[00:00:02]
[Independent Citizen’s Redistricting Commission]
6:01 PM.WE HAVE NINE OUT OF 14 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT.
SO WE HAVE A QUORUM AND WE CAN GET STARTED.
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE INDEPENDENT CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMISSION MEETING TO ORDER THIS WEDNESDAY, JULY 7TH IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF AUSTIN CITY HALL.
MATT, CAN YOU PLEASE DO ROLL CALL? OKAY.
SO THERE'S, UH, A MICROPHONE ON BUTTON ON THE DISPLAY AND THEN A MICROPHONE OFF BUTTON ON THAT, THAT DISPLAY.
UM, SO IT WOULD BE GOOD PRACTICE OR WE CAN CHECK TO SEE IF THERE ARE MICROPHONES.
LI I, I GO KAMBO AND CALLED THEIR OWN.
MATT, CAN YOU PLEASE TAKE US THROUGH TODAY'S AGENDA? YEAH.
SO THE MEETING GOALS FOR TODAY ARE TO CONFIRM STEPS TO ONBOARD HIRED STAFF, CONFIRMED DATES FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS, ESTABLISHED COMMISSION VALUES AND NORMS, UH, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
WE HAVE ONE PERSON SIGNED UP FOR THAT ON THE PHONE.
FIRST ITEM APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM OUR JUNE 30TH MEETING ITEM TWO, UPDATE FROM THE HIRING WORKING GROUP.
UM, ITEM THREE NEW BUSINESS, A PRESENTATION FROM THE NAACP.
UH, THE, THIS PRESENTATION FROM DR.
HENRY FLORES IS GOING TO BE RESCHEDULED.
UH, SEE, AS AN ICEBREAKER, WHAT IS THE BEST ASPECT OF RESIDING IN THE CITY DISTRICT YOU REPRESENT? UH, D IS A DISCUSSION AND VOTE ON VALUES AND NORMS. HE IS UPDATE FROM THE PUBLIC HEARING WORKING GROUP, AND THEN, UM, IWAN VOTE ON A PROPOSED PUBLIC HEARING DATES, A THREE F UPDATE FROM COMMUNICATIONS WORKING GROUP, A 3G UPDATE FROM FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE, ONE DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE ACTION TO RECLASSIFY THE FINANCE COMMITTEE TO A WORKING GROUP.
UH, THREE H UPDATES FROM THE CITY, UM, EMPLOYEE CONTRACT TEMPLATE, AND, UH, DROPBOX FOR ICRC USE.
AND THEN FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS GOT TO TURN ON MY MIC.
WE WILL BEGIN WITH CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
UM, HAS ANYONE CALLED IN? OKAY.
AND JUST A REMINDER, EACH SPEAKER HAS THREE MINUTES AND PLEASE MUST CLEARLY STATE YOUR NAME AND IN WHICH DISTRICT YOU RESIDE AND HAVE COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS AS ALWAYS JUST HOLD THEM TILL THE END.
MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS, I'M SYNOVIA JOSEPH DISTRICT ONE.
MY COMMENTS ARE SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO TRANSIT AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
I JUST WANT TO CALL IT TO YOUR ATTENTION.
I DID GO AND LISTEN TO YOUR JUNE 16TH, 2021 ICEBREAKER.
AND I JUST WANT TO SPEAK LARGELY TO COMMISSIONER HARDEN, AS IT RELATES TO NORTHEAST AUSTIN AND EAST AUSTIN, THE BUSES RUN 60 MINUTES FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THERE WAS AN AUGUST 7TH, 2020 RESOLUTION PASSED BY CAPITOL METRO THAT WILL RETAIN WHAT IS CALLED AN EQUITABLE TRANSIT SYSTEM.
THAT'S 10 TIMES LONGER THAT AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE BUS UNDER THE NEW SYSTEM, SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL.
THE BUS RUNS EVERY SIX MINUTES TO 10 MINUTES, SOUTH OF US, 180 3 FROM METRO RAIL CRESTVIEW TO DOVE SPRINGS, HISPANICS.
AND SO I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT MANY OF YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU GOT INVOLVED BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO BE PART OF THE CHANGE.
AND SO I SENT YOU THE KUT ARTICLE THAT WAS ERIC YESTERDAY, AND IT'S ALSO AN AUSTIN MONITOR.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT HOUSE BILL 3 8 9 3, THE DOWNTOWN TUNNEL BILL FAILED
[00:05:01]
BECAUSE I EXPLAINED TO THE REPUBLICAN SENATORS TITLE SIX OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, WHICH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN.BASICALLY, IF THEY PASS THAT BILL, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN COMPLICIT IN THE DISCRIMINATION OCCURRING IN AUSTIN AND MAY HAVE JEOPARDIZED THE STATE FEDERAL FUNDING.
AND SO WHAT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND AS YOU ARE DELIBERATING, THE BUSES RUN 60 MINUTES THERE IT'S 45 MINUTES, PLUS A 30 MINUTE TRANSFER AT BREAKER AND BURNET.
BUT ON GAME DAYS FOR SOCCER LIKE TONIGHT, ROUTE 3 92 RUNS EVERY 20 MINUTES.
AND IT'S 15 MINUTES FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE OFF OF LAKELINE STATION GOING TO THE SOCCER GAMES.
SO THE SYSTEM IS INEQUITABLE AT PRESENT.
YOU MAY HEAR ABOUT THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.
I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT REEL IS 24 TO 30 YEARS NORTH OF US, 180 3, ESSENTIALLY NEVER, BUT THEY'RE USING MEANING CAPITOL METRO AND THE CITY OF NORTH LAMAR, UH, EXCUSE ME, NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER.
SO WHAT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT YOU HAVE TO LOOK WITH A RACIALIZED LENS AND YOU HAVE TO BE OPEN TO RECOGNIZING THAT AUSTIN IS REALLY STILL DISCRIMINATE DISCRIMINATORY.
AND SO THERE ARE TWO OPPORTUNITIES ON FRIDAY, THE CITY MANAGER WILL PRESENT HIS BUDGET AT COMMUNITY FIRST AT 2:00 PM.
AND I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE ANY OF YOU WHO CAN GO THERE TO ATTEND THE MEETING, BUT TO TRY TO PARK YOUR CAR AT CRAIG WOOD AND 9 69 AND TAKE THE BUS ROUTE 32 37, SERVES A FORMERLY HOMELESS EVERY 60 MINUTES IT'S INTERLINE OR CONNECTED WITH THE 3 39 TUSCANY BUS, WHICH SERVES THE BLACKS THAT LIVE IN CRESTWOOD.
AND IF YOU CAN'T DO THAT, THEN AT LEAST GO TO CAPITOL METRO TRIP PLANNER AND SEE HOW MANY HOURS IT WOULD TAKE YOU FROM YOUR HOME TO GET TO COMMUNITY FIRST AND THEN A REVERSE TRIP TO TRY AND GET TO WORK.
AND SO MUCH OF THE DISCUSSION WILL BE ABOUT THE HOMELESS.
I JUST WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S NOT OKAY TO JUST PUT THEM IN THE CORNER OF NORTHEAST AUSTIN WITHOUT ADEQUATE TRANSPORTATION QUESTIONS.
I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS TODAY? OKAY.
DO ANY OF OUR COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS? UH, I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION, BUT I APPRECIATE YOU CALLING ENGINE NOVIA.
I LIVE IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN AS WELL.
AND, UH, MY, MY MOTHER IS A SENIOR CITIZEN AND TRYING TO, UH, PLAN HER ROUTES, UH, ON THE BUS WAS NOT EASY.
UM, SO THANK YOU FOR CALLING IN AND I THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.
UM, I WOULD JUST CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION ON JUNE 14TH.
THEY DID START THE PICKUP, THE DESKTOP PICKUP ZONE, WHICH ACTUALLY, UM, OVERLAPS WITH THE ROUTE 3 92 AND 2 43.
