[Independent Citizen’s Redistricting Commission]
[00:00:04]
UH, IT IS APRIL 23RD, 2021 AT 2:38 PM.
AND WE HAVE A CORUM OR THE INDEPENDENT CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMISSION.
UM, I'LL GO THROUGH AND DO A, UM, TENDONS CHECK.
UH, JUST MAKE SURE YOUR MICROPHONE IS ON WHEN YOU, UH, WHEN YOU SAY HERE.
BRING A MORRIS HERE, CHRISTINA.
QUANTOS AFTER STERLING LANDS, RUNNING A FEW MINUTES LATE.
SHANA KAMBO AND THEN WHITNEY FINCH HERE.
UM, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND PULL UP OUR AGENDA.
JUST SHOW IT REAL QUICK AND WE'LL LOOK AT WHATSAPP.
THERE'S NOBODY SIGNED UP TODAY.
I'M STILL DRAFTING THOSE DRAFT MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING AND WE'LL SEND THOSE OUT AND HOMELESS WILL HAVE TO APPROVE THOSE AT OUR NEXT MEETING.
UM, THE SECOND ITEM IS OLD BUSINESS, A INDEPENDENT CITIZENS, REDISTRICTING COMMISSION MAY DISCUSS AND TAKE ACTION ON THE FOLLOWING AGENDA ITEMS, SELECTION OF REMAINING COMMISSIONER.
THAT WAS THE MAIN THING WE'VE GOT TO DO FOR TODAY.
UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS FIRST LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO INTRODUCTIONS SINCE WE DROVE A NUMBER OF NEW, UH, NEW MEMBERS, UM, MELTED THE NEW ONES THAT GOT APPOINTED BY THE FIRST EIGHT, THE SCREEN HERE.
SO THAT WOULD BE, UM, SELENA E HELLO.
UM, SHOULD I JUST SAY A FEW QUICK THINGS ABOUT MYSELF? IS THAT WHAT YOU'D LIKE? YEAH, THAT'D BE GREAT.
I'M SELENA YE I LIVE IN DISTRICT ONE, UM, EAST OF
AND THEN, UM, FOR WHITNEY FINCH, I SEE YOUR NAME IS ASHA LACE.
DO YOU GO BY LACE? I DO I GO BY ELISE? YEAH.
DO YOU WANT TO GO NEXT? UH, YEAH, SURE.
I'M IN DISTRICT TWO AND THAT'S ON THE EAST SIDE OVER, UH, BEHIND THE AIRPORT, UM, TECHNICALLY DEL VALLEY.
UM, AND YEAH, I'M ALSO SUPER EXCITED TO BE A PART PART OF THIS.
UM, I, I ALWAYS GET CONFUSED WHAT DISTRICT I'M IN, BUT, UM, I THINK IT'S, IT'S WHERE DELI HAD GOT US, SO WAS, AND, UM, I THINK IT'S ANYWAY, SO I'M SUPER EXCITED TO BE HERE TOO.
I'VE BEEN MEANING TO SERVE ON THE COMMISSION, SO I APPRECIATE Y'ALL GOOD.
UM, I'M SHANA CAMPBELL AND I'M A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.
UM, SO I'M HERE NEARBY THE CAMPUS IN HYDE PARK, UM, DISTRICT NINE, UM, AND I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE AND THEN CHRISTINA, HI EVERYONE.
MY NAME IS CHRIS
UM, I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN SINCE 2010.
UM, AND I HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE INVOLVED WITH STATE AND LOCAL ISSUES MOST RECENTLY INVOLVING THE AUSTIN ISD SCHOOL BOARD.
UM, I WAS A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER.
I TAUGHT AT LBJ EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL, AND I'M CURRENTLY A MASTER'S STUDENT AT THE LBJ SCHOOL AT UT OR HANDLE MY MASTER OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, FINISHING THAT UP.
UM, AND I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE, UM, TO I'M COMMITTED TO EQUITABLE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, AND ESPECIALLY IN LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNANCE
[00:05:01]
AND POLICY MAKING.SO THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME PRETTY GOOD.
YEAH, I'LL JUST SAY WITH THE MEMBERSHIP.
SO THE FIRST EIGHT, WHEN THEY MADE THEIR SELECTIONS TO A POINT ADDITIONAL MEMBERS TO THE ICRC, UM, YOU ALL SELECTED TWO STUDENT MEMBERS, UM, SHINA AND, UM, CHRISTINA PRINTS OUT BY CHARTER.
THE ICRC CAN ONLY HAVE ONE STUDENT MEMBER, UH, WHICH WAS MY MISTAKE.
UM, I KNEW IT HAD TO HAVE ONE, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS OKAY, BUT I HAD MORE THAN ONE.
UH, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT CHRISTINA, ASHLEY MEETS ALL THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-STUDENTS AS WELL.
UM, SO SHE IS ELIGIBLE TO BE ON THE COMMISSION, UM, AND THAT WAS CONFIRMED BY OUR LOT DEPARTMENT AS LONG AS THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE.
UH, SO THAT WAS REALLY GOOD NEWS.
I'M IN DISTRICT 10 AND I TOO AM HAPPY TO MEET YOU GUYS.
AND, UM, WELCOME TO THE COMMITTEE.
UH, IT'S SO GREAT TO HAVE, UH, NEW BODIES, UH, TO OUR GROUP.
I CURRENTLY WORK AT FLUIDS BY AUDRA.
WE'RE A LIGHTING COMPANY BASED IN AUSTIN.
AND BEFORE THEN I SPENT ALL MY TIME IN AUSTIN SINCE 2009, AS PART OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, AS A STUDENT AND WORKING WITH PRESIDENT'S OFFICE AND WITH DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL AND THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE.
UM, SO, UH, YEAH, UH, WELCOME.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING TOGETHER.
I LIVE IN DISTRICT SIX AND I'VE LIVED HERE FOR ALMOST 13 YEARS AND I THINK THAT BY FAR I AM THE OLDEST MEMBER OF THIS GROUP.
UM, UH, BJ MORRIS, UH, I'M IN DISTRICT THREE.
UH, I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 2006.
UH, AND CURRENTLY I DO A MIX OF FINANCE AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS.
UM, LIKE SARAH, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT DISTRICT THAT WAS, BUT I HAVE SOME TIME TO LOOK IT UP.
SO I SCRAMBLED TO LOOK AT OUR DISTRICT FIVE.
I WAS LIKE, OH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS.
UH, I I'VE BEEN IN AUSTIN SINCE 2014.
UH, I TAGGED MYSELF AS A MIGRANT TECH WORKER IS HOW YOU COULD DESCRIBE IT.
AND I FEEL LIKE I REPRESENT THE, UH, MIGRANT TECH WORKFORCE, UH, IN AND OUT OF AUSTIN FLEXING.
I FELT LOST IN MY HOME TODAY, UH, HOPEFULLY FOR A LONG TIME, BUT YOU KNOW, ONE NEVER KNOWS, BUT I'M REALLY THANKFUL TO BE HERE AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE VOICE OF WHAT I FEEL LIKE IS A HUGE TRANSIENT POPULATION IN THIS CITY AND TO HELP WITH MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE IN HOW WE THINK ABOUT THE CITY AND PLANNING.
I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE WORK WE'RE DOING.
UM, BEEN IN AUSTIN SINCE 2013, UH, LIVED IN VARIOUS AREAS OF BOSTON.
AND THIS GROUP GAVE YOUR GREATEST, UH, FOLKS TO, UM, SPEARHEAD.
UM, I ALSO FORGOT WHICH DISTRICT I'M IN, BUT I THINK I'M IN TO, UM, ANYWAYS, UH, GOOD MEETING YOU GUYS, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH, WITH EVERYONE.
NOW MATT DO AGAIN WITH THE CITY'S HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, AND WE'VE GOT NATE DOING AUDIO AND VIDEO.
UH, LISA, DO YOU WANNA GIVE YOU GIVE AN INTRODUCTION? SURE.
I, I THOUGHT I WOULD SHOW MY FACE FOR A MINUTE.
UM, I WORK WITH HOUSING AND PLANNING AS WELL.
I'M AN ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN OFTEN ON FOR ABOUT 17 YEARS.
WENT TO UT, WENT AWAY TO LA, CAME BACK.
SO I'VE BEEN BACK FOR FIVE YEARS, BUT, UH, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE WORK YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO DO AND TO BE A PART OF IT ON THE BACK SIDE, THE ADMIN SUPPORT SIDE.
[00:10:01]
THANK YOU GUYS.I SEE YOU JOINED, YOU ALREADY GIVE YOURSELF A BRIEF INTRODUCTION AND IF SO, I'LL MAKE SURE YOU TURN YOUR MIC ON THAT.
YOU GOT THE VIDEO, RIGHT? NOT YET ANY TO PRESS THE START VIDEO BUTTON SHOULD BE BESIDE, I'M PRESSING IT, THEN I'M NOT GETTING ANYTHING THAT'S BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE THE RIGHT CAMERA ON.
STERLING LENS HAD A FEW TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, BUT I'M HERE.
UM, AND UM, YEAH, SO THE ONE AGENDA ITEM THEY ALL HAVE TODAY, THE BIG ONE IS TO PICK ONE MORE, UH, ADDITIONAL MEMBER FOR THE ICRC AND THAT OUR MEMBERSHIP WILL BE COMPLETE.
AND THEN WE CAN REALLY GET GOING ON OUR WORK.
UM, UH, YEAH, IT'S KIND OF WENT BACK AND FORTH ON WITH THE NEW MEMBERS TO ASK THEM TO SELECT THEIR TOP SIX, LIKE THE FIRST EIGHT DID, BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO BE TOO.
UM, ANYWAYS, SO I JUST FIGURED WE'D HAVE THAT DISCUSSION NOW.
AND I'M GONNA LET Y'ALL TALK ABOUT HOW YOU WANT TO GO ABOUT SELECTING THAT ONE ADDITIONAL NUMBER, ADD, WHO DID YOU SAY WAS THE SECOND STUDENT THAT WE DECIDED WE COULD ALL AFTER WE DECIDED WE COULD ONLY HAVE ONE WHO WAS THE SECOND PERSON.
SO SHINA KAMBO WAS THE FIRST STUDENT WAS SELECTED AND THEN CHRISTINA POINTERS WAS THE SECOND.
SHE'S ACTUALLY HERE WITH US TODAY AND CHAMPIONS ALL THE REQUIREMENTS OF A REGULAR MEMBER, A NON-STUDENT NUMBER.
I APOLOGIZE TO HER FOR NOT RECOGNIZING THAT, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE MET HER BEFORE TODAY.
IF I MET HER TODAY, I GUESS I DID.
SO THIS IS THE FIRST MEETING WITH THE, THE MEMBERS OF THE FIRST EIGHT SELECTED.
SO CHRISTINA, LENA, SARAH, AND CHEYANNA AND ELISE ARE ALL NEW.
AND, UM, YEAH, SO THOSE ARE THE, THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT THE FIRST AID HAS SELECTED TO BE PART OF THE ICRC.
AND MS.
WELL, I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT REMEMBERING THAT AND WELCOME.
UM, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PROCESS IS LIKE, BUT, UM, I HAVE ONE NAME, UH, TOP OF MINE FROM THE LIST, UM, AT THAT TIME COMES.
UM, DID ANY OF THE NUMBER OF FOLKS HAVE A CHANCE TO GO THROUGH THE APPLICATIONS AND, UM, IDENTIFY SOME CANDIDATES THEY WOULD LIKE TO, UM, TALK ABOUT APPOINTING? UH, I WENT AHEAD AND MADE, THIS IS SADA SPEAKING.
UM, ACTUALLY DID GO AHEAD AND MAKE A SHORT LIST.
