Just came back from the AYD Forum. They said they will be posting it online. Very fun forum. Im not 100% sure I am remembering the attendees right from District 7 because I arrived late as they were ending that one. I didnt have the packet yet, but I think this is right. Their packet was an extensive 89 page questionanaire of all the candidates, so if anyone wants to look at it, let me know (or maybe emailing the AYDs would work best. Probably someone can send you the file.) Attendees included-- Dist 1: Dewayne Lofton, Valerie Menard, Dist 2: Delia Garza, Dist 3: Christopher Hoerster, Eric Rangel, Jose Valera, Sabino Renteria, Dist 4: Gregorio Casar, Sharon Mays, Dist 5: Ann Kitchen, Dist 6: Jimmy Flannigan, Matt Stillwell, Dist 7: Jeb Boyt, Jimmy Paver, Leslie Pool, Pete Salazar, Dist 8: Ed Scruggs, Dist 9, Chris Riley, Kathie Tovo, Dist 10: Mandy Dealey, Jason Meeker. Of District 4, only Casar and Mays showed up. Mays was actually there all evening. What I learned at this forum. There was question when I said I liked Meeker about whether he was a democrat. Meeker is definitely a democrat. He said he invited his young democrat son to attend the forum, but he was more interested in playing Minecraft. LOL Id vote for him. He also said that other than Dealey that all the rest of the canddates in 10 were Republicans. Questionwise, the biggest difference in their response was on Proposition 1. Hes against it. She is for it. Most of the candidates there tonight seemed to be against it. They seemed to say it was thrown together with no consideration for cost or traffic needs. When I looked at the PAC that sent me a mailout for it, I noticed the biggest contributors to that PAC were out of Houston. So I think it is probably more about rich profiteers than urban rail. And all the candidates who opposed it said they were for urban rail, just not this plan for it. So I agree with these candidates and intend to vote against Prop 1. Its funny that I forgot the two District 6 gentlemen from that other forum because they were the most memorable tonight. The AYDs were running ahead of schedule, so they asked them all sorts of questions about favorite places to date and eat. Really funny segment, so if you watch anything online, be sure to check that out. Because it was hilarious. I also thought it was cool that at the end of their questions, they basically endorsed each other and said vote for one of us because the other candidates who didnt show are insane. And they started giving examples of crazy things some of the other candidates had said in previous forums, and they were insane things to say. In terms of District 4 (since I had expressed some concerns earlier about candidate loyalty), I would like to mention that this particular event did not dissuade me of those concerns. Not only was Daniel not there, but she also apparently did not bother to answer their questionnaire. Neither did Pressley. Even Herrin did that much, and we know hes not a democrat! In District 9 Tovo and Riley distinquished their records on a CapMetro line question. I think Riley said he is on the Board Directors of Cap Metro. Tovo said she was the only person on City Council who opposed this line on the grounds that she felt CapMetro should have paid for it rather than the City of Austin because they owed some money (or something like that.) I didnt fully understand the dynamics of it and I dont remember the line they were talking about, but it struck me as an issue that could very much distinguish these two candidates. I have a better feeling about Tovo than Riley. I know my brother likes her rather well too, which maybe doesnt say much to anyone else. But he is quite an activist, and I know he worked hard to get her in City Council to start with. So my money (not that have money, but if I did) would be on Tovo. I think Wendy was a question of whether Garza in district 2 was democrat. She really strikes me as a solid democrat and was the only one there, but I like her. Its not just that she is the only one showing up to the forums, but she seems thoughtful and on top of her answers. So I think that is mostly it. I am going to get a Casar shortly. While as I said before, I would not support Casar purely because he is a good democrat (the type who takes the time to attend young democrat forums), but I also think he is thoughtful about his answers and has attended all the forums I have been to. To me that is reaching out to different groups and not cherry picking them. As Wendy said that Presseley was part of ANC, and perhaps that is why Daniel didnt attend that forum. But I want a candidate who reaches out to the entire community, and Casar is the only candidate who seems to be attending all the forums. Cheers!
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 02:43:24 +0000
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