I'M NOT SURE WHERE YOUR MOTHER LIVES.
THAT'S STILL NOT AN ADEQUATE SOLUTION.
UM, WE REALLY NEED METRO RAPID TO GO FROM SAMSUNG TO APPLE, WHICH WAS ELIMINATED UNDER PROJECT CONNECTS.
SO IF THE COMMISSION HAS ANY INPUT INTO THE BUDGET PROCESS, I WOULD JUST ASK YOU TO REQUEST IT'S $4.7 MILLION.
UM, AND THE ROUTE WHERE THE, I DON'T KNOW YOUR MOM, OF COURSE, WHERE YOUR MOM LIVES, BUT ON RUTLAND WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO PUT THE HOMELESS THAT'S FEDERAL, THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE $945,000.
AND LASTLY, I'LL JUST SAY COMMISSIONER'S COURT HAS $247 MILLION, UM, BASED ON, UH, INPUT FROM CONGRESSMAN DOG.
AND, AND THOSE ARE HIS CONSTITUENTS THAT LIVE WAY OUT THERE IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN.
AND SO MAYBE FOR YOUR MOM'S SAKE AND FOR THE PEOPLE IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN, SOME OF THAT MONEY COULD BE USED TO GET THE SENIORS, UM, TO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO, BECAUSE THERE'S A SECOND BUS FOR RBJ SENIORS.
THAT WAS SO THEY COULD GO TO THEIR FAVORITE HEB.
SO EVEN THE SENIOR CITIZENS, AREN'T TREATED FAIRLY, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO OUR SPEAKER TODAY, AND WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS AGENDA, ITEM ONE.
THIS IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JUNE 30TH MEETING.
TAKE A MOMENT TO REVIEW THE MINUTES, PLEASE.
AND LET ME KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES, UH, CHIP WENT THIS, OH, COMMISSIONER CALLED IT ON.
I NOTICED THAT THE ADJOURNMENT HAD ADJOURNED THE MEETING AT XPM, SO WE MIGHT WANT TO UPDATE THE ACTUAL ADJOURNMENT TIME.
AND MATT, DO WE HAVE THAT RECORD OF, OF THE ADJOURNMENT TIME FOR THE LAST MEETING? YES, WE DO.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER CORRECTIONS,
[00:10:02]
IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER CORRECTIONS, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.THE NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS IS THREE.
A, THIS IS THE PRESENTATION FROM THE NAACP AND HISPANIC COALITION.
AND, UM, I WILL PASS THAT OFF TO Y'ALL TESTING.
MY NAME IS NELSON LINDER AND I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE AUSTIN NAACP.
WE ARE VERY A MULTIRACIAL, DIVERSE ORGANIZATION.
I WANT TO LOOK AT MY COLLEAGUES NIGHT BEHIND ME.
LOOK AT THAT WHOLE PICTURE THAT WE REPRESENT.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AT THIS TIME TO REALIZE THAT, AND WE WORK TOGETHER, WE COMMUNICATE, WE RESPECT EACH OTHER.
ALSO ABOUT NINE YEARS AGO, DEEP RELATION, IT CAME TOGETHER AND PRODUCED THE CURRENT TEN ONE SYSTEM FROM DIFFERENT IDEOLOGIES, DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN THE CITY, BUT YET WE PUT IT TOGETHER AND IT'S STILL WORKING TODAY.
UH, JUST THREE DAYS AGO, WE HAD THIS NATION'S BIRTHDAY.
WE TALKED ABOUT MULTI-RACIAL DEMOCRACY, BUT IT'S NOT THAT IT'S MULTI-RACIAL, BUT IT'S NOT DEMOCRACY.
THE WORK YOU DO IS VERY IMPORTANT.
YOU KNOW, THOMAS JEFFERSON AND HIS ORIGINAL DRAFT OF THE DECLARATION.
SHE ADDRESSED THINGS LIKE RACISM, AND SPECIFICALLY HE CONDEMNED THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVERY JEFFERSON, BUT HE GOT BACK IN THE ROOM WITH HIS COLLEAGUES AND THEY, THEY PRESSURED HIM TO TAKE THAT OUT OF THE, OUT OF THE DECORATION.
SO YOU DREW A LINE THROUGH IT.
AND SO I'LL FATE STARTED ALMOST TO IT 245 YEARS AGO.
IT SPEAKS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF FOLKS WHO GROW MAPS BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY AND BELIEVE IN FAIRNESS.
AND TODAY IT'S A CRITICAL TIME WHEN FOLKS ARE PRACTICING VOTER SUPPRESSION, MAKING VOTING MORE DIFFICULT, NOT MORE ACCESSIBLE.
YOU GUYS HAVE AN ENORMOUS TASK.
MY ASS KNIGHT IS VERY, IS VERY, VERY SIMPLE.
YOU CARE A LOT OF WEIGHT ON YOUR SHOULDERS.
PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU TREAT THE MAP THAT REPRESENTS DEMOCRACY.
AND ALSO WE LOOK AT THESE ORGANIZATIONS, LOOK AT HOW MUCH WE WORK TOGETHER TO SPEND A COMMUNITY, A BLACK COMMUNITY.
WE RESPECT EACH OTHER THAT NEEDS TO BE REFLECTED AND WHAT YOU DESIGN.
AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT FOLKS WHO ARE MUCH HIGH PLACES, WHO, WHO DON'T HAVE YOUR INTEGRITY OR DEDICATION PUT NOT DOING DEMOCRACY, YOU MIGHT THINK YOU'RE ON THEIR RADAR, BUT THE WORK YOU'RE DOING IS BEING WATCHED BY A LOT OF PEOPLE.
SO I WANNA ENCOURAGE YOU, FIRST OF ALL, TO KNOW THE HISTORY OF WHERE WE CAME FROM, DOL LARGE SYSTEM AND WHAT IT REPRESENTED IT.
WELL, YOU HAD A CERTAIN GROUP OF FOLKS PICKING OTHER FOLKS REPRESENTATION.
THAT'S NOT DEMOCRACY, BUT PEOPLE CAME TOGETHER AND CHANGED THAT SYSTEM.
SO NOW WE HAVE FOUR DISTRICTS AND THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT AS YOU GO FORWARD.
YOU REMEMBER THAT, THAT WITHOUT THOSE FOUR DISTRICTS, YOU WON'T HAVE DEMOCRACY IS NOT JUST A DISTRICT WOULD HAVE REPRESENTATIONS.
YOU HAVE AN EQUITIES AND UNFAIRNESS ALL OF THIS CITY.
SO HAVING REPRESENTATION IS CRITICAL TO ADDRESSING THE VERY THINGS WE PLANNED.
AND I'M SET AGAIN, THESE FOLKS BEHIND ME, YOU PROBABLY WON'T SEE THEM IN THIS POSITION AGAIN.
SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A PICTURE AT NIGHT AND SEE FOLKS LIKE, LIKE INSTEAD OF OUR, THE LEGEND HERE, HONORABLE MAN AND PEOPLE LIKE PET YOUNG, WHO KNOWS THE SYSTEM INSIDE OUT AND ATTORNEY ADVISOR, MIGUEL, I ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOMEBODY IN THE OR HOUSTON.
THESE PEOPLE ARE LEGENDS, AND THEY'RE STILL HERE WORKING IN, FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY.
WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU TO ASSIST YOU, TO GUIDE YOU AND TO ENSURE YOU THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE SUPPORTIVE WHEN YOU ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING.
I HAVE NO DOUBT BASED ON WHAT I'VE HEARD WHEN I'VE SEEN THAT YOU ARE COMMITTED TO KEEPING THE CITY DEMOCRATIC.
SO I HAVE RESPONSIBILITY, AND I'M HOPING THAT AS FOLKS WANTS YOU AND HOW YOU INTERACT AND TALK TO EACH OTHER, THAT THEY WILL EMBRACE YOUR SPIRIT.