UM, I, UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT OTHER FOLKS WOULD DO SO AS WELL, SO I'M HAPPY TO COMPARE NOTES.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE BEST WAY IS TO DO THAT SINCE I DON'T SEE A CHAT FUNCTION HERE, BUT WE'LL GET TO IDEAS.
UH, WHAT ABOUT ELISE? UM, I HAD, DIDN'T REALLY GET A CHANCE TO LOOK AT, UM, TO, AT ANY OF THEM FOR TOO LONG.
UM, WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAVELING AND STUFF AND ALL THAT CAME IN.
SO I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO, I JUST KEPT BRIEFLY LOOKED OVER THE ONES THAT WERE US.
AND THEN CHINA, DID YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE APPLICATIONS? OKAY.
UM, I HAVE ABOUT EIGHT PEOPLE THAT I SORT OF FOCUSED ON.
I MEAN, I'M DEFINITELY MORE OPEN TO HEARING OTHER OPINIONS AS WELL.
UM, BUT THERE ARE ABOUT THREE OF THEM THAT I'M PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY I WOULD, I WOULD PERSONALLY LOVE TO HEAR WHAT OUR NEW COMMISSIONERS, UH, WHAT NAMES THEY WOULD BRING TO THE TABLE.
SO I'M WONDERING IF, UM, THE NEW COMMISSIONERS WHO HAVE JOINED US TODAY THAT THEY'D BE WILLING TO SPEND A COUPLE OF MINUTES.
UH, I KNOW CHANGED SHAYMA IS IT PRONOUNCED? I KNOW SHANA SAID SHE HAD THREE THER'ES AT SIX AND CHRISTINA HAD ONE.
IF THERE WAS MAYBE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO HAVE, TAKE A FEW MINUTES AND JUST SHARE THE NAMES AND WHY I THINK
[00:15:01]
THAT WOULD BE A GOOD FIRST, UM, ATTACK HERE.WELL THEN, UM, I CAN GO JUST REALLY QUICKLY ON, HOPEFULLY THERE'LL BE SOME OVERLAP.
UM, CHRISTINA, I JUST WANT TO HIT AND PUT YOU ON THE LIST SINCE YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN SELECTED ONCE.
UM, AND THEN, UM, I LIKED, UM, CAMILIA ALGON, PAUL MANNY, JOHN MCCUNE, ENGLAND SALARIES, UM, PATTY BYLAW AND BELINDA BELINDA HAS BEEN OSA.
HOLD ON IN GENERAL, JUST BECAUSE, UM, I REALLY THOUGHT THAT THE, UM, THE KIND OF LIKE TELL US A LITTLE BIT EXTRA ABOUT YOURSELF.
SECTION WAS A PARTICULAR INTEREST IN THOSE CASES AND JUST KIND OF GENERALLY HOW THEY SPOKE ABOUT, UM, THEIR DESIRE TO BE HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AUGMENTED BY THEIR PROFESSIONAL SKILLS, NOT JUST AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THEIR PROFESSIONAL SKILLS.
AND THEN, UM, COULD YOU GO THROUGH THOSE ONE MORE TIME, BUT JUST A LITTLE BIT SLOWER.
UM, IS THERE, THERE'S NOT LIKE A CHAT? I CAN'T LIKE PASTE IT.
I HAVE NOT USED WEBEX PIO ISSUE.
SO IT'S CHRISTINA TO SHARE YOUR SCREEN IF YOU WOULD LIKE THAT INSTEAD.
BUT Y'ALL, DON'T JUDGE ME THAT I'M USING ON MARK A CODING EDITOR, AS LONG AS YOU'RE NOT USING NOTEPAD, THEN YOU'RE GOOD, SIR.
I WORKED WITH PEOPLE WHO BEEN IS LIKE SUPER WEIRD THAT I USE THIS FOR NOTES, BUT OKAY.
AND YOU JUST LET ME KNOW, UM, MATT, WHEN YOU WANT ME TO TURN IT OFF.
SO FROM CONE, MANNY PRADO AND ESPINOSA.
I'M GOING TO HIGHLIGHT THEM ON THE SPIRIT SHEETS AND THEN EVERYBODY CAN SEE THOSE.
UM, I DUNNO, WHO WANTS TO GO NEXT LADIES? I'LL JUMP IN, UH, MY ONE NAME WAS JOHN MCCARRAN AND YOU CAN SELL US.
UM, AND THAT'S BECAUSE, UM, LIKE I SAID, I'VE BEEN WORKING ON AUSTIN ISD WORK.
UM, HE RAN FOR THE AUSTIN ISD SCHOOL BOARD, NOT ANY CITY POSITION, JUST THE SCHOOL BOARD POSITION.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD STILL MAKE HIM ELIGIBLE.
AND SO I REALLY GOT TO KNOW HIS WORK IN THAT TIME.
AND HE IS A PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AT TEXAS STATE.
UM, I NOTICED IN HIS APPLICATION, HE MENTIONED THAT HE USES RF GIS, WHICH COULD BE A GOOD SKILL FOR THIS BOARD.
UM, HE'S REALLY EVEN KEEL HE'S INTELLIGENT.
HE'S BEEN TAKING DULLES AND I JUST, I THINK HE'S GREAT.
SO ALSO HE'S DISTRICT THREE AND I THINK THAT THAT DISTRICT REALLY NEEDS MORE REPRESENTATION.
UM, ANYBODY ELSE? UM, I GUESS I'LL GO AHEAD AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S REALLY MUCH OF ANY OVERLAP CURRENTLY.
UM, NOT THAT I DON'T, UM, THINK THOSE ARE GOOD CANDIDATES.
UM, UH, THE THREE THAT I HONED IN ON, UM, THEY'RE ACTUALLY NEAR THE TOP OF THE SHEET ACTUALLY.
UM, BUT THEY WERE PICKED FOR SPECIFIC REASONS, UM, JUST IN TERMS OF MY IDEA OF ADDING SOME DIVERSITY.
UM, SO THE VERY FIRST ONE ON THE LIST IS FEMA ARGO WALLA, AND I APOLOGIZE TO FAME MS. UH, PRONOUNCED THESE NAMES.
UM, BUT I, I JUST LOOKED INTO HER CREDENTIALS.
UM, SHE SEEMS TO HAVE AN INTERESTING BACKGROUND, UM, IN THE SCIENCES, UM, IN THE SCIENCES.
UM, AND IT LOOKS AS WELL THAT SHE, YOU KNOW, SHE HAS AN INTERESTING BACKGROUND, I GUESS, IN TERMS OF ALSO LIVING IN AUSTIN FOR QUITE A WHILE.
UM, AND I JUST THINK THAT HER STATISTICAL AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE WOULD, UM, ADD SOME TECHNICAL SKILLS.
UM, AND THAT'S ONE WAS JOHN BEALE.
UM, I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING.
[00:20:01]
OR ALASKA NATIVE.UH, BUT OF COURSE THESE ARE ALL QUALIFIED, YOU KNOW, BASED ON HOW LONG THEY'VE BEEN HERE.
UM, I JUST THINK IT'S ALWAYS INTERESTING FINDING PEOPLE WHO'VE LIVED IN OTHER PLACES AS WELL.
UM, HE ALSO HAS, UM, A TECH BACKGROUND, UM, AND IT LOOKS LIKE HE'S, UM, ALSO INTERESTED IN LAW, UM, BASED ON HIS PRE-LAW, UM, DESCRIPTION.
UM, YEAH, SO ANOTHER IT PERSON AND THE NEXT ONE IS MORE ON THE ARCHIE SIX SIDE, WHICH I THINK IS ALSO A GOOD PART.
UM, HER NAME IS, UM, I WANT TO MAKE SURE I SAY THIS CORRECTLY, BUT SHE GOES BY ISA OR IS THERE A, B, C IS A BLUE TO BE THIS, THE REFIS.
UM, AND I ACTUALLY, SHE, THEY, THEY HAVE NON BINARY AS THE GENDER DESCRIPTION, SO I'M NOT SURE THE PRONOUNS WHETHER, UM, IT'S THEY, UM, BUT I THINK HE'S, UH, HAS AN INTERESTING BACKGROUND AS AN EDUCATOR, UM, WORKING IN FINE ARTS AND ALSO IS A PERT, UM, QUITE A FEW INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT AUSTIN.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THEY SEEM PRETTY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THIS, UM, AS WELL.
SO THOSE WERE THE TOP THREE, IN MY OPINION, NO, WE HAD ONE PERSON HAD ONE OTHER NAME RIGHT UNDER THE NEW PROBABLY.
COULD YOU SPEAK UP AND SAY THAT AGAIN PLEASE? OH, I THOUGHT THERE WAS ONE MORTAR COMMISSIONER THAT JOINED IN TODAY.
HAVE ONE OTHER NAME, MAYBE I'M MISSING THOSE THREE.
DID SOMEBODY ELSE WRITE ANOTHER NAME? IF NOT THAT'S OKAY, TOO.
I'M JUST GOING TO SHARE THIS AND MAKE SURE I GOT THESE.
MEAN JUST MAKE SURE YOU GOT THE ONES THAT PEOPLE JUST SAID.
SO S O COM MANNY MCKIERNAN GONZALEZ, PRADO.
OR WAS THERE A GUN'S HOURS? LIKE WE HAD A PROFESSOR, I THINK A PROFESSOR GONZALEZ, THERE WAS THIS ONE, THE KIERNAN GONZALEZ.
AND THEN, UM, I THINK IT WAS THE BOTHERED.
IT'S NOT AS, MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE DON'T KNOW THE FIRST NAME.
WE DON'T KNOW THE FIRST NAMES AND MAYBE, UM, I THINK IT WAS, I THINK, I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE JOHN MCKERNAN GONZALES WAS, UH, RECOMMENDED BY BOTH CHRISTINA AND BISERA AND THAT IS THE PROFESSOR FROM TEXAS STATE AND THE ISD BOARD.
UM, YEAH, AGAIN, WITH, WITH, WITH THAT, WE HAVE TWO NEW COMMISSIONERS WHO BOTH RECOMMENDED, UM, THE SAME CANDIDATE.
SO I, I WOULD ALSO JUST SAY TO SARAH, UM, I ALSO IN MY INITIAL SIX ADD A FEW OF YOURS AND THE NAMES OF ESPINOSA FALCON AND, UM, PRADO.
SO I'LL JUST PUT THAT TO THE COMMISSION HERE.
SO THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I HAD ALL THOSE CORRECT.
I THINK YOU, YOU DO HAVE THEM CURFEW.
UM, I'LL, I'LL HOLD ON MY WAIST TO IT.
I, UM, I SEE ONE OF, UH, CHICKEN.
IS THAT HOW I SAY YOUR NAME? SHANA.
YOUR MICROPHONE IS I'M HAVING A HARD TIME HEARING YOU.
[00:25:01]
YOU HAVE, LET ME SEE IF I CAN, IS THIS SOUNDS LIKE THE MICROPHONE'S A LITTLE FAR FROM YOUR MOUTH, IS THIS BETTER? A LITTLE BIT BETTER, BUT MAYBE MY AIRPODS ARE DONE.HOLD ON TECHNOLOGIES AND HELPING ME BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT IS THAT, IS THAT BETTER? CAN YOU HEAR ME? UM, YEAH.
IT'S JUST THAT, UM, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR DISTANCE FROM WHERE YOUR MICROPHONE IS, IS THE PROBLEM, OR YOU MUST INCREASE YOUR OWN, UH, OUTPUT.
WE MIGHT JUST HAVE TO SPEAK LOUDER.
I'M JUST GONNA RAISE MY VOICE.
I'M NOT TRYING TO YELL AT ANYONE.
SO THIS IS NOW ME BEING AGITATED.
WHAT'S YOUR AGITATED BOYS SOUND LIKE? NO, NO, I'M NOT.
I'M NOT, I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S JUST LIKE, OKAY.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE I PRONOUNCE EVERYBODY'S NAME RIGHT? UH, SHAYNA, RIGHT? YANNO.
