart Woods Gibson Les Paul guitar.
No Comments

Post A Comment