SO THEY TOO CAN DO THE SAME THING MADE YOU SEE THEM MORE FAIR, MORE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYBODY.
SO THESE MAPS, YOU DRAW WILL OFFER HOPE TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.
SO PLEASE PUT FORTH YOUR BEST IDEAS, YOUR BEST VISION TO ENSURE THAT AUSTIN, TEXAS BECOMES A MULTI-RACIAL DEMOCRACY.
AND PLEASE DON'T PULL THE THOMAS JEFFERSON.
NOT THAT YOU WOULD, RIGHT? LIKE I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR MY COLLEAGUES SPEAK.
[00:15:01]
THE SACRIFICE YOU GIVEN ALREADY.AND, UM, AND BEST OF LUCK IN THE FUTURE AS YOU DO THIS ENORMOUS TASK THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE WATCHING, THAT WOULD AFFECT YOUR CITY.
LET ME JUST SAY THE BETTER, HOPEFULLY.
GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MAY IT PLEASE.
MY NAME IS GONZALO BARRIENTOS BY WAY OF A LITTLE BACKGROUND, UH, GALVESTON BASTROP, AUSTIN, TEXAS FAMILY, UM, CONTINUED UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS WAS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER FOR THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE UNDER THE KENNEDY JOHNSON, UH, PROGRAMS. UM, I ORGANIZED IN THE HISPANIC AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN AREAS OF AUSTIN, TEXAS.
I WAS A TRAINER FOR THIS TO PEACE CORPS.
I WAS A FEDERAL PROGRAM, OFFICER ESTABLISHING VISTA PEACE CORPS PROJECTS IN TEXAS FROM EL PASO TO HOUSTON AND SOUTH TO THE BORDER.
I WAS A TRAINER IN WASHINGTON, DC FOR THE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
WASHINGTON IS A NICE PLACE TO VISIT, BUT, UH, UM, COUNTRY.
UM, I SPENT, UH, 10 YEARS AS A STATE REPRESENTATIVE FROM AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND 20 YEARS IN THE TEXAS SENATE.
UM, BY THE, BY I, UH, PASSED A LEGISLATION TO ESTABLISH SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICTS FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, UH, WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN CHARTER COMMISSION, WHERE WE PASSED A SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICTS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN VOTED TO HAVE THAT ALL I ASK FOR YOU TO CONSIDER, AND WE'RE HERE AS IN RESPONSE, UH, TO BE SUPPORTIVE AND AS A RESOURCE FOR YOU, UM, BALANCE EQUITY, MINORITY POPULATION, GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION, UH, GERRYMANDERING, I'M SURE YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS AND WHAT HAS, UH, DAMAGE IT HAS DONE IN THIS COUNTRY AND ESPECIALLY IN THIS STATE.
UM, OF COURSE THE LAST STATEMENT I WOULD MAKE IS, UM, THAT WILL WHEN APPROPRIATE HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, OF THE BLACK AND HISPANIC DISTRICTS, BUT AS YOU WILL SEE TODAY, WE ARE READY TO PROVIDE ANY OTHER, UH, ASSISTANCE.
UH, YOU MAY REQUEST, UH, ALL THE TIME FROM WHEN I WAS GROWING UP UNTIL I SERVED IN THE LEGISLATURE.
EVEN NOW AS A CITIZEN, I ALWAYS USED THE THREE CS COMMON SENSE, COMPASSION AND THE COMMON.
THANK YOU, SENATOR ABOUT AGAIN, THOUGHTS.
UH, IT'S AN HONOR TO BE HERE WITH YOU TONIGHT.
UH, AS HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID BY MY COLLEAGUES.
UH, I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING WITH THEM AND, AND MANY OTHERS, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO WAS WE FOUNDED AUSTINITES FOR GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION AND FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED THE WAY AUSTIN ALEXA AT CITY COUNCIL.
AND THE CATALYST FOR THAT CHANGE WAS, UH, TO DO AWAY WITH A SYSTEM THAT DID NOT PROVIDE DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATION TO PEOPLE IN COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST WITHIN THE CITY AND GO TO A SYSTEM THAT DID PROVIDE THAT.
AND, UH, I AM, UH, FOR BETTER OR WORSE THAN ATTORNEY.
SO I'VE DRAWN THE STRAW TO EXPLAIN TO YOU SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE THINK ARE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO FOLLOW.
OF COURSE, ALL OF YOUR LEGAL REQUIREMENTS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT FOR OUR COALITION, THERE ARE ITEMS THAT ARE OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE FOR YOU TO FOLLOW.
I WAS GOING TO SPEND QUITE A BIT OF TIME ON THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT TO BEGIN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT I SAW ON YOUR AGENDA THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
SO YOU'LL BE SPARED A LOT OF INFORMATION ON THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT, BUT AT LEAST FOR ME, BUT, UH, THERE ARE SOME PARTICULAR ISSUES THAT, THAT COME UP AND THEY CAME UP THE LAST TIME DISTRICTS, UH, WERE DRAWN.
AND I UNDERSTAND THEY'VE, THEY'VE ACTUALLY COME UP IN SOME OF YOUR DISCUSSIONS THIS TIME.
AND THAT IS, UH, THE UNDERSTANDING OF UNDER THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
WHY ARE CERTAIN GROUPS PROTECTED UNDER THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT VERSUS GROUPS THAT ARE NOT PROTECTED UNDER THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT? SO JUST TO GIVE A VERY, VERY BRIEF AND CONCISE OVERVIEW OF, OF THE LAW SURROUNDING THAT, UH, THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, UH, HAS NOT SAID THAT A STATE MAY NOT DRAW DISTRICTS MOTIVATED PREDOMINANTLY BY RACE.
UH, WHAT THEY HAVE SAID IS THAT A REDISTRICTING PLAN FOUND TO HAVE BEEN PREDOMINANTLY ON THE BASIS OF RACE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
[00:20:02]
IF IT CANNOT WITHSTAND STRICT JUDICIAL SCRUTINY.NOW, IN ORDER TO WITHSTAND STRICT SCRUTINY, IT HAS TO BE BOTH NARROWLY TAILORED AND FURTHER A COMPELLING STATE INTEREST.
AND SO ONE OF THE, AND THE PRIMARY COMPELLING STATE INTEREST THAT HAVE BEEN FOUND BY THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT AND FEDERAL COURTS TO JUSTIFY THE DRAWING OF A DISTRICT BASED UPON RACIAL OR ETHNIC CHARACTERIZATIONS IS REMEDYING PAST AND PRESENT DISCRIMINATION.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE POLITICAL ENTITY, WHETHER IT'S THE STATE, THE CITY, THE COUNTY, WHATEVER IT IS MUST HAVE IN THE PAST, ENGAGED IN SOME KIND OF DISCRIMINATORY BEHAVIOR.
AS I KNOW YOU'VE SEEN PRESENTATIONS AND PROBABLY ALL KNOW THAT AUSTIN DID IN FACT DO THIS.
AND SO IN ORDER TO REMEDY THE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THOSE GROUPS, THOSE GROUPS SPECIFICALLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND HISPANIC GROUPS ARE PROTECTED UNDER THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
THAT MEANS THAT NOT ONLY CAN YOU DISCRIMINATE IN TERMS OF FAVORING DISTRICTS, THAT, THAT FAVOR THOSE COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST, OR IDENTIFY THOSE AS COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST AS VOTERS, BUT YOU MUST DO THAT.
WHEREAS WITH ANY OTHER GROUP BASED UPON RACE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, YOU ARE PROHIBITED FROM DRAWING DISTRICTS BASED UPON THOSE CHARACTERISTICS.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE FOCUSED ON, UH, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT FEDERAL LAW SAYS.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE FOCUSED ON DRAWING DISTRICTS, UH, BASED UPON PROTECTING THE VOTING RIGHTS OF HISPANICS AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND WHY WE'RE NOT FOCUSED ON PROTECTING SPECIFIC ETHNIC OR RACIAL OR GENDER BASED VOTING RIGHTS FOR ANY OTHER TYPES OF ROOFS.