UM, I THINK, UM, I'VE, I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT AND I THINK IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT THIS COMMITTEE IS DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE AND WE REPRESENT THE OVERALL SENTIMENT OF W WHO OR WHAT AUSTIN IS.
I DO THINK THAT I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND PUT FORWARD THE NAME OF, UH, GOING TO ZURI FACE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEIR PRONOUNS ARE, SO I'M GOING TO NOT TRY AND LABEL THEM, BUT, UH, WISH WE NEED THAT, BUT I FEEL STRONGLY THAT WE NEED TO HAVE THAT VOICE REPRESENTED FROM THE COMMUNITY.
AND I'D LIKE TO PUT THEM FORWARD AS A STRONG NOMINATION FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMISSION.
IS THIS THE PERSON WHO DEFINED THEMSELVES AS BINARY, NON BINARY? YES.
I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF REPRESENTATION AND I HEAR, UH, CHRISTINA'S COMMENTS ABOUT DISTRICT THREE.
WE DO HAVE ONE REPRESENTATION THERE, BUT I DO THINK THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY REPRESENTATION FOR ANYONE THAT IDENTIFIES AS NONBINARY WITHIN THE COMMITTEE.
AND I, I THINK THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT TRANSIENT AND EXISTING POPULATION WITHIN THE COMMUNITY THAT IDENTIFIES OR REPRESENTS OTHER IN, I THINK THEY NEED TO BE REPRESENTED.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT THIS QUALIFICATION PROCESS DOES TAKE SOME TO QUALIFY AND FOR SOMEONE TO HAVE THE PASSION FOR IT, SOMEONE TO WANT TO DO THIS AND QUALIFY AND BE ELIGIBLE, I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
I THINK WE HAVE A VERY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE WORK IS FOR EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND I STRONGLY THINK THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER THEM.
AND I AGREE WITH THAT, AND THIS NAME HAS COME UP AT LEAST TWICE BEFORE IN OUR NOMINATIONS PROCESS.
AND THEN I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW, I JUST EMAILED OUT THAT SPREADSHEET WHERE I HIGHLIGHTED THOSE NEW NAMES IN GREEN.
SO YOU SHOULD HAVE THAT IN YOUR INBOX.
I ASK A QUICK QUESTION QUESTION OF THE GROUP.
HOW MANY SPANISH SPEAKERS DO WE HAVE OR DID WE JUST SAY IT? I DUNNO IF ANYONE HAS A VIDEO ON JUST ONE, UM, I'M BILINGUAL, I SPEAK SPANISH, GOOD SPANISH COLBY HAVE SPANISH.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT I THINK THAT WE SHOULD PRIORITIZE SOMEBODY WHO SPEAKS SPANISH, GIVEN THE DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKUP OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, AND I THINK THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE IDEALLY MORE THAN ONE MEMBER.
SADLY, I AM NOT A FLUENT SPANISH SPEAKER, UM, THOUGH MY FAMILY DOES SPEAK.
UM, AND, UM, SO THAT WHEN WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC MEETINGS, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CAN SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE COMMISSIONERS TO GO THROUGH A TRANSLATOR.
AND I WILL SAY THAT JOHN MCKIERNAN GONZALEZ IS A FLUENT SPANISH SPEAKER AND MEXICO.
[00:30:01]
THANK YOU FOR THAT.AND IT ALSO PROVIDES US WITH THE, UM, ANOTHER DISTRICT THREE PERSON.
SO IT WAS ALSO, UH, ALL THE TOP OF MY LIST.
I THINK LANGUAGE IS IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK IF WE ONLY FOCUSED ON HAVING THE LANGUAGES REPRESENTED THAT MIGHT GET TRICKY.
UH, I THINK WE NEED TO FOCUS ON ALL OF THE ISSUES, PROBLEMS AND THINGS THAT WE FACE TODAY AS A COMMUNITY AND LANGUAGE SHOULD NOT BE A BARRIER FOR BEING ABLE TO REPRESENT WHAT WE NEED TO DO IN THE COMMUNITY.
I THINK THAT MAKES IT TOUGH BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE CAN ALL COMMUNICATE.
WE'RE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY AS A BIG TEAM AND WE ALL COME FROM VERY DIFFERENT AND DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS.
I DON'T THINK THAT LANGUAGE IS AFFECTING US.
I'LL SAY THAT I THINK, AND I UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM, BUT THAT'S STILL MY STANCE ON THAT OR ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE FLUENCIES DO WE HAVE IN OUR GROUP BESIDES ENGLISH AND SPANISH, I CAN SPEAK FOUR DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND THEM, WHAT ARE THEY? I CAN SPEAK TAMIL, HINDI, CANADA, ENGLISH, AND I CAN UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT OF SPANISH, BUT IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE LANGUAGES I SPEAK ARE THAT USEFUL IN, IN THIS CURRENT SETTING OR CONTEXT OF AUSTIN.
UM, TO THE POINT OF LANGUAGES.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT IS, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE CAN TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.
UM, I THINK IT GIVES ME, UM, WHEN I WAS LOOKING THROUGH, UM, THE NAMES I DID SEE THERE WAS QUITE A BIT OF, UM, HISPANIC, UM, AND OR LATINO, UM, LIKE IDENTIFYING.
SO I GUESS IN MY MIND, I ASSUMED THAT THERE WOULD BE MORE FLUENCY IN SPANISH.
LIKE I'M JUST STARTING TO LEARN IT MYSELF.
I GUESS, TO USE THAT AS A METRIC, IT'S JUST THAT, UM, I THINK AS I SAID, I JUST ASSUMED LOOKING THROUGH THE DEMOGRAPHICS THAT THERE WOULD BE MORE FLUENCY.
UM, BUT IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO THE, UM, TO THE COMMITTEE, THEN THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT CAN BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
HEY, UM, SO I, I UNDERSTAND, UM, THE, THE BENEFITS OF HAVING, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WHO CAN, UH, SPEAK SPANISH, UH, THAT IS DEFINITELY, UM, USEFUL AND HELPFUL WHEN WE HOST MEETINGS.
BUT IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT REPRESENTATION, I WOULD FEEL, UH, OR I WOULD HOPE THAT THE THREE MEMBERS THAT ARE SELECTED THAT ARE IDENTIFY AS HISPANIC, LATINO WOULD BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WITH THAT COMMITTEE AND THAT, UH, SEGMENT OF THE POPULATION.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S MY, MY TAKE ON IT.
SO WHERE ARE WE GUYS? I MEAN, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP? CAN WE MOVE THIS THING? YEAH.
UH, COMMISSIONER LAN, IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE S WE'RE AT, UM, TWO CANDIDATES OR, UH, THE LAST, UH, PERSON TO JOIN THE COMMISSION.
WE ARE, UM, I'M GOING TO BUTCHER THE NAMES TOO.
UM, SO REFIS AND, UM, MCKERNAN ONE SOLACE AND I'VE HEARD REALLY GOOD POINTS ON, ON BOTH CANDIDATES.
UM, UH, SOMEONE, I JUST, I JUST WANT TO MENTION, YOU KNOW, AS SOMEONE WHO IDENTIFIES AS HISPANIC, I CAN NOT RELATE TO SOMEONE WHO WOULD SOLELY SPEAK SPANISH.
SO I KNOW THE LANGUAGE, UM, QUESTIONING WAS CON I WAS BROUGHT UP.
UH, THANK YOU, SARAH, FOR FIRST MENTIONING THAT YOU ARE FLUENT IN SPANISH, UH, FOR WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO DO IN-PERSON.
I THINK THAT MY IMPORTANT AND PRABHU, I KNOW YOU'VE PUT THE NAME UP FOR CONSIDERATION AT ALL TIMES, AND I WANT TO GIVE THAT SOME WEIGHT.
UM, I THINK RIGHT NOW WHERE I'M STUCK IS JUST SIMPLY THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATION, UM, THREE VERSUS FOUR, UM, AND THE FACT THAT, UM, PRABHU AND SHAMAN OF, UH, CHEYENNE, SHANA, SORRY, I'M GOING TO GET IT.
UM, SO, UH, HAVE BOTH PUT UP A NAME THAT IDENTIFIES ALSO AS ASIAN, UH, AND THERE IS A HEAVY ASIAN, UM,
[00:35:01]
MARK-UP ON THE COMMISSION AS WELL.SO EITHER CANDIDATE WE GO WITH, UH, I DON'T THINK ETHNICITY WILL BE AN ISSUE.
I THINK IT IS, UH, GENDER IDENTITY.
IT IS LANGUAGE AND IT IS DISTRICT.
SO I THINK AT LEAST WE'RE AT TWO, I DON'T KNOW IF WE WANT TO TAKE A VOTE ON THIS TO SEE WHERE WE'RE AT, AND THEN IF IT'S, UNFORTUNATELY, IF IT'S, I'M SORRY, LOUIS LOUISE, UM, COULD YOU CLARIFY, AND I'M SORRY IF I'M JUST NOT UNDERSTANDING, ARE WE SHORT ON PEOPLE IN DISTRICT FOUR OR THREE? IS THAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? UH, I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE'RE SHORT ON EITHER AND ACTUALLY, I DON'T KNOW RIGHT NOW, SO MAP THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE HELPFUL.
I KNOW WE HAVE A SPREADSHEET THAT SHOWS WHERE DISTRICTS WERE FROM.
UM, BUT THERE HAS BEEN CONVERSATIONS TO LEAVE OUT IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN DISTRICTS THAT ARE USUALLY UNDERREPRESENTED, UNDERREPRESENTED.
UM, WHEN WE HAVE COMMISSIONS LIKE THIS, AND I BELIEVE DISTRICT THREE HAD BEEN IDENTIFIED AS ONE OF THOSE DISTRICTS, UM, WHICH IS WILLING, SORRY.
YEAH, I WAS GOING TO SAY, UH, IF I COULD SHARE MY SCREEN, I HAVE, UH, THE, THE, UH, THE TABLE UP THAT WE CAN LOOK AT AND GENTLEMEN TO THE RESCUE, MAN, SHE LET HIM THE, I THINK WE FOUND OUR CHAIR.
AND THEN WHO WAS IT THAT WAS GOING TO SHARE THEIR SCREEN? UH, OKAY.
SO, UH, THIS IS OUR CURRENT 13, UM, BY ZIP CODE, BY DISTRICT, BY ETHNICITY AND BY GENDER.
UM, SO WE DO HAVE, UM, DISTRICT DISTRICT THREE.
WE DO HAVE ONE REPRESENTED HERE.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THE OVERALL ZIP CODE ARE PRETTY WELL REPRESENTED.
WELL, LET'S JUST LEAVE IT HERE.
AND THEN, UM, I GUESS I CAN, UH, THE TWO THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING, UM, I THINK IT WAS, SO THIS IS A POTENTIAL HERE.
SO I WENT AND MADE THIS, UH, THE AB.
AND WHAT WAS THE OTHER NAME? UM, GONZALO.
UH, IT WAS ALWAYS LIKE MCKIERNAN GONZALEZ.
YOU WANNA LOOK? IT LOOKS LIKE
BUT I'M GONNA JUST PUT THIS OVER HERE.
I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS LEVEL OF PIVOT TABLE SKILLS, UH, FOR LIKE 10 YEARS BEFORE ALL THE DATA ANALYTICS TOOLS WERE INVENTED.
I'M GOING TO JUST CHANGE THIS TUBE IN THE YES, BUT MAYBE SO WE CAN SEE WHAT WOULD LOOK LIKE WITH THE MAYBES THERE.
SAME THING WITH THIS SIDE THEN.
UH, YEAH, I'LL JUST DO IT OUT STUPID FOR THE REST OF YOU.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS SO EASY TO LOOK AT AND NO PROBLEM.
I WISH WEBEX HAD LIKE CHEMO EMOJIS.