SO JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A BRIEF BACKGROUND AS TO HOW THE LAW PLAYS OUT ON THAT AND WHY DISTRICTS WERE DRAWN THE WAY THEY WERE IN THE PAST AND WHY AS YOU'RE DRAWING NEW DISTRICTS, THOSE ARE THE CONSIDERATIONS YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND NOW IN THE CHARTER.
UH, AND IT'S, UH, SECTION THREE, A LARGE E THERE IS A LIST OF SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR DRAWING DISTRICTS IN ORDER OF PRIORITY.
AND IF YOU'LL BEAR WITH ME, I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THESE AS QUICKLY AS I CAN, BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU UNDERSTAND, AS YOU'RE DRAWING THE DISTRICTS, THAT THIS IS A SPECIFIC ORDER OF PRIORITY, MEANING THAT YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THE TOP PRIORITIES FIRST.
AND IF THESE LOWER PRIORITIES CAN'T BE MET, IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAT YOU MEET THE HIGHER PRIORITIES.
SO STARTING WITH THE VERY BEGINNING, UH, DISTRICTS, AND THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OBVIOUS MAYBE, BUT DISTRICTS MUST COMPLY WITH THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.
UH, COUNCIL OF DISTRICTS HAVE TO HAVE EQUAL POPULATION RELATIVELY SPEAKING WITH OTHER DISTRICTS, MEANING EQUAL IN SIZE, EXCEPT WHEN DEVIATION IS REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS ACT AS ALLOWABLE BY LAW.
IN OTHER WORDS, YOU CAN HAVE SOME DEVIATION IN ORDER TO GET YOUR VOTING RIGHTS AT COMPLIANCE.
SECOND CRITERIA IS THE FEDERAL BUDGET, YOUR RIGHTS ACT, AS WELL AS OTHERS STATE REQUIREMENTS OR FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS, BUT THE PRIMARY ONE YOU'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT IT'S THE FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
THIRD DISTRICT SHALL BE GEOGRAPHICALLY CONTIGUOUS.
THAT MEANS YOUR DISTRICT SHOULD NOT LOOK LIKE THE UNITED STATES CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS IN TEXAS.
THEY SHOULD NOT LOOK LIKE THAT.
THEY SHOULD LOOK CONTIGUOUS COMPACT.
THERE SHOULD BE TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, A RATIONAL SO THAT A PERSON CAN LOOK AT THE DISTRICTS.
AS YOU CAN LOOK AT THE MAPS OF THE CURRENT DISTRICTS IN AUSTIN AND SAY, YEAH, THAT'S KIND OF A, THAT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD, OR THAT'S A GROUP, OR THAT'S A PART OF TOWN OR SOME KIND OF A, SOME KIND OF A GEOGRAPHICALLY COMPACT AREA THAT REACHING OUT TO GRAB SOME LITTLE AREA HERE OR SOME OTHER AREA THERE OF VOTERS.
UH, FOURTH GEOGRAPHIC INTEGRITY OF A LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD OR LOCAL COMMUNITY OF INTEREST SHOULD BE RESPECTED IN A MANNER THAT MINIMIZES DIVISION.
IN OTHER WORDS, YOU TRY NOT TO DRAW LINES RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE OF A NEIGHBORHOOD.
IF YOU KNOW THAT A CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOOD EXISTS, YOU DON'T WANT TO, THE EXTENT THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLE SPLIT THAT NEIGHBORHOOD IN HALF OR IN THIRDS OR ORANGE FOURTHS, A FIFTH TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE THE DISTRICT BOUNDARIES SHOULD BE DRAWN TO ENCOURAGE COMPACTNESS SUCH THAT NEARBY AREAS OF POPULATION ARE NOT BYPASS TO REACH OTHER AREAS THAT ACTUALLY THAT REACHES BACK UP TO THE GEOGRAPHICALLY CONTIGUOUS.
BUT IT ALSO, IT'S A DIFFERENT COMP CONCEPT BECAUSE HE'S TALKING ABOUT COMPACTNESS TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE SO THAT PEOPLE IN DISTRICTS ARE ALL LIVING FAIRLY NEAR EACH OTHER, AS OPPOSED TO BEING SPREAD OUT OVER A LARGE SWATH OF THE CITY.
UH, SIXTH, THE DISTRICT BOUNDARIES SHOULD BE DRAWN USING THE BOUNDARIES OF EXISTING ELECTION PRECINCTS THAT'S, UH, AND OBVIOUSLY IT IS POSSIBLE IF ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO BALANCE THE POPULATION TO SPLIT PRECINCTS, BUT WE WOULD PREFER, AND THE LAW WOULD PREFER THAT YOU NOT SPLIT ELECTION PRECINCTS, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, GEOGRAPHICALLY IDENTIFIABLE BOUNDARIES, UH, STREETS,
[00:25:01]
RIVERS, UH, PARKS, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, SOMETHING THAT'S IDENTIFIABLE, GEOGRAPHICALLY, NOT AN ARTIFICIAL LINE THAT GOES RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF SOMEBODY'S HOUSE.SO THAT'S, THOSE ARE THE CRITERIA.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU FOLLOW THEM WHEN YOU'RE ESTABLISHING YOUR DISTRICTS IN THAT ORDER, NOT STARTING AT THE BOTTOM AND MOVING TO THE TOP, BUT STARTING AT THE TOP AND MOVING TO THE BOTTOM.
SO, AND THAT WAS WRITTEN IN THIS CHARTER PROVISION THAT WAS ADOPTED BY THE CITY FOR A SPECIFIC REASON, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T WANT TO SEE THE KINDS OF DISTRICTS THAT GET DRAWN FOR, FOR THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS.
WE WANTED TO SEE DISTRICTS THAT REPRESENTED THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN AS THEY, AS THEY LIVE HERE.
AND THEN FINALLY A POINT THAT I WANTED TO MAKE ABOUT YOUR, YOUR DEADLINES, BECAUSE I KNOW GIVEN THE SOMEWHAT LATE START AND, UH, SOME OF THE PRESSURE THAT YOU ALL ARE UNDER, AND I'VE BEEN WATCHING A LITTLE BIT, ALTHOUGH NOT NEARLY AS MUCH AS MR. YOUNG, BUT I'VE BEEN WATCHING.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU'VE GOT, UH, AN AGGRESSIVE, UH, PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE CONSIDERING, AND YOU'RE GOING TO DO YOUR BEST TO MAKE YOUR NOVEMBER DEADLINE.
I WOULD DRAW YOUR ATTENTION THOUGH, TO SECTION G SUBSECTION TWO, WHICH SAYS THAT IF YOU DON'T MAKE YOUR DEADLINE, THE, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN WILL PETITION THE STATE COURT FOR AN ORDER SETTING BOUNDARIES, ACCORDING TO REDISTRICT CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS SET IN THE SECTION.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD DO IT.
BUT WHAT IT ALSO SAYS IS THE PLAN PRESCRIBED BY THE COURT THAT'S ADOPTED.
THERE WILL BE USED FOR ALL SUBSEQUENT CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS UNTIL A FINAL PLAN IS ADOPTED BY THE COMMISSION.
THAT MEANS THAT EVEN IF YOU MISS YOUR, YOU SHOULD KEEP WORKING AND ADOPT A PLAN.
AND ONCE YOU HAVE A PLAN ADOPTED, THAT WILL BE THE PLAN.
SO KEEP THAT IN MIND IF YOU'RE PUSHING YOUR DEADLINE.
AND IF IT'S NOT CORRECT, IF, IF ANYBODY IS TELLING YOU, AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE HAS, BUT IT'S NOT CORRECT TO SAY THAT IF YOU DON'T MAKE YOUR DEADLINE, THEN YOU SHOULD JUST STOP BECAUSE YOU CAN STILL ADOPT YOUR PLAN.