YOU COULD SEND, YOU KNOW, LIKE SLACK OR WE'D ALL BE SENDING THE LITTLE HANDS TOGETHER A AS A THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, PRESIDENT DATA EXPERT VISUALIZATION, MATT, WE CAN'T HAVE 15 MEMBERS.
[00:40:01]
WE CAN SEE IT BETTER.I GUESS I'LL CHANGE THIS ONE AS WELL.
SO YEAH, WE CAN CONTINUE OUR DISCUSSION.
SO AT THIS POINT, AS WE'RE STARING AT THIS, SHOULD WE PUT IT UP FOR VOTE TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE VOTE FOR EITHER CANDIDATE? IS THAT A FAIR SYSTEM TO DO THAT? DO WE START THERE? IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE AT AN IMPASSE AND, YOU KNOW, THESIS IN THIS ALONG IS TO, UH, ASPECT AND ASK PEOPLE THAT VOTE FOR EACH CANDIDATE AND WE CAN TALLY UP THE VOTES AND DECIDE IF IT'S A TIE.
THEN WE GO FROM THERE, YOU KNOW, PAID YOU, GIVE US A SECOND.
CAUSE BOTH OF THE APPLICATIONS HAVE.
SO LIKE THEY JUST SEEM BOTH SO QUALIFIED.
WELL, I'M JUST WONDERING IF, IF WE COULD EITHER HAVE A SECOND OR MAYBE THE, EITHER LOOK AT THE APPLICATIONS TOGETHER.
I DIDN'T MEAN TO RUSH THE VOTE.
I JUST MEANT LIKE WE SHOULDN'T BE COME UP WITH SOME KIND OF PROCESS OF EITHER PULL UP.
UM, SELENA, WE CAN PULL UP BOTH APPLICANTS AND GIVE EVERYBODY A TWO MINUTES SILENT READ TOGETHER.
SO THE APPLICATIONS AND THEN WEEKENDS DO THAT.
MATTHEW, DO YOU, IS THERE A WAY FOR YOU TO PULL UP THOSE OR WE CAN ALL DO IT ON OUR OWN TIME.
SO FOR RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE DISTRICTS THREE AND FOUR.
EACH ONLY HAVE ONE THAT IS CORRECT.
I ALSO HAVE IT PULLED UP HERE.
WE WANT TO LOOK AT IT TOGETHER IF YOU WANT TO DIFFERENT.
UM, DO YOU GUYS NEED ME TO MAKE MY SCREEN BIGGER? YEAH.
SHOULD I MOVE TO THE NEXT CANDIDATE? OKAY.
[00:45:53]
YEAH.I WILL NOTE WHAT ON THIS APPLICATION, IT SEEMED LIKE HE GOT CUT OFF A BIT AND ONE OF HIS RESPONSES, IT'S UNFORTUNATE.
I WAS WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED THERE A SECOND.
I'M GETTING A, I'M ASSUMING YOU'RE TO ME, THIS IS THE SUPERIOR GUN.
I THOUGHT WE WERE JUST READING ABOUT THE CANDIDATES AT THIS POINT.
I DIDN'T THINK I THOUGHT WE WERE LOOKING AT IT AND DISCUSSING BOTH REALLY GOOD CANDIDATES.
IT'S IT'S UM, FOR ME, YOU KNOW, UM, I'LL SAY THIS, UM, HEY HON, DO YOU MIND LIKE, UH, IF WE DON'T SHARE ALL SAVINGS AGAIN, I THINK, AND I DON'T OFFER THIS LIGHTLY AND I SAY THIS WITH THE UTMOST SINCERITY WHEN I'M OFFERING THIS UP.
UM, IF WE DO THINK THAT THESE TWO CANDIDATES ARE QUALIFIED AND WE SHOULD ADD THEM IN AGAIN, I WILL STEP OUT TO THE STAGE.
I'M WILLING TO GIVE UP MY SEAT OR ONE OF THEM SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE A FULL FAITH.
I DO THINK THAT FOR ME, IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
AND I THINK ALL OF YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND I WILL PUT MY NAME UP FOR REPLACEMENT AND YOU CAN REPLACE IT.
WHAT A GOOD AND I OFFERED THAT AGAIN.
I DO THINK THAT THAT'S THE RIGHT REPRESENTATION THAT IS NEEDED.
WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT HOW WE HAVE A LOT OF REVISIONS ON THIS COMMITTEE.
I DON'T NEED TO BE ANOTHER VOICE.
WE ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF TECH PEOPLE ON THE COMMITTEE AND I'M WILLING TO STEP DOWN AND DO THIS TO BE HONEST WITH YOU ALL, I'LL SAY THAT I'M HAPPY TO DO THIS.
I'D SUGGEST WE PUT IT UP FOR A VOTE BEFORE YOU GIVE UP YOUR SEAT, PROBABLY.
UM, I'LL, I'LL ALSO, UM, SAY THAT I'LL, I'LL JOIN PROBABLY TWO, IF THAT IS THE CASE, I ALSO WOULDN'T MIND VOLUNTEERING MY POSITION AS WELL.
BUT CAN YOU BOTH CLARIFY, ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE SAME CANDIDATE THAT YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO GIVE UP YOUR SEAT FOR? FOR ME, YES.
I WOULD BE WILLING TO GET UP FOR WINTER.
UM, I THINK THEY'RE BOTH GOOD.
I I'D BE WILLING TO GIVE UP MY SEAT FOR, FOR EITHER IF THAT, IF THAT MEANS IT'S BETTER FOR THE COMMUNITY AND BETTER FOR AUSTIN, YOU KNOW? YEAH.
I, I APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU'RE YOU, NEITHER OF YOU ARE SAYING THAT LIGHTLY.
I JUST, I JUST WANT TO TAKE A VOTE ON THESE TWO CANDIDATES BEFORE IT'S INFLUENCED BY THE DECISION OF LIKE OTHER COMMISSION MEMBERS MAY STEP DOWN FOR A CANDIDATE.
UM, SO I REALLY THINK THAT AT THIS POINT WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO TAKE A VOTE GUYS.
SO IF EVERYONE'S OKAY WITH THAT, I THINK WE VOTE, UH, I THINK THE FIRST CANDIDATE JUST IN ALPHABETICAL
[00:50:01]
ORDER IS BHUTTO AS A REFOCUS AND MATT AND LISA, IF YOU COULD HELP US CAPTURE THE EYES OR THE, THIS VOTE, THAT'D BE APPRECIATED.UM, THE EYE VOTES FOR CANDIDATE
LET ME JUST GO DOWN THE LIST WHERE THE VERTICALLY BY LAST NAME.
SO FOR PLUTO SUFFERS, UM, CALLED THEIR OWN, UH, NAH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO SAY.
I, IS IT A NO OR BHUTTO GONZALEZ? UH, NATE HARDEN.
UM, WHAT WAS THAT? UM, I, YES, YES, YES, YES.
UH, NOW LET'S GO THROUGH FOR MCKIERNAN GONZALEZ, UM, CALLED HER ON YES.
SORRY, BUT NO, DON'T LET ME JUST SHOW THIS REAL QUICK SWAY OF, UM, OH, CAN YOU, UM, LET ME SHARE ABOUT IT.
OKAY, SO HERE'S OH, WAIT, DID I DO THAT RIGHT? THE VERBIAGE IS JUST CHECK THAT REAL QUICK AGREES WITH WHAT I RECORDED AS YOU WENT SAME HERE.
SO SIX POSTS FOR THE RUFUS AND SIX VOTES OVER MCKIERNAN GONZALEZ.
NO, I WAS JUST GOING TO, I APOLOGIZE.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE THE COMMENT, THE TAVERN ROUND UP THIS, THIS IS DIFFICULT.
I MEAN, THIS IS A DIFFICULT DECISION, SO I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO FEEL, YOU KNOW, THEY SEE SIX, SIX, AND THEY'RE LIKE, UGH.
I MEAN, AGAIN, I THINK I'M TORN BETWEEN, UH, GENDER REPRESENTATION AND DISTRICT REPRESENTATION, WHICH IS WHERE MY VOTE IS DEFINITELY SPLIT.
AND, UH, AGAIN WITH DISTRICT REPRESENTATION, I THINK, UH, MCKIERNAN GONZALEZ KIND OF FITS, UM, IN, IN MY THINKING, BUT A, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF WE WANT TO DO COIN TOSS.
WE HAVE A COMMISSIONER WHO'S NOT HERE AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEIR VOTE SHOULD BE, UH, ACCOUNTED FOR, UH,
[00:55:01]
MATT.UM, BUT I WILL LET SHAYNA, UM, SAY HER COMMENT.
UM, NO, I JUST WANTED TO QUICKLY SAY THAT FOR BOTH OF THE DISTRICTS, I'VE LOOKED UP ON THE, THE AUSTIN.GOV, AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV SITE FOR THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, THEY DO INCLUDE THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF EACH OF THE DISTRICTS AND BASED ON WHAT I'M SEEING, DISTRICT THREE AND FOUR HAVE VERY SIMILAR DEMOGRAPHICS.
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, FOUR HAS ABOUT 46.7%, UM, HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND THREE HAS 59.9%.
SO A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, ON THREE IN TERMS OF PERCENTAGE WISE.
UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT UP FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT REPRESENTATION IS IMPORTANT.
I THINK THAT OVERALL, THEY BOTH HAVE A PRETTY GOOD HISPANIC, LATINO COMMUNITY.
UM, AND JUST AGAIN, LIKE, I REALLY DON'T WANT TO SEE PEOPLE JUST DROPPING OUT JUST BECAUSE, UM, I RESPECT BOTH CANDIDATES, UM, AND THAT DIDN'T INFLUENCE MY VOTE, UM, IN ANY WAY.
UM, I THINK THAT THE DIVERSITY THAT WE HAVE ON THIS COMMISSION TO BEGIN WITH IS, IS VERY GOOD.
AND IT'S, IT'S GOOD TO HEAR EVERYONE'S OPINION.
SO PLEASE DON'T DO ANYTHING DRASTIC.
CAN I SAY SOMETHING HERE TOO? I JUST WANT TO SAY, LIKE, I AGREE WITH YOU DR.
LANDS THAT I THINK THAT MCCARRAN GONZALEZ AND I AGREE WITH EVERYBODY HERE THAT VOTED FOR HIM THAT HE IS BEYOND QUALIFIED, BUT I I'M JUST TORN, UH, WITH THE, THE GENDER REPRESENTATION.
UM, THAT'S JUST KIND OF WHERE I WAS STUCK.
NO, I'D LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING.
I BELIEVE THAT, UM, UH, I RESPECT EACH PERSON'S, UM, UH, POSITION ON THIS AND, UM, I, I DON'T DISAGREE WITH YOUR BASIS, BUT, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAID EARLIER IN OUR CONVERSATION IS THAT WE ONLY HAVE, WE HAVE A VERY LIMITED NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON THIS COMMISSION WHO IS FLUENT IN, IN SPANISH.
UH, AND I THINK THAT WE SHOULD NOT DISCOUNT A GROUP OF PEOPLE, UM, THAT, UM, THAT WE MAY NEED TO BE ABLE TO INTERPRET, UH, BEYOND AN INTERPRETER.
UH, AND I THINK THAT WE RAISE, WE ARE RAISING UP BY STRAW.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GENDER GENDERS CAN, CAN SPEAK ANY LANGUAGE.
UM, BUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A GROUP OF PEOPLE, THE HISPANICS MAKE UP A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE, AND I DON'T THINK THAT WE SHOULD DISCOUNT THEM.
AND I THINK WE'VE BEEN PRETTY, PRETTY, UM, UM, INTERESTING IN, UH, IN HOW WE'RE APPROACHING THIS.
I MEAN, WE WERE TRYING TO TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY, BUT WE'RE PUTTING THINGS INTO THE DIVERSITY EQUATION THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DIVERSITY IN A WAY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE'S LIVES AND WHERE THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY LIVE.