AND IT JUST MEANS THAT IT BECOMES THE PLAN ONCE YOU'VE ADOPTED IT.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL STEP ASIDE AND LET MY COLLEAGUES SPEAK.
CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US YOUR NAME, SIR? JUST FOR EVERYONE.
IT'S ROGER BOARD GELT, B O R G E L T.
THANK YOU, MR. BORGELT, UM, PAC YOUNG WITH THE NAACP HISPANIC BANK COALITION.
AND NOW YOU CAN PUT A FACE ON THE VOICE THAT YOU'VE BEEN HEARING, UH, IN YOUR NIGHTMARES FOR THE LAST, UH, SEVERAL MONTHS.
IT'S AN HONOR TO SEE YOU ALL, UH, AND TO BE WITH YOU IN PERSON.
UH, FOR THE FIRST TIME, UH, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN AUSTIN POLITICS SINCE 1967 IN A DIRECT WAY.
WHEN I VOLUNTEERED TO BE A VOTER REGISTRATION, UH, VOLUNTEER WITH THE NAACP AND WAS PROUD TO BE MADE A CAPTAIN, UH, FOR THEIR VOLUME AND THEIR VOTER REGISTRATION PROGRAM.
THAT YEAR LATER, I'VE DONE A NUMBER OF THINGS SINCE I'M NOT GOING TO BORE YOU WITH THAT.
WHAT I DO WANT TO DO IS ADDRESS THE ISSUE RAISED IN THE VRA ABOUT A HISTORY OF DISCRIMINATION THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, UH, BY WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO DO, BECAUSE TEXAS AUSTIN HAS A VERY COLORFUL HISTORY.
YOU HAVE A SHORT, UH, UH, SUMMATION IN YOUR SLIDE.
I WANT TO FLESH THAT OUT SOME, UH, BRIEFLY, AND THE PRESENT THAT YOU HAVE, OUR LONGER VERSION, I BELIEVE IS A HANDOUT, UH, BRIEFLY FROM, UH, 1840 TO 1908.
WE HAD AN AT-LARGE SYSTEM, UH, PARTLY BECAUSE WE COULDN'T CHANGE HER.
WE COULDN'T CHANGE IT UNTIL THE 1870S.
AND, UH, DURING RECONSTRUCTION, WE MANAGED TO ELECT, UH, SOME BLACK REP TO BLACK REPRESENTATIVES TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, THAT CAME TO AN END, UM, AND WOULD NOT, WE WOULD NOT HAVE AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN AGAIN ON Z COUNCILS IN 1971.
SO YOU CAN SEE FOR THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY, UH, DISCRIMINATION BECAME AN ESTABLISHED HABIT VERY EARLY IN, HAS BEEN CONTINUED TO BE ONE UNTIL THE SEVENTIES, UM, IN 1909, UH, THE CUSTODIAN CAN, CAN, UH, MOVE TO A COMMISSIONER SYSTEM WHERE THEY HAD A COMMISSIONER FOR PARKS, POLICE, SO FORTH WATERWAYS WATER.
THIS WAS BECAUSE OF A WAR BETWEEN A MAN NAMED ZILKER.
YOU MAY HAVE GONE TO HIS PARK AND A MAN NAMED WOOLDRIDGE WHO ALSO ENDED UP WITH A PARK, UH, ZILKER REPRESENTED A NEW DIFFERENT OF MINORITIES, UH, IRISHMAN, UH, GERMANS AND SWEDES.
UH, THE SWEDES HAVE BEEN ABSORBS.
AND SO OF THE GERMANS, UH, SO YOU'RE NOT AWARE OF THEM AS A YOUNG MAN HERE.
I WAS AWARE OF THE SWEDISH POPULATION, UH, BUT THOSE MINORITIES CONTROL THE CITY COUNCIL UNDER
[00:30:01]
A SYSTEM OF DISTRICTS BECAUSE THEY MORE, THE MAJORITY OF THE DISTRICTS, MR. WOOLDRIDGE, HE WAS VERY FIRMLY IN FAVOR OF ANGLO-SAXONS RUNNING THE PLACE, WENT TO AN AT-LARGE SYSTEM, WHICH GAVE THEM CONTROL BECAUSE THERE WAS A MAJORITY OF THEM IN THE CITY PERIOD CONTROL OF THE CITY UNDER THE COMMISSION SYSTEM.AND IT REMAINED IN EFFECT BETWEEN 1906 AND 2010, UH, IN 1924, THEY, THEY WENT TO A CITY MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT, WHICH FURTHER REMOVED CONTROL OF THE CITY FROM THE DIRECTLY FROM THE VOTERS THAT PASSED BY A WHOLE 35 VOTES OUT OF AN OUT OF 4,881 VOTES CAST.
SO MR. WOOLDRIDGE HAD A VERY HARD TIME PASSING THAT, BUT HE DID MANAGE TO GET IT DONE, UH, IN 1928, THAT NEW CITY MASTER PLAN UNDER FEDERAL LAW THAT ALLOWED US TO HAVE A MASTER PLAN, TOLD BLACKS IF THEY WANTED PARKS AND WE HAVE WATER AND WASTEWATER, THEY NEED TO MOVE EAST OF EAST AVENUE, YOU KNOW, EAST AVENUE AS
AND THERE WERE SOME VICES LIKE CLARKSVILLE AND SO FORTH.
UH, THOSE AFRICAN-AMERICANS DIDN'T GET WATER AND WASTEWATER AND THEY NEVER GOT A PARK EVENTUALLY OUT OF NECESSITY.
THEY, SOME OF THEM GOT WATER AND WASTEWATER I GREW UP WITH IN WEST AUSTIN WAS THOSE THAT WERE IN CLARKSVILLE.
UH, BUT THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY EAST AUSTIN, UM, THE, FROM 1924 TO 1951, WE HAD A SYSTEM WHERE THERE WERE FIVE SPOTS ON THE COUNCIL AND THE TOP FIVE VOTE GETTERS GOT THOSE SPOTS.
SO EVERYBODY RAN AND WHOEVER GOT THE MOST VOTES, THE FIRST FIVE GOT ELECTED.
WELL, THAT STOPPED BECAUSE IN 1951, A MAN NAMED ARTHUR DINWIDDIE, THE THEN PRESIDENT OF THE NAACP RAN FOR THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND HE CAME IN EIGHTH AND AGENDA GENTLEMEN BEEN NAMED PATRICIA MENDEZ.
ALSO, SHE HAD A STRONG SHOWING.
I CHECKED AND HE CAME IN 10TH.
WELL, WE DIDN'T HAVE, WE COULDN'T HAVE THAT BECAUSE, SO IN 1953, WE PUT IN PLACE A FIVE PLACE SYSTEM IN WHICH YOU RAN FOR PLACES.
AND YOU HAD TO HAVE A MAJORITY OF THE PLACES MR.
SO THAT ENDED ANY CHANCE OF BLACK OR HISPANIC REPRESENTATION IN THE FIFTIES.
UH, IT WASN'T TILL 1959, BY THE WAY, THAT AFRICAN-AMERICANS WERE ALLOWED TO SWIM AT BARTON SPRINGS IN 1963, UH, 30 RESTAURANTS GOT TOGETHER AND ALLOWED BLACKS TO EAT AT WHITE RESTAURANTS.
SO THAT WAS A BIG STEP FORWARD.
ONE OF THE MORE TARIFF, ONE OF THE WORST THINGS I EVER SAW WAS IN 1968, THIS WAS CONSIDERED LYNDON REMAINS JOHNSON'S HOME CITY IN 1968.
HIS LAST PIECE OF CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION WAS PASSED, WHICH WAS YOU OPEN HOUSING WALL.
HOWEVER, WHEN THE CITY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN PASSED A COMPLIMENTARY PIECE OF LEGISLATION TO OPEN HOUSING AT THE CITY LEVEL, REFERENDUM WAS PUT FORWARD BY INTEREST HERE IN AUSTIN, LED BY KLANSMEN TO REPEAL THAT ORDINANCE.