AND, UH, IF YOU CAN'T, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYONE, YOUR MISSION WHO CAN ENGAGE THEM, THEN I THINK THAT WE'VE BEEN SHORT-SIGHTED ANYWAY, THAT'S MY POSITION.
I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT.
I DON'T THINK ANYBODY'S TRYING TO DISCOUNT A HUGE SWATH OF THE POPULATION OR THE COMMUNITY, OR IN WAS TRYING TO SAY ONE IS LESS IMPORTANT OR MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OTHER.
I THINK THE POINTS WE'RE MAKING IS THAT WE WANT TO PULL IN THE DIVERSE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND I DON'T BELIEVE THAT SOMEONE SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING SPANISH IS NECESSARILY GOING TO COMPLETELY CHANGE THE DYNAMIC OF HOW WE WOULD MAKE DECISIONS.
I DON'T THINK LANGUAGE COUNTS IN THAT.
I THINK HOW WE THINK ABOUT IT, HOW DIVERSE WE ARE AND WHAT VOICES WE PULL IN, ALL OF THE CANDIDATES HERE ARE FAIRLY VARIABLE QUALIFIED TO BE ON THE COMMITTEE.
THEY'VE ALL SCORED WELL, THEY'VE ALL DONE REALLY GREAT THINGS.
SO, HEY, THIS, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE TO ANSWER THE POINT OF, I DON'T BELIEVE WE'RE TRYING TO MARGINALIZE OR SIDELINE ANY COMMUNITY.
SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS ON THE RECORD.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO AGREE WITH WHAT MR. LANDON SAID TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, LIKE, UM, AND DISAGREE A LITTLE BIT WITH, UH, WHAT MR. CANNON SAID THAT, UM, TO POINT EARLIER, LIKE IF YOU CAN'T SPEAK SPANISH, THEN YOU CANNOT REALLY COMMUNICATE OR UNDERSTAND WHAT A HUGE PERCENTAGE OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE CITY ARE EXPERIENCING.
I'LL GIVE YOU A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE.
THE FOLKS IN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KOSSAR'S DISTRICT STILL DON'T HAVE WATER, STILL DON'T HAVE ELECTRICITY.
THEY'RE LIVING WITH MOLD IN THEIR APARTMENTS BECAUSE THE LANDLORDS DON'T WANT TO FIX IT.
AND YOU CAN'T REALLY FULLY UNDERSTAND THE EXPERIENCES THAT SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH, UNLESS YOU DO SPEAK SPANISH.
UM, I'VE BEEN LIVING IN THE SAME DISTRICT.
UH, SINCE I MOVED TO AUSTIN, I LIVED
[01:00:01]
IN APARTMENTS.MOST OF MY NEIGHBORS DIDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH AND THEY WORKED IN JOBS THAT ONLY BECAME ESSENTIAL OR CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL.
ONCE THE PANDEMIC STARTED, THEY HAD A TOTALLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE THAN I HAD.
AND I'LL BE HONEST, LIKE ONLY BECAUSE I SPEAK SPANISH, COULD I REALLY UNDERSTAND EVEN A FRACTION OF WHAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH? AND SO LIKE, I'M NOT TRYING TO SWAY EITHER WAY, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU SAY, OH, LIKE WE'LL, WE'LL SPEAK IN SPANISH, ISN'T GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF REPRESENTATION.
AND HISTORICALLY IN THE CITY, GIVEN THE ENCODED LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES, THE CITY HAS HAD TO, UM, SEGREGATE PEOPLE BASED ON WHO THEY ARE, UM, WHICH IS KIND OF WHY WE'RE HERE NOW.
I THINK IT'S, UM, A LITTLE BIT MISGUIDED TO SAY THAT, UM, I, UH, THAT'S IT, YOU KNOW, I JUST KINDA WANTED TO ADDRESS THAT SPECIFIC ISSUE.
SORRY, CHRISTINA, GIVE ME ONE SECOND.
I WANT TO ANSWER SPECIFICALLY TO WHAT SHE SAID.
UH, ALL, ALL THE FLORIDA, YOU PROMISE SARAH SAY THIS.
IF SPEAKING SPANISH SEEMS THAT IMPORTANT TO BE ON THIS COMMITTEE OR TO QUALIFY TO BE ON THE COMMITTEE, I WILL OFFER THIS UP.
I DO NOT WANT US TO WASTE A LOT OF TIME.
I DON'T THINK THAT I QUALIFY CAUSE I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH AND I DON'T THINK I WOULD IDENTIFY OR TO YOUR POINT.
I DON'T THINK I WOULD UNDERSTAND THAT BECAUSE I DON'T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE.
AND SO I'M SAYING THIS VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.
I DO NOT WANT TO CONTINUE TO WASTE THIS COMMISSION'S TIME, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO TO PICK ALL.
I'LL LET YOU GUYS KNOW, REPLACED MY C AND YOU CAN HAVE THE SPANISH REPRESENTATION AND THE DIVERSITY THAT I THINK SHOULD BE ON THIS DIMENSION AND WE CAN BE DONE WITH THIS.
I REALLY DO NOT WANT US TO WASTE MORE TIME ON THIS.
UM, SO I WANT TO BRING ATTENTION TO, UM, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AND THE INTENTION BEHIND IT, AND THE REASON THAT COMMISSIONS LIKE THIS EXIST, UM, AND THAT IS BASED IN RACIAL SEGREGATION.
UM, AND THAT IS RACIAL SEGREGATION AGAINST BLACK AMERICANS AND AGAINST HISPANIC AMERICANS.
SO I COMPLETELY LIKE IT RESONATES DEEPLY WITH ME THAT YOU CARE ABOUT GENDER REPRESENTATION.
UM, BUT VOTING RIGHTS AND THE WAY THAT DISTRICTS ARE DRAWN, UM, DOES NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO DO WITH GENDER.
IT HAS TO DO WITH RACE AND POLITICAL AFFILIATION.
SO I THINK THAT THOSE NEED TO BE AT THE TOP OF MIND WHEN WE'RE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION.
OKAY, JUST TO FIX THEIR VOTING RIGHTS, AFFECT ALL PEOPLE.
I DON'T, I DON'T ASSOCIATE MYSELF WITH WHITE BROWN OR BLACK I'M INDIAN AMERICAN, AND ALL THESE THINGS ALSO AFFECT ME AND THE COMMUNITY I REPRESENT.
IT'S NOT, I WANT TO BE A PROBLEM WITH LATINOS OR BLACK PEOPLE OR WHITE PEOPLE OR PEOPLE THAT SPEAK SPANISH OR PEOPLE THAT DON'T SPEAK SPANISH.
IT AFFECTS EVERYONE AS SOMEONE THAT IMMIGRATED TO THIS COUNTRY AND I'VE SPENT TIME HERE.
IT AFFECTS ME AS MUCH AS IT AFFECTS THE SECOND PERSON NEXT TO ME, IT'S, I'D HOPE THAT WE WOULD NOT GET INTO THIS TYPE OF REQUIREMENT STATION, BUT SINCE YOU'VE MADE THAT STATEMENT, SIR, LET ME BE SURE YOU'RE CLEAR ON SOMETHING.
UH, MY PEOPLE WERE NOT, DID NOT IMMIGRATE HERE.
WE WERE RAPED FROM NO, NO, I AM.
THIS IS NOT USEFUL OR PRODUCTIVE PLEASE.
HOW DOES THAT WORK? YOU KNOW, I DO NOT WANT TO BE PART OF THIS.
IF YOU ARE NOT WANTING TO BE PART OF THIS, THIS IS JUST PART OF IT.
YOU ARE, OH, LET ME LOOK AT YOU.
AND THEN JUST REAL QUICK, HEY, LISA, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO TRY AND GET, UM, ARROW HARDEN, UM, TO CALL HIM AND SEE IF HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO JOIN? AND HE IS IN A, A WORK.
ARE YOU, ARE WE JUST HOPING FOR A TIE BREAKER? YEAH, I THINK SO.
I WAS, I WAS GOING TO SUGGEST A TIE BREAKER.
I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO, I KNOW PEOPLE WERE SPEAKING AND I HATE TO JUMP IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, BUT, BUT I WOULD AGREE WITH BOTH ENDS.
I DON'T THINK THIS CONVERSATION IS HELPING US GET TO THE, TO THE POINT
[01:05:01]
OF OUR MEETING TODAY.I, AND I'M SORRY, I'M VERY TRANSACTIONAL PERSON.
I'M LIKE, THERE'S STUFF ON THE AGENDA.
LET'S GET TO IT, BUT I WANT TO KNOW, I WANT TO PULL HOW EVERYONE WOULD, YOU KNOW, IF WE GET A TIEBREAKER VOTE, I HATE TO PUT THE PRESSURE ON, ON COMMISSIONER MARTIN, BUT WHATEVER WE CAN BE.
WHATEVER THAT HE CAME BACK WITH AND IT WOULD BE A TIEBREAKER.
WE ALLOW THE COMMISSIONER WHO WAS ABSENT TODAY TO VOTE AND WE'RE, WE ARE FINE WITH THE DECISION THAT IS, THAT IS MADE.
I WAS JUST SAYING IT'S NOT FAIR.
UM, CAN I JUST CLARIFY ONE MORE THING? UM, IN CASE WE DON'T GET THE OTHER, UM, COMMISSIONER, UM, I DON'T THINK ANYONE HAS, UM, ABSTAINED FROM VOTING, RIGHT? WE ARE ALLOWED TO ABSTAIN.
UM, PERSONALLY, THIS IS NOT THE HUGEST DEAL IN THE WORLD FOR ME.
LIKE, I REALLY AM HONORED TO BE HERE, FLATTERED THAT WE GOT TO DO THIS, YOU KNOW, BEFORE I CAME TO UT, I WAS AT ACC STUDENT.
I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND HOW THINGS CAN GET, UM, A LITTLE BIT HEATED.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S GOOD THAT PEOPLE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS SORT OF THING, BUT IF NEED BE, I'LL JUST ABSTAIN.
AND, UM, HOPEFULLY THAT WILL, UH, PUT A NATURAL TIE BREAK.
UM, I REALLY DON'T MIND AND I WOULD LOVE TO CONTINUE SEEING THE REST OF US HERE AND NOT DOING ANYTHING DRASTIC.
UM, I THINK THAT THEY'RE BOTH GOOD CANDIDATES, SO I'M OKAY WITH EITHER ONE.
AND THAT'S HOW I'LL ABSTAIN PHARAOH.
IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND LOOK.
IT WOULD SHE HAVE TO CANCEL IT BECAUSE SHE OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T ABSTAIN.
I MEAN, AT THIS POINT WHERE IT'S, UM, I, I THINK THE VOTES, LIKE A STRAW POLL VOTE, YOU KNOW, LIKE GO TO, UM, I DON'T THINK, CAUSE YOU'RE ALL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE WHICH ONE BETWEEN THE TWO.
AND THEN ONCE YOU'VE FIGURED THAT OUT THEN, LIKE AN OFFICIAL MOTION WOULD BE MADE SOMEBODY WOULD SECOND AD AND THEN WE'D GO TO THE, THE ROLL CALL VOTE TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL.
UM, I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT MY HEAD LIKE, UH, UH, LIKE OPTIONS FOR, FROM MOVING FORWARD.
SO, SO I GUESS WHAT I'VE HEARD IS, UM, YOU KNOW, AS COMMISSIONER HARDENED, UM, THAT WOULD REQUIRE AN ADDITIONAL MEETING.
CAUSE HE'D HAVE TO GO DURING THE MEETING.
UM, ANOTHER OPTION WOULD BE, UM, THE TIRE BRAKE, WHICH MIGHT'VE BEEN, WHAT Y'ALL MET WITH COMMISSIONER HARDEN, UM, UH, SOMEBODY EXPLAINING AND THEN SOMEBODY DROPPING OFF.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S OTHER, IF THERE'S OTHER OPTIONS FOR MOVING FORWARD, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION IF IT'S APPROPRIATE AT THIS TIME.