AND THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL BY VOTE OF 57 TO 43%.
THE CITY OPEN HOUSING ORDINANCE WAS REPEALED IN THE HOME CITY OF THE PRESIDENT WHO HAD PASSED IT NATIONALLY.
THEN IN 1969, THE THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO WERE THE BACKBONE OF THE FIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO VOTED FOR THAT ALL WERE DEFEATED IN THE CITY ELECTION.
AND WHAT WOULD AMOUNTED TO A CITY CLAN LED COUNCIL WAS PUT IN PLACE, UH, EVENTUALLY AND 69 ALSO, THEY HAD PASSED THE THING INCREASED INCREASING THE COUNCIL TO SEVEN MEMBERS WITH A MAYOR ACTUALLY FOR THE FIRST TIME ELECTED AT LARGE AND SIX COUNCIL MEMBERS ELECTED, UH, FROM 71 TO 75.
WE HAD A SORT OF RENAISSANCE AROUND HERE BECAUSE WE MANAGED TO MOBILIZE THE MINORITY COMMUNITY, ORGANIZED LABOR AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, AS WELL AS OLD TIME LIBERALS.
AND WE DID SOME STRANGE AND WONDERFUL THINGS FOR AUSTIN.
WE ELECTED THE FIRST BLACK, SINCE RECONSTRUCTION BURL HANCOCKS.
WE ELECTED THE FIRST, UH, ENVIRONMENTALIST LO LIBERMAN.
WE ELECTED THE FIRST PERSON OF A JEWISH FAITH EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE CITY.
JEFF FRIEDMAN, UH, ONE OF THE TWO COUNCIL, ONE OF THE THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO HAD VOTED FOR, UH, CIVIL RIGHTS WAS REELECTED NAMED DICK NICHOLS AND THE ANTI CIVIL WAR, ANTI, UH, CIVIL RIGHTS COUNCIL WAS BASICALLY A BLITZER RATED.
UH, AND NONE OF THEM WERE EVER SEEN SINCE AND 73 ARE FORMER UT STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT WAS ELECTED TO THE COUNCIL AND THE FIRST BLACK AND FIRST JEWISH COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE REELECTED.
AND 75, THE FIRST PROGRESSIVE CITY COUNCIL SINCE 67 WAS ELECTED FREEDMAN BECAME MAYOR.
THE FIRST HISPANIC JOHN TREVINO WAS ELECTED TO THE COUNCIL AND THE HISTORY OF THE CITY.
THE FIRST LGBTQ COUNCIL MEMBER EMMYLOU LYNN WAS
[00:35:01]
ELECTED AND AUSTIN HISTORY, THE FIRST BLACK COUNCIL MEMBER FROM EAST AUSTIN, JIMMY SNAIL, MR. HANCOCK'S WAS A FINE MAN, BUT DIDN'T LIVE.HE DIDN'T LIVE IN EAST AUSTIN WHEN HE WAS ELECTED WAS ELECTED.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME OVER TWO WOMEN WERE ELECTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
WE'D BEEN ELECTING WOMEN SINCE 1948 WHEN I WAS BORN, BUT ONLY ONE AT A TIME IN THAT YEAR IN 75, WE ELECTED TO, HOWEVER, THERE WAS A REAL REACTION.
SOMETHING CALLED THE GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT.
AND IN SUMMATION, THE GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT WAS ONE SO-CALLED PROGRESSIVE, AND ONE NON-RACIST BUSINESS GUY GOT TOGETHER AND CUT A DEAL THAT THEY WOULD ALLOW THE AFRICAN-AMERICANS A SEAT AND THE HISPANICS A SEAT AND NOT ALLOW THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO RUN ANYBODY AGAINST THE DESIGNATED BLACK AND THE DESIGNATED HISPANIC.
EXCEPT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT MEANT THE WHITE PEOPLE GOT TO ELECT THE BLACK AND THEN THAT WHITE PEOPLE GOT TO ELECT THE HISPANIC.
IT ALSO MEANT THAT FOR THE NEXT SOME QUARTER CENTURY, WHILE THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY GREW, THEY COULDN'T HAVE ANY MORE SEATS ON THE COUNCIL.
IF YOU RAN OUTSIDE THE DESIGNATED SEAT, YOU COULDN'T WIN.
THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THAT WAS WHEN GUS GARCIA, UH, RAN FOR MAYOR, WHICH HE'D INHERITED BECAUSE OF MOTHER MAYOR LEFT AND HE GOT ELECTED AND SOMEONE RAN FOR THE HISPANIC SEAT.
SO FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME, WE HAD TWO HISPANICS.
BUT TRUST ME, BY THEN BOTH THE GUYS THAT DID THE GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT WERE DEAD.
SO THEY COULDN'T ENFORCE IT THE NEXT TIME, BY THE WAY, WE GUESS WHAT WE DID, WE WENT BACK TO ONE HISPANIC AND ONE BLACK.
AND MOST OF THE TIME WE HAD SITUATIONS IN WHICH THE PERSON WHO RECEIVED THE MAJORITY OF THE VOTES IN THE HISPANIC AND BLACK COMMUNITY DID NOT WIN THE ELECTION.
THEY HAS THE BLACK AND HISPANIC BACK BY THE MAJORITY OF THE WHITE COMMUNITY GOT ELECTED.
IN FACT, WE HAD A SITUATION FOR 40 YEARS OR 15 OR 17 MAYORS.
AND OVER HALF THE CITY COUNCIL WERE ELECTED FROM TWOS FROM, FROM TWO ZIP CODES IN WEST AUSTIN, WEST ABOUT 35 NORTH OF THE RIVER AND SOUTH OF 180 3.
IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAD DISTRICT ELECTIONS EXCEPT THERE WAS JUST ONE DISTRICT THAT ELECTED THE MAYORS AND THE MOST OF THE MCU CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, IS THAT THAT WOULD NOT CHANGE UNTIL 2010, WHEN A PUBLIC ISSUE, WHEN A PUBLIC REFERENDUM WAS HELD ON A CHARTER AMENDMENT AND 61% OF THE VOTERS ARE HUMAN 2012, WHEN 61% OF THE VOTERS, UH, PASSED TEN ONE, IT ALSO CREATED AN INDEPENDENT CITIZENS, UH, INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION.
AND FRANKLY IT DID IT FOR A VERY, VERY SOUND AND SIMPLE REASON.
THOSE OF US THAT WERE INVOLVED.
AND I WAS ONE OF THOSE ALONG WITH THE THREE GENTLEMEN, YOU JUST HEARD FROM HAVE BEEN IN POLITICS AT THAT POINT A VERY LONG TIME.
AND WE UNDERSTOOD THAT THERE IS NOTHING MORE PERNICIOUS IN DEMOCRACY THAN HAVING THE POLITICIANS PICK THEIR DISTRICTS.
I IN PARTICULAR HAD AS A POLITICAL PROFESSIONAL EDUCATED THE LBJ SCHOOL AND KNOWING, AND HAVING A FIRM THAT WAS THE ONLY STATISTICAL POLITICAL CONSULTING FIRM IN THE STATE OF TEXAS HAD DRAWN DISTRICTS FOR DECADES.
AND GUESS WHO I DREW THEM FOR MY CLIENTS AND I REPRESENTED THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S CANDIDATES.
I KNEW WHAT REDISTRICTING GERRYMANDERING WAS BECAUSE I DID IT AND I DIDN'T JUST DO IT HERE.
I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS RIGHT, BUT WHEN YOU'RE ENGAGED IN A WAR, YOU DON'T SIT AROUND ARGUING OVER WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE SAD AUTO WIN.
AND THAT'S WHAT POLITICAL REDISTRICT AND HAD BECOME WHILE BEFORE I WAS EVER INVOLVED, AUSTIN, IF IT WAS EVER GOING TO EMERGE FROM A CONSISTENT PATTERN OF DISCRIMINATION HAD TO HAVE A COMMISSION LIKE YOURS.
AND WE FOUGHT TO PUT THAT IN AND WE FOUGHT TO GET IT PASSED, AND THAT'S WHY YOU EXIST.
AND THAT'S WHY AGEE AGR, THE OSS NITRA GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION MADE A MAJOR EFFORT IN THE FIRST DRAWING.
AND WHY MANY OF US ARE BACK IN THE HISPANIC AND BLACK COALITION TO HELP.
AGAIN, WE DO NOT WANT TO TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT YOU DO.
WE WANT TO ASSIST YOU IN ANY WAY WE CAN AND WHAT YOU'RE SEEKING TO ACCOMPLISH.
NUMBER TWO, YOU HAVE ASKED ME BEFORE, AND I WILL NOW ANSWER THIS QUESTION.
WHY ARE WE CONCERNED ABOUT ONLY FOUR DISTRICTS? BECAUSE AS WE WILL SHOW YOU LATER, WE THINK THERE IS ONLY AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO CREATE FOUR DISTRICTS FOR THE MINORITY COMMUNITY.
WE DO NOT SEEK TO DO WHAT I DID ONCE, WHICH WAS NOT ONLY DRAW THE DISTRICTS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
WE REPRESENT, BUT FOR EVERYBODY ELSE, THAT'S YOUR JOB.
BUT WE DO WANT TO GIVE OUR INPUT ON HOW TO BEST TO DRAW DISTRICTS FOR THE MINORITY COMMUNITY.
[00:40:01]
INTEND TO SHOW YOU AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME.THEN THE APPROPRIATE WAY BEYOND THAT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO DRAW THE OTHER SIX DISTRICTS ANY WAY YOU WANT TO, BUT WE DO INTEND TO STAY INVOLVED UP TO AND INCLUDING PRESENTING OPTIONS FOR THE MINORITY COMMUNITY DISTRICTS, BECAUSE WE DID END THE SYSTEM OR WHITE PEOPLE CHOSE MINORITY REPRESENTATIVES EIGHT YEARS AGO.
AND WE INTEND TO TRY TO BE SURE THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
SHAREPOINT DOES, I DID HAVE A QUESTION.
THIS HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN UNDERSTANDING AND GETTING A FIRSTHAND OF REVIEW OF WHAT ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN DOING.
AND I THINK I HAD ONE QUESTION AROUND, UM, THE CHARTER SET OUT AND I KNOW THERE'S, THERE'S A STACKED LIST IN ORDER OF PRIORITY THAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW, UM, THAT WAS LAID OUT FOR US, BUT IT DIDN'T NECESSARILY SAY IF THERE WERE A MINIMUM NUMBER OF RULES TO BE MET, OR IF HE COULD MEET ONE, LIKE IF WE MET THE FIRST ONE, WHICH WAS DISTRICTS MUST COMPLY WITH THE CONSTITUTION, WOULD THAT SUFFICE IN YOUR PAST? YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? THAT LIST OF THAT IS LIST OF LIST OF PRIORITIES.
BUT THAT LIST YOU NEED TO TRY TO COMPLY WITH EVERY ONE OF THEM.
THE POINT IS, IF YOU CAN'T COMPLY WITH THE LAST ONE TO BE ABLE TO COMPLY WITH THE OTHER ONES, THEN THAT'S WHY IT'S A LIST OF PRIORITIES.
BUT THERE MUST BE A GOOD FAITH EFFORT TO DO EVERYTHING ON THERE.
FOR INSTANCE, YOU CAN'T TO DO EVERYTHING AND THEN HAVE A DISTRICT THAT RUNS FROM PFLUGERVILLE TO HAYES COUNTY THAT WOULD NOT BE APPROPRIATE IF HOWEVER, YOU HAVE A DISTRICT THAT FOR GEOGRAPHIC REASONS HAS TO RUN FROM THE NORTHERN EDGE TO SOME DOWN TO SOME, YOU KNOW, SOME DISTANCE DOWN INTO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BECAUSE THAT'S JUST WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF POPULATION.
THEN YOU'VE DONE EVERYTHING YOU CAN, AND THERE'S NOTHING ELSE YOU CAN DO, BUT YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF ALL THOSE PRIORITIES.
WHAT ROGER SAID WAS IMPORTANT.
THE LEGISLATURE NEVER HEARD OF COMPACT AND CONTIGUOUS DISTRICTS.
WE ARE ASKING IN THE WAY WE WROTE THE AMENDMENT, THAT IN EVERYTHING YOU DO, YOU BE AWARE OF THAT AS WELL AS THE OTHER ISSUES LIKE THE VRA AND SO FORTH SO THAT WE DON'T END UP WITH LITERALLY WHAT ELDRIDGE GARRY CREATED, WHICH IS A MONSTER.
IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN HIS ORIGINAL DISTRICT, RAN ALL OVER THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS, WE WANT DISTRICTS THAT ARE AS TIGHTLY ORGANIZED AS DEMOGRAPHICS, GEOGRAPHY PERMIT.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING ME TIME TO STAND UP.
AND, UH, I GUESS I'M REPRESENTING PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED HERE THROUGH ALL OF THESE.
NOW I'M NOT AS OLD AS THE 1928 PLAN, BUT I'M COMING PRETTY CLOSE.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK EACH OF YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE CITY, TO THIS COMMISSION.
I APPRECIATE HOW MUCH WORK YOU'RE PUTTING INTO IT TO GET IT DONE AND GET IT DONE.
RIGHT? UH, MY LIVED EXPERIENCE AND THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF MANY AUSTIN NIGHTS SHOWS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR EACH OF YOU TO LIVE UP TO THE NAME OF THIS COMMISSION.
BE INDEPENDENT, RELY ON DATA AND FACTS.
AS YOU DRAW THE LINES FOR THE NEW DISTRICTS.
I LIVED MOST OF MY LIFE DURING THE ERA OF JIM CROW IN THE NEGRO DISTRICT AS DEFINED BY THE 1928 MASTER PLAN.
MY FAMILY MOVED FROM EIGHT 15 EAST 11TH STREET TO 2207 EAST 22ND STREET IN 19 54, 20 SECOND STREET IS JUST SOUTH OF MAIN ROAD AND MAIN A ROAD IS THE DIVIDING LINE SET WAS THE DIVIDING LINE SET UP BY THE CITY WHERE AFRICAN-AMERICANS COULD BUY PROPERTY.
THE SOUTH SIDE OF MAIN OR ROAD AND WHITES COULD BUY PROPERTY ON THE NORTH SIDE OF MAIN ROAD.
THE PROMISES MADE ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF MOVING TO THE NEGRO DISTRICT IN THE 1928 PLAN.
DIDN'T MATERIALIZE GETTING THE STREETS, PAVED PARKS, CONSTRUCTED AND MAINTAINED HAVING TRASH DUMPING SITES IN THE INCINERATOR, IN THE AREA, RELOCATED EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS.
[00:45:01]
I REMEMBER ORTHOPEDIC WITTY.MY FATHER O H ELLIOT ATTORNEY VIRGIL LADIN, DR.
EVERY GIVINGS AND OTHERS ALWAYS HAVING TO COME TO CITY COUNCIL TO KEEP THE PROMISES, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL KEPT THE PROMISES THAT THEY MADE.
THEY TOOK ME TO THE POLLS WHEN THEY VOTED, I SAW THEM PAY THEIR POLL TAXES.
YES, AS PECK SAID IN 1971, BURLED HANCOCKS ON WHOSE SHOULDERS I STOOD WAS ELECTED, BUT HE LIVED IN WEST OF
JIM JENNIFER KIM WAS ELECTED TO THE COUNCIL IN 2005.