I MOVE THAT, UM, THAT WE BRING, UH, M GONZALEZ IS IT MCKAREN GONZALEZ AND AS THE, UM, THE CANDIDATE OF CHOICE, IF I COULD GET A SECOND.
SO COMMISSIONER LANDS AND EMOTION TO ADD MCCARRAN AND GONZALEZ TO THE COMMISSION.
AND THEN WHO SECONDED IT, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME, CHRISTINA.
WE HAVE A TIE BREAKER EITHER THAT BREAKS WITH ANOTHER PERSON VOTING, OR IF IT'S SOMEONE ABSTAINING RIGHT NOW WITH THE MOTION, IS THAT CORRECT? I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO THEM AND SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE VOTE.
AND IF I GET SUPPORT FOR IT, THAT'S WHY THIS IS A TIE.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE PASSING THEM OUT OF SESSION.
WHEN WE HAVE A TIE, UNLESS WE BREAK THE TIE, WE'RE ABLE TO REBOOT.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS IS.
AND I BELIEVE IF YOU TAKE THE VOTE, UH, THE TIE BREAK WOULD BE BASED ON, UH, COMMISSIONER COMBO ABSTAINING, IF THAT'S WHAT SHE WOULD LIKE TO DO.
I THOUGHT WE WERE, WE COULDN'T DO THAT.
MATTHEW, DID I MISUNDERSTAND THAT? I KNOW YOU CAN DO THAT.
UM, UH, SO THEN THE WAY THE ROBERT'S RULES
[01:10:01]
WORK IN THE SITUATION AND, UM, I'VE GOT, SOMETIMES I COME BACK TO LIKE, YO GUYS, ARE THEY INDEPENDENT CITIZENS, RESISTING COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, IOWA FOR THE CAPITAL.I, UM, BUT NORMALLY HOW IT WORKS SO MANY MIXED EMOTIONS, SOMEBODY SECONDS, UM, THERE'S DISCUSSION AND THEN THERE'S A VOTE.
AND THEN THAT, THAT, UM, THAT ACTION'S RECORDED CLARIFYING CALL THE MOTION.
SO THE MOTION MADE TO ADD MCKIERNAN GONZALEZ, THE COMMISSION SECONDED BY PRISTINA
I CUT OUT IT CUT OUT FOR JUST A SECOND.
SO WE'RE VOTING ON ADDING MCKIERNAN GONZALEZ TO THE ICRC.
LEE, NO MORRIS, UH, ONE QUESTION BEFOREHAND.
UH, SO WE'RE NOT VOTING ON THE SECOND CANDIDATE THEN RIGHT NOW, THE MOTION'S BEEN MADE TO ADD MCKIERNAN GONZALEZ TO THE ICRC R OKAY.
SO THAT PUTS SIX YESES, ONE, TWO, THREE ABSTAINS, THREE NOS, AND THEN ONE PERSON I'M SENT, UM, LET'S SHOW MY SCREEN REAL QUICK JUST TO RAISE.
UM, THINK I'M ACTUALLY HAVE TO CHECK WITH FLAW ON THIS.
CAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT TAKES NINE VOTES FOR Y'ALL TO DO SOMETHING.
UM, NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, I BELIEVE YOU'RE RIGHT.
NOT, UM, YEAH, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS FOR THIS ICRC, WITH THE MEMBERSHIP AT 14, NINE IS A QUORUM AND IT TAKES NINE VOTES TO DO SOMETHING, BUT I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE'S MEMBERSHIP OF 13.
UM, SO THE MEMBERSHIP IS 14 AND THAT DOESN'T CHANGE REGARDLESS OF WHO IS HERE TODAY.
UM, AND THE VOTE TOO DOES NEED TO BE NINE, UH, THAT IT'S LIKE THE SUPER MAJORITY, WHICH I THINK IS WHY THEY CHOSE 14 AS THE NUMBERS.
SO YEAH, I THINK IT'S DOESN'T CHANGE.
NO, I DON'T THINK IT CHANGES THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE.
THAT'S REQUIRED THOUGH, FOR A VOTE.
SO THEN I GUESS THAT'S STILL LEAVES US AT 13 MEMBERS.
[01:15:06]
LISA, IS THAT YOUR UNDERSTANDING? SORRY.UM, THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD.
OH, I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE 14TH MEMBER.
A BOY, I THINK IN THAT CASE YOU WOULD, I THINK IT'S STILL, UH, YOU NEED A MAJORITY OF SEVEN AND I DO THINK THAT LAW NEEDS TO WEIGH IN ON THIS BECAUSE I DON'T, I CAN'T SPEAK WITH AUTHORITY EVEN, BUT IT DOESN'T APPEAR TO ME THAT WE HAVE A SIMPLE MAJORITY EITHER.
DID I MISS COUNT? UM, THE POLITICAL GUN SUPPLE CHECK, MAKE SURE WE HEARD EVERYBODY'S VOTE CORRECTED THE QUARTER CORRECTLY.
SO SAY ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, SIX YESES, THREE ABSTAINS THREE.
THERE WAS NO, NO, NO THREE NOS.
THAT WOULD BE IN A SEPARATE MEETING BECAUSE THAT THE PERSON MUST BE PRESENT TO VOTE.
AND DON'T A LOT OF US ARE ACTION-ORIENTED AND I KNOW THIS STANDARD, I KNEW EACH OTHER AND THIS IS NOT VERY PRODUCTIVE.
AND I'LL SAY THIS, AND I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF FEELINGS IN THE QUESTIONS.
UH, UH, AT LEAST MAYBE YOU CAN HELP US HERE IF WE HAVE THE, UH, 14TH PERSON VOTING, HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD THAT NEED TO FORM A MAJORITY? JUST SO WE UNDERSTAND OR WHERE WE STAND.
RIGHT? LIKE, DO WE STILL NEED, IF WE HAD 14 PEOPLE, WE WOULD STILL NEED THE NINE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR ONE CANDIDATE FOR HIM TO BREAK THE TIRE.
THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, IS THAT YOUR UNDERSTANDING? YES, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, BUT I CAN VERIFY THAT WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT.
SO WHAT 14, EIGHT WOULD BE THE SIMPLE MAJORITY? WELL, NO, IT'S NOT A S SORRY.
A EIGHT WOULD BE THE SIMPLE MAJORITY, BUT I THINK I DO BELIEVE YOU NEED NINE ONE MORE THAN A SIMPLE MAJORITY.
ARE THERE, UH, THIS IS A CTM OVER AT CITY HALL.
I SEE YOU HAVE A CALL END USER WITH THE FIVE ONE TWO, FIVE 71 NUMBER.
UM, IF YOU COULD IDENTIFY YOURSELF FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE.
SO, UH,
I KNOW PROBABLY GETTING THE NUMBER.
WELL, UM, I'LL VERIFY WITH THAT WITH A LOT DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND TO THINK RIGHT NOW WE MOVE FORWARD WITH 13.
UH, WE STARTED, OH, WE FIGURED OUT A REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING AND, UM, WE JUST START MOVING FORWARD.
AND THEN AT THE NEXT MEETING, WE CAN BRING THIS UP AGAIN.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY EARL PARDON CAN BE HERE AS WELL IN, UH, IN WEIGH IN AND MATTHEW, IF WE DON'T GET TO THE OLD 14, CAN WE ACTUALLY DO ANY WORK OR BE STUCK BECAUSE WE HAVE 13 PEOPLE, WE CAN'T COMPLETE THE WORK CUT UP AHEAD OF US.
THE WORKFORCE SUPPOSED TO DO IS WAY MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY OF US IS MY UNDERSTANDING.
AT LEAST THIS WAY I THINK ABOUT THIS IS IT'S BIGGER THAN ALL OF US INDIVIDUALLY, AND THE WORK IS IMPORTANT.
SO CAN WE WORK AS A COMMITTEE WITH 13 MEMBERS OR DO WE NEED THE 14TH PERSON TO MOVE FORWARD HERE? UH, I'LL TALK WITH LAW ON THAT.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE AT 14, THAT THE CHARTER LANGUAGE IS PRETTY SPECIFIC ON THAT.
SO IF SOMEBODY DROPS OFF FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE REMAINING MEMBERS ARE SUPPOSED TO APPOINT A NEW REPLACEMENT MEMBER WITHIN 15 DAYS.
UM, BUT I'LL, I'LL VERIFY THAT.
AND THEN FOR YOU GUYS TO TAKE ACTION
[01:20:01]
FOR THE CHARTER, IT TAKES NINE VOTES.I'M JUST LIKE IT TAKES NINE VOTES OR NINE PEOPLE AT A TO QUALIFY AS A QUORUM TO ACTUALLY HOLD THAT MEETING.
SO I GUESS THE CLARIFICATION WOULD BE, CAN WE FUNCTION AS A 13 AND WILL NINE STILL BE THE RIGHT NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR A SPECIFIC INITIATIVE BEFORE WE CAN MOVE FORWARD? AND WHAT HAPPENS IF WE'RE AS A, AS THIS COMMISSION, UNABLE TO COME TO A DECISION ON THE 14TH MEMBER, RIGHT.
IT FEELS LIKE, UM, BUT I THINK SOME CLARIFICATION SPECIFICALLY AROUND THAT WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND.
I'LL DEFINITELY FIND THAT OUT.
AND THEN AGAIN, I WANT TO STATE THIS, I THINK WE'RE JUST MEETING FOR THE FIRST TIME AND I KNOW WE'RE ALL TALKING, BUT, UM, I, AGAIN, I WANT TO STATE THIS FOR EVERYONE TO SAY MY GOAL OR MY PURPOSE HERE WASN'T TO TALK AGAINST ANYONE OR UNDERMINE ANY ONE COMMUNITY OR, UH, SPEAKERS OF THE LANGUAGE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
APOLOGIES IF THAT WAS AN INTENTIONAL, UH, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FIND MIDDLE GROUND HERE.
LIKE EVERY ONE OF US, WE'RE ALL HERE TO WORK TOGETHER AND DO GREAT WORK.
SO, UH, AGAIN, NOT TRYING TO CALL ANYONE OUT SPECIFICALLY, IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT.
SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I HAVEN'T HURT ANYONE'S FEELINGS ON ACCIDENT, AND I'M NOT HERE TO DIG INTO THE PAST OR WHATEVER.
I WANT TO FOCUS ON THE FUTURE OF THE PRESENT TODAY.
AND, UM, MR. JUKIN, CAN YOU GIVE A DEADLINE FOR WHEN WE NEED TO DECIDE ON A MEMBER? UM, AND ALSO DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS NEXT TIME? I'M NOT SURE WHEN THAT'S, UM, ARE WE JUST GOING TO PICK UP DIRECTLY FROM HERE? I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE BASED ON RULES TO CHANGE IT.
LIKE I'M, I AM OPEN TO ANYBODY.
LIKE, EVEN IF WE HAD TO FORGET THESE TWO AND PICK SOMEBODY ELSE, SO THAT WAY PEOPLE ARE NOT FIGHTING.
I JUST SORTA WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S THE DEADLINE HERE.
LIKE WHEN DO WE HAVE TO DECIDE THIS? BECAUSE I'D RATHER WE JUST MOVE FORWARD.
SO THE CHART SAYS IF SOMEBODY DROPS OFF THE COMMISSION, FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE REMAINING COMMISSIONER HAS A 15 DAYS TO, UM, PICK A REPLACEMENT.
UM, SO I THINK YOU ALREADY HAD THIS MEETING TODAY TO TRY AND DO THAT.
UM, ALTHOUGH WE COULDN'T DO IT, YOU KNOW, WE SCHEDULED ANOTHER MEETING AND TRY AND DO IT AGAIN.
I FEEL LIKE THAT'S STILL WITHIN THE SPIRIT OF THE CHARTER.
THIS IS REALLY FROM THE PHONE.
CAN I MAKE A SUGGESTION? UM, BEFORE WE PROCEED, I, UM, WOULD REALLY LIKE, I MEAN, IT, AGAIN, BOTH, BOTH ARE GREAT CANDIDATES, BOTH, UH, FIX AND FIX VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THE CANDIDATE THAT THEY WOULD SUGGEST TO THE COMMISSION.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, COMMISSIONER HARDEN IS NOT HERE, BUT IF EVERYONE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN MAKE A MOTION.
SO EVERYONE IS AGREEMENT ON THIS.
UM, IF WE WORK, STICK WITH THE ORIGINAL VOTE, WHICH WERE SIX AND SIX AND WE HAD COMMISSIONER AND WE HAD COMMISSIONER HARDEN TAKE THE TIME, UH, UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS MEETING DATE THAT WE ARE AT TO CANDIDATE COME BACK TO OUR NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING.
AND OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS TO VOTE AGAIN WITH, WITH COMMISSIONER HARDEN, WOULD EVERYONE BE SATISFIED AND, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY MOVE FORWARD BASED ON THAT BOOK, THAT WHICH WOULD BE FED AND FIXED.
I THINK LOUISE, THE, THE, WE HAVE TO GET NINE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR ONE CANDIDATE FOR US DECISION.
I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S AS SIMPLE AS ONE PERSON BREAKING A TIE.
I CAN JUST READ IT STRAIGHT FROM THE CHARTER SECTION, J NUMBER TWO, ANY VACANCY CREATED BY REMOVAL, RESIGNATION OR ABSENCE IN THE 14 COMMISSIONED POSITIONS SHALL BE FILLED BY THE COMMISSIONER WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER THE VACANCY OCCURS FROM THE REMAINING POOL OF APPLICANTS AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS OF SITUATION, THREE L EIGHT, NINE MEMBERS MUST AGREE TO ANY APPOINTMENT.
BESIDES MYSELF, THERE WAS SOMEONE ELSE ON THE CALL THAT DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE CANDIDATES PRIOR TO THE CALL.
AND I HAVE THE SAME QUESTION AS SHAYNA.
UM, IF WE WERE ALL REVOLTING, ARE WE REVOLTING ON THESE SAME TWO PEOPLE OR ARE WE JUST RE NOMINATING THEM TO STARTING ALL OVER? THAT WOULD BE APPEAL.
IF YOU WANTED TO STICK WITH THESE TWO, YOU COULD, IF YOU WANTED TO BRING UP OTHER NAMES, YOU COULD.
AND, AND I THINK THE ONLY THING I'D LIKE TO CALL OUT FOR SHANNON WHO MADE A COMMENT ABOUT SIDING, I SHANE, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I DON'T THINK THIS IS NECESSARILY FIGHTING.
I THINK CONFLICT IS A NECESSARY PART OF COMING TO A CONCLUSION, AND I THINK WE CAN'T NECESSARILY SHY AWAY FROM IT, BUT I DO AGREE WITH YOU THAT WE DON'T WANT TO CONSTANTLY BE IN CONFLICT
[01:25:01]
EITHER, BUT SOMETIMES CONFLICT IS NECESSARY TO, UH, BREAK, TO FIND BREAKTHROUGHS.SO I DON'T BELIEVE WE SHOULD ALWAYS SHY AWAY FROM IT.
CONFLICT IS GOOD, AS LONG AS IT'S MANAGED CONFLICT AND IT'S IN THE RIGHT INTERESTS AND PEOPLE ARE COMING AT IT OBJECTIVELY AND IN A FAIR MANNER.
SO I CAN MAKE, TO MAKE SURE TO CALL THAT OUT.
I DON'T BELIEVE THIS IS FIGHTING, BUT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HIT A LOT OF TOPICS THAT A LOT OF US ARE GOING TO BE PASSIONATE ABOUT.
AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF DISCUSSION AND DEBATE ON WHAT THE RIGHT THING TO DO WAS, AND THERE ISN'T NECESSARILY A RIGHT OR A WRONG ANSWER IN ANY OF THIS.
SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE AND, AND ACCEPT THE FACT THAT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO TALK THROUGH SOME OF THESE HARD TOPICS.
AND THIS ISN'T EASY FOR ANY OF US.
AND I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S JUST ABOUT, YOU SHOULD DO THIS, OR YOU SHOULD DO THAT.
I THINK THIS WILL BE THE BASIS OF HOW WE WORK TOGETHER AS A TEAM AND AS A COMMITTEE.
SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO TAKE THE TIME NOW AND PROCESS ALL OF THIS NOW SO THAT WE CAN GO FASTER LATER.
I THINK GOOD FOR US TO GO SLOW NOW TO GO FAST LATER.
SO I JUST WANT TO SAVE THAT FOR YOU AT ALL.
I DON'T SEE THIS AS NECESSARILY NEGATIVE.
I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT PART OF US COMING TOGETHER AND BUILDING COMMON LANGUAGE AND HOW WE THINK ABOUT BIG, IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT AFFECT THE BIG SWEATERS AS COMMUNITY.
I THINK WE HAVE A HUGE RESPONSIBILITY AND WE NEED TO BUILD COMMON GROUND.
WE DON'T HAVE IT AND IT'S NORMAL, BUT WE'VE ALL COME HERE.
SO THE FIRST TIME WE'VE LOGGED IN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LOTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
EACH OF US PASSIONATE ABOUT SOME THINGS THAT WE CARE ABOUT.
AND SO THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PROCESS, IN MY OPINION.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S A GOOD NOTE TO CONSIDER FOR NEXT TIME IS MAYBE ESTABLISHING SOME, SOME RULES ON DECORUM AND GENERAL WAVE.
YOU KNOW, HOW WE DISCUSS, I DON'T KNOW HOW, OH, SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
I THINK I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW FRUITFUL IT WOULD BE TO COME AND VOTE ON THE SAME TWO PEOPLE AGAIN, UM, KIND OF BEEN THERE, DONE THAT TODAY.
SHOULD THE NEWER, THE NEW COMMISSIONERS PUT FORTH, UH, PERHAPS THREE.
UH, I WOULD JUST AGREE WITH HER AND I KNOW SELENA, YOU MENTIONED THIS EARLIER ABOUT THAT.
UM, UM, YOU SAID THAT, UH, YOU DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO REVIEW THEM SELENA.
SO I AGREE WITH ERIN, LIKE, WHY DON'T WE JUST COME BACK NEXT TIME WITH, YOU KNOW, THREE TO SIX PEOPLE AND WE CAN TRY THE PROCESS OVER WITH THAT.
I MEAN, I THINK JUST TAKE A LOOK FRESH, NEW EYES, FRESH, UM, OPINIONS.
UM, HOPEFULLY WE'LL ALL BE AT THE MEETING.
UH, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD WAY TO START THE NEXT MEETING.
I'M GOING TO MUTE BECAUSE MY KIDS ARE GOING CRAZY.
IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'LL JUST QUICKLY SAY SOMETHING I HOPE.
I'M ALSO PRONOUNCED YOUR NAME CORRECTLY.
UM, YEAH, JUST BASED ON WHAT YOU SAID, I'M SORRY IF I USE THAT WORD I'M I MISSPOKE BY USING A WORD LIKE THAT.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT CONFLICT HAPPENS.
AS I SAID, I'VE DONE STUDENT GOVERNMENT BEFORE I ACTUALLY HAVE A COPY OF ROBERT ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER THAT I'M TRYING TO REFRESH AND KIDS, ANYONE WANTS TO LEARN ABOUT THAT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, AT THE SAME TIME, I KNOW THAT IF WE KEEP GOING ON AND ON, WHEN ARE GOING TO GET TO WHERE WE WANT TO BE, UM, EVEN THOUGH YOU SAY, LET'S GO SLOW NOW, AND THEN WE GO FAST.
BUT I THINK THE, THE NEXT PART AFTER WE GET THE COMMISSION IS GOING TO BE HARDER, TO BE HONEST.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NEVER MET THESE PEOPLE.
I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT OTHER TALENTS THEY HAVE LANGUAGES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW OF.
UM, SO I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS THERE.
UM, AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THINK THAT ANY OF THOSE 60 CANDIDATES ON THE LIST THAT YOU KNOW, ARE QUALIFIED.
UM, THOSE OF US WHO ARE AMONG THAT, IT'S, IT REALLY SHOULDN'T BE THE HUGEST DEAL FOR ME.
SO IF WE NEED TO PICK FROM A NEW SET OF NAMES, I THINK WE SHOULD DO THAT AS WELL.
UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S REALLY, I GUESS, UP TO THE RULES OF THIS COMMISSION.
I DON'T THINK TYPICALLY I'VE BEEN AT A MEETING WHERE WE'VE NECESSARILY, UH, RECANTED A VOTE.
LIKE USUALLY WE WILL, YOU KNOW, MAYBE TABLE SOMETHING AND MOVE TO THE NEXT TIME, BUT USUALLY MEETINGS, WE TRY TO RESOLVE IT, BUT IF WE NEED TO WAIT UNTIL SOMEBODY ELSE COMES, THAT'S FINE WITH ME.
I JUST THINK THAT WE REALLY NEED TO WRAP IT UP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
[01:30:02]
OKAY.SO MOVING FORWARD, WHAT I'M HEARING IS THE, THE NEWER MEMBERS WILL GO BACK AND REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS AND PICK THEIR TOP THREE TO SIX, SEND THOSE TO ME.
AND IN OUR NEXT MEETING, WE CAN DISCUSS THOSE CANDIDATES AGAIN, TO FIGURE OUT WHO WE WANT TO ADD TO THE COMMISSION.
NOW WE'LL KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
I BELIEVE FOLKS WANTED TO MEET IN THE EVENINGS.
AND IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, IT WAS WEDNESDAY EVENINGS, AND THURSDAY EVENINGS WERE THE TIMES THAT WORKED FOR MOST OF THE, OF THE FIRST EIGHT.
UM, SO I'LL SEND OUT THAT POLL QUESTION AGAIN TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT WHICH WHAT'S THE BEST TIME FOR MOST PEOPLE TO MEET.
AND THEN, UM, I'M GONNA WORK WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE TO ESTABLISH A REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE AND TIME.
SO WE KINDA KEEP THAT ON THE CALENDAR MOVING FORWARD.
AND WE, WE KNOW IT AND THE COMMUNITY KNOWS IT AS WELL.
UM, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF THINGS, A LOT TO TALK ABOUT.
I'LL ALSO PUT ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT TIME, UM, UH, SELECTION OF A INTERIM CHAIR AND OUR INTERIM VICE CHAIR.
AND THEN I'LL KIND OF LET, Y'ALL HAVE LIKE ONE POINT OF CONTACT, UH, ONE PERSON TO RUN THE MEETINGS, UM, SO ON AND SO FORTH.
UM, MAYBE LET THEM DO THAT FOR A BIT.
AND THEN, UM, UH, AND THAT FOLKS CAN VOTE ON A PERMANENT CHAIR ON A PERMANENT VICE CHAIR, PERFECTLY THAT MIGHT HELP WITH, UM, MOVING THINGS ALONG, ESPECIALLY WITH THE HIRING OF YOUR STAFF OR A LAWYER AND A MAPPING CONSULTANT OR THE OTHER ONE I WANT TO ANSWER.
AND I'LL SEND THIS OUT A QUESTION CAME UP, CAN WE TALK TO EACH OTHER AS COMMISSIONERS? OKAY.
SO IT'S A INTERNET, OF COURSE, IT'S ONE OF THOSE ANSWERS THAT IT'S YES.
SO AS FAR AS YOU GUYS COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER AND THE ANSWER IS YES, IF IT IS LESS THAN A QUORUM, AND THIS IS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUTSIDE OF YOUR MEETINGS, UM, IF IT'S A QUORUM OR MORE, NO, YOU CANNOT COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER BECAUSE THAT WOULD VIOLATE THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
UH, SO YOU CAN COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER, IF A SUB QUORUM SALISSA NINE, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL CAUSE IT DOESN'T TURN INTO A WALKING QUORUM WHERE PEOPLE ARE FORWARDING EMAILS OR KIND OF DOING A DAISY CHAIN COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, THEN YOU GET INTO TROUBLE AND YOU REACH A QUORUM.
SO IF YOU WANT TO CONNECT WITH OTHER MEMBERS, SHE CAN JUST MAKE SURE, BE VERY CLEAR THAT YOU ARE NOT DELIBERATING ANYTHING OR DECIDING ANYTHING.
UM, AND IT ABSOLUTELY HAS TO BE LESS THAN A QUORUM.
NOT WE'D SPOKEN LAST TIME ABOUT, UH, THE EMAIL ISSUE HAS ANYTHING COME OF THAT.
I BET THE INSTRUCTIONS AND I'LL SEND US OUT ON HOW TO GET THAT ENOUGH SET UP FOR, UM, FOR EACH OF Y'ALL.
SO LET'S JUST GO AROUND REAL QUICK, LIKE WE DID AT THE LAST MEETING AND UM, IF ANYBODY'S GOT ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR CONCERNS, UM, YOU HAVE THOSE, LET'S SEE, I'M GOING TO DO LUIS FIRST, SINCE YOU'RE ON THE PHONE.
NO, IT'S MY FAULT, BUT THANK YOU, MATT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I JUST, I WANT TO REITERATE, UH, AS YOU SAID, CONFLICT IS GOOD, EVERYONE.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY WE, WE ALL ARE ITCHING TO GET WORK DONE.
UM, BUT I THINK THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A CORE GROUP OF 14.
UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUE WITH THE NEW COMMISSIONERS WHO HAVE JOINED US TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND PATIENCE.
UM, YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN HOW IT WAS TO TWO PREVIOUS ELECTION, JUST KIDDING.
UM, BUT YEAH, I STILL LOOK FORWARD TO THIS WORK.
THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE'S TIME ON A FRIDAY.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO OUR NEXT MEETING.
I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT WEEKEND.
UH, YEAH, THIS HAS BEEN, UM, VERY, UM, YEAH, THIS IS, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEE HOW THE NEXT MEETING GOES AND I'LL, I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THE CANDIDATES AND I'LL SEND YOU A LIST MATT, OF, OF WHAT I COME UP WITH AND I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GOOD WEEKEND.
YEAH, I DO BELIEVE THAT, UM, THAT THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT MEETING, UM, GROUP, THE GROUP PROCESS INCLUDES, UH, FORMING, STORMING AND NORMING.
SO THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH, WITH, UH, STORMING IF YOU GOT THE STOMACH FOR IT AND IT'S GOOD.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE STORM, THE STOMACH PART, YOU JUST KIND OF GET WIPED OUT.
SO I THINK THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD, SOLID, UH, UH, ISSUE.
I'M SO GLAD TO SEE THE, UM, THE NEW COMMISSIONERS COME ON.
UM, I WAS JUST THINKING FIRST, THERE WERE EIGHT OF US AND NOW THEY'RE 13 OF US AND I'M SITTING THERE WOULD BE 14.
IT'S BEEN REALLY INTERESTING TO BE PART OF THIS AND THE VERY FIRST MEETING, WE
[01:35:01]
ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF, UM, FULL IDEAS BEING FLOATED AROUND.UM, I JUST WANT TO, I GUESS END BY SAYING THAT I THINK BEING PART OF THIS COMMISSION AND, YOU KNOW, THE BOXES YOU HAVE TO CHECK OFF, UM, PART OF IT IS I REALLY WANT IT TO BE AS FAIR AS POSSIBLE.
AND SOMETIMES THAT MEANS BEING IMPARTIAL AND EVEN, UM, YOU KNOW, STEPPING BACK A LITTLE BIT.
SO WHEN I SEE CERTAIN COMMENTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO ABSTAIN, OR MAYBE WE SHOULD PICK SOMEBODY ELSE I'M NOT IN ANY WAY TRYING TO DISCOUNT ANYONE'S PERSONAL OPINION.
IT'S JUST THAT I THINK THAT MOVING IN THE DIRECTION THAT WE WANT TO BE, I THINK THAT EVERYBODY HERE HAS ALREADY DEMONSTRATED THAT THEY WANT TO, TO REPRESENT THE CITY IN A DIVERSE AND RESPECTFUL WAY.
SO EVEN IF WE DON'T GET SOMEBODY WHO IS EXACTLY THE CANDIDATE WE WANT FOR THE COMMISSION, I THINK THAT WE CAN USE THAT SAME KNOWLEDGE AND THAT SAME CONCERN TO MAKE SURE TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE WHO AREN'T LIKE US.
SO THAT'S WHY I SAY THE THINGS THAT I DO.
UM, THAT'S WHY I SAY IT DOESN'T MATTER TO ME.
I'M VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS PROCESS.
IT'S JUST THE, THE FACES AND THE VOICES I THINK THAT WE HAVE NOW AND ALL OF THOSE QUALIFIED CANDIDATES.
UM, I THINK THEY'RE ALL GOOD ONES.
SO THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME SELENA.
UM, UH, I THINK THE SPIRIT OF DISCUSSION TODAY WAS AWESOME.
I THINK IT'S, I THINK IT REPRESENTS LIKE HOW DIVERSE THE GROUP ALREADY IS AND THAT THERE IS, THERE ARE VARIED, UM, PERSPECTIVES.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE.
AND I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO CHAT AND BE RESPECTFUL AND THEN I'M EXCITED.
HEY Y'ALL SO I FINALLY FIGURED OUT WHAT DISTRICT I'M IN IT'S DISTRICT TOO.
UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S THOUGHTS HERE.
UM, I DEFINITELY, UH, LEARNED A LOT.
THE OTHER THING I WAS GOING TO SAY IS, UM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE MATT, BEFORE I DO THIS, IF I, IF WE TWEET ABOUT THIS, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS AS A PUBLIC MEETING, RIGHT.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE, CAUSE I CAN STICK MY FOOT IN MY MOUTH.
UM, BUT YEAH, I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE EFFORT AND THE THOUGHT THAT EVERYBODY BROUGHT TO THE TABLE AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, REVIEWING THE CANDIDATES AGAIN AND TALKING ABOUT, UM, EVERYONE ELSE SPEAKS NEXT TIME.
I HAVE THE UTMOST RESPECT FOR EVERYONE ON THIS COMMITTEE.
I'M REALLY EXCITED STILL TO BE PART OF THIS.
I DO THINK THAT THIS IS A PROCESS AND I THINK IT'S GOOD TO SEE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF DEBATE, BUT ALSO RESPECT AND DISCUSSION.
AND IT'S A GREAT CHANCE FOR ME TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE PEOPLE THAT REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UH, I'M STILL THANKFUL AND I'M REALLY GLAD THAT I'M A PART OF THIS AND I'M EXCITED FOR THE WORK AHEAD.
AND AGAIN, UM, I CAN BE VERY PASSIONATE AND I, THIS IS NOT PERSONAL.
SORRY, WHAT WAS, WAS THAT FOR ME? YES.
I JUST WANNA SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT SHOWS BOTH BOTH TIMES THAT WE HAD MEETINGS, UH, TO GO AND WE HAD FULL SIDES OF THE COIN.
SO I THINK THAT'S VERY, THAT'S VERY GOOD.
UM, THAT MEANS THAT WE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, REPRESENTATION FROM BOTH SIDES.
UH, AND IT'S GOOD TO WORK WITH THE GUYS EX JEAN, MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR MICROPHONE ON.
I'VE BEEN A LISTENER TODAY, PRIMARILY, AND I WANT TO THANK ALL THE NEW COMMISSIONERS FOR PARTICIPATING.
I LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT MEETING AND THIS WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO LEARN THINGS.
UH, TODAY, UH, I THRILLED TO HAVE, UM, 13 MEMBERS.
UM, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME REALLY SPIRITED CONVERSATIONS GOING FORWARD AND I LIKE THAT EVERYBODY FEELS PASSIONATELY CAUSE THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE.
UM, I'M JUST, I'M, I'M GRATEFUL.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EVERYONE AND GETTING TO KNOW EVERYONE BETTER, UM, AND HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND.
[01:40:03]
CHRISTINA'S YEAH, IT DEFINITELY ECHOING.EVERYBODY'S SENTIMENTS ABOUT THE PRIVILEGE TO SERVE ON THIS BOARD OR COMMISSION RATHER.
UM, I, I WILL SAY, UM, THIS SEMESTER IN GRADUATE SCHOOL I'VE BEEN IN A CLASS TAUGHT BY BETO WORK AND IT'S SPECIFICALLY ABOUT TEXAS DEMOCRACY AND THE FIGHT FOR REPRESENTATION.
AND, UM, WE HAVE READ SEVERAL REALLY GREAT BOOKS ABOUT REDISTRICTING AND GERRYMANDERING AND THE SOLUTION AGAIN AND AGAIN IS AN INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION AND GETTING THE POWER OUT OF THE HANDS OF LAWMAKERS.
AND SO, UM, THIS COMMISSION AND THAT, AND THE, I JUST, HOW MUCH OF A PRIVILEGE IT IS TO BE HERE IS NOT ON ME.
UM, AND I ALWAYS HAVE COMMUNITY AT THE FOREFRONT OF MY MIND AND THE VRA, UM, AT THE FOREFRONT OF MY MIND.
AND I THINK THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS A MODEL FOR EVERYBODY ELSE AROUND THE COUNTRY TO FOLLOW.
UM, AND SO I, THAT, IT'S JUST VERY, VERY SIGNIFICANT TO ME THAT WE'RE ALL HERE.
UM, I WILL SAY, I THINK IT WOULD BE NICE.
THIS IS THE TEACHER SIDE OF ME.
UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, WE ALWAYS SIT DOWN AND ESTABLISH, UM, AGREED UPON RULES.
I'M NOT SURE IF THAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED WITH THE FIRST STATE MEMBERS, BUT I WOULD REALLY LOVE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRIEFLY, UM, DISCUSS THAT IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE REST OF THE COMMISSION IS INTERESTED IN DOING.
UH, YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, UM, UM, EVEN THOUGH WE DIDN'T GAIN A NEW COMMISSIONER TODAY THAT I'M HAPPY THAT NO, WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY LOSE ANY COMMISSIONERS TODAY, SO, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, NOTHING ELSE ON MY END.
Y'ALL UM, I'LL BE IN TOUCH WITH YOU.
WE'LL GET THAT NEXT MEETING ON THAT CALENDAR.
AND THEN THE NEW MEMBERS WILL SEND ME THEIR, UM, TUFTS SELECTIONS AND WE'LL START GETTING THOSE, UM, INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATIONS QUEUED UP, UM, FROM OUR LAW DEPARTMENT, UM, AND FROM OUR CITY DEMOGRAPHER, UM, TO GET THEM FROM US AND TO Y'ALL.
SO THANKS SO MUCH, HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND BEFORE WE GO, I'LL SAY THIS IS GOING TO BE AN INSIDE JOKE.
AND THE AD FOR THE NEW COMMISSIONERS TO COME IN TODAY WILL HAVE TO FILL YOU IN ON WHY THIS ALL GOT STARTED.
SO WE'LL ALL LAUGH ABOUT IT ONE DAY.
AND HOPEFULLY WE GET TO THAT SPLICE AND, YOU KNOW, OKAY.
THERE, THERE, THERE'S AN INTERESTING, INTERESTING ALL OF THIS, SO THANK YOU EVERYONE.