THAT WAS A GREAT DAY FOR MANY OF US IN THIS CITY TO HAVE SOMEONE OF ASIAN ANCESTRY ON THE CITY COUNCIL.
THE ISSUE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE NO POWER, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WITH NO POWER, NO ACCESS DON'T HAVE THE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS WHO LIVE IN A HISTORIC COMMUNITIES FOR MINORITY IS THAT THE GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT DID NOT ALWAYS ALLOW FOR A CANDIDATE WHO LIVED IN OR HAD PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF AREAS OUTSIDE OF THE CENTER CITY.
EVERYBODY'S FOCUSED ON HOW TO MAKE DOWNTOWN OR THOSE AREAS VERY CLOSE TO THE, INTO DOWNTOWN.
THEY WERE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
THEY HAD NO REAL INTEREST IN REPRESENTING CONSTITUENTS BECAUSE THEIR VOTES, EVEN THOUGH WE ALL VOTED FOR EVERYBODY, THEIR VOTES, CONTRIBUTIONS AND POWER CAME FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY.
AN EXAMPLE IS THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATERLOO PARK.
IT'S STILL GOING ON FOR YEARS.
WE'VE, UH, LOTS OF MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT TO GET WATERLOO PARK TO WHERE IT IS TODAY, UM, TO THE DETRIMENT OF MANY OTHER THINGS THAT PEOPLE EAST OF I 35 WERE CONCERNED ABOUT.
NOT THAT MUCH EMPHASIS WAS PLACED ON HEALTH CARE, NOT ON INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
WE'VE GOT POTHOLES AND HAVE HAD POTHOLES IN EAST AUSTIN THAT A SMALL CHILD COULD FALL IN, UH, UPDATING WASTEWATER LINES.
TRANSIT TRANSIT WAS AN ISSUE BACK WHEN, UH, IN THE SIXTIES, IT STILL IS AN ISSUE TODAY.
THOSE ISSUES HAVE NOT BEEN ADDRESSED BECAUSE OF HOW WE WERE, UM, HOW THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, THE POWER INFLUENCES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND WHAT THEIR ISSUES WERE AS OPPOSED TO WHAT THE CONSTITUENTS ISSUES, WHERE POWER IS SEDUCTIVE.
THAT'S WHY THERE WERE THREE BALLOT INITIATIVES IN 20 12, 2 OF THEM BY THE CITY COUNCIL, LEAVE IT AS IT IS, KEEP IT AS IT WAS OR A DISTRICT THAT HAD SIX DISTRICTS, TWO PEOPLE AT LARGE AND THE MAYOR.
AND SO WHEN THE VOTE WAS TAKEN, THE PEOPLE VOTED FOR REPRESENTATION.
THAT WAS 10 DISTRICTS AND A MAYOR.
THE PEOPLE IN MY COMMUNITY IN SMALLER COMMUNITIES, LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES ARE NOT THOSE THAT VOTE OFTEN, BUT WHEN THEY VOTE, THEY WANT SOMEBODY IS THAT IT'S GOING TO BE THERE TO LISTEN TO WHAT THEIR ISSUES ARE AND RESPOND TO THEM IN A TIMELY MANNER.
AND AT LEAST TRY AT LEAST TRY TO GET SOME OF THEIR ISSUES RESOLVED.
THE CHARTER STATES THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS A NONPARTISAN.
THAT MEANS WHEN I RAN, I DID RUN AS A DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN.
I RAN AS A PERSON WHO WAS WILLING TO BE INDEPENDENT.
I'M ASKING YOU ALL TO AWESOME PEOPLE WHO LIVED WITHIN THE 46 SQUARE MILES OF DISTRICT ONE.
THERE WERE NINE OF US RUNNING THAT YEAR FOR CITY COUNCIL.
AND WE ALL HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO OUT THROUGHOUT THE 46 SQUARE DISTRICT, 46 SQUARE MILES OF THE DISTRICT AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT NEEDS ARE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UP NORTH NEAR HOWARD LANE, JAEGER LANE, AND PALMER, THOSE THAT LIVE DOWN NEAR DEL VALLEY ISD.
THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE ACROSS TOLL ROAD, ONE 30, WHO ACTUALLY LIVE IN THE MAYNOR ISD DISTRICT.
SO WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WHAT THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE WERE AT LARGE REPRESENTATION THAT NEVER HAPPENED.
THEY WERE ONLY CONCERNED IN CONCENTRATED ON WHAT WAS CLOSEST TO THE INNER CITY.
SO WE, THE PEOPLE ARE PUTTING OUR TRUST IN EACH OF YOU NOT TO BE INFLUENCED BY POLITICIANS OR OUTSIDE ENTITIES ARE EVEN, AND I CAN SAY THIS BECAUSE I'VE BEEN UP THERE WHERE YOU'RE SITTING NOW, OR EVEN
[00:50:01]
ENTITIES WITHIN THE WALLS OF THIS BUILDING, AS FAST AS THE CITY HAS GROWN, IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THAT DISTRICTS ARE DRAWN WITH AS MUCH EQUITY, FAIRNESS, AND INDEPENDENCE, AS YOU ALL CAN MUSTER AUSTIN'S ELECTION SYSTEM WAS STRUCTURED AND RESTRUCTURED OVER AND OVER TO SUPPRESS MINORITY VOTES.ALL AUSTINITES ARE DEPENDING ON YOU.
AND FOR THAT, I'M VERY GRATEFUL.
I'M THE CITY'S FORMER CITY DEMOGRAPHER.
YOU HEARD FROM MY SUCCESSOR, DR.
LAILA VALENCIA A FEW WEEKS AGO.
AND I'D LIKE TO SORT OF PICK UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF AND SORT OF GO, GO BACKWARDS.
UM, CAN I GET A CLICKER NAT AND FIRE UP THAT PR PRESENTATION? ALL RIGHT.
SO PRESENTATION TAKEAWAYS, I'LL JUST READ THESE IN, UH, AND APPRECIATE YOUR TOLERANCE.
UM, BUT ALSO BEFORE I START THIS, I WANT TO SAY KIND OF ECHO PRESIDENT LENDER'S COMMENTS AND OTHERS.
UM, THE WORK THAT YOU TH THAT YOU FOLKS ARE TASKED WITH IS IMPORTANT IT'S NECESSARY.
AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE KIND OF DIFFICULT IN MY MIND.
THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE A HARDER LIFT, A MORE DIFFICULT LIFT THAN THE FIRST TIME DISTRICTS WERE DRAWN.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE, ONE OF MY TAKEAWAYS THAT COMES FROM THIS IS BECAUSE IN THE, IN THE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, SINCE WE'VE HAD HAD DISTRICTS, YOU KNOW, IN THAT 10 YEAR PERIOD, THE CITY HAS GAINED 200,000 INDIVIDUALS IN THAT INCREMENT OF GAIN.
THAT 200,000 HAS NOT OCCURRED EQUALLY ACROSS THE 10 DISTRICTS, RIGHT? SO BACK TO THE VERY FIRST CRITERIA IN THAT LIST, THE DISTRICTS REALLY HAVE TO HAVE TO BE ALMOST EXACTLY EQUAL TO EACH OTHER.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S GOING TO BE A REAL CHALLENGE.
AND I THINK YOU'LL, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I HOPE TO SORT OF DEMONSTRATE IS WHY THAT'S GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE.
SO WITH THAT, LET ME JUMP BACK INTO THE TAKEAWAYS IN TERMS OF RACE AND ETHNICITY, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS EXPERIENCED PROFOUND DIVERSIFICATION OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS, AS AN EASY THING TO DOCUMENT.
IT'S AN EASY THING TO SHOW, AND YET DIVERSIFICATION DYNAMICS ARE SHIFTING STRUCTURALLY AND SPATIALLY.
NOW, WHEN I USE THAT TERM STRUCTURALLY, I'M REALLY TALKING ABOUT SHERIFF TOTAL, WHAT PERCENT IS, YOU KNOW, IS THIS GROUP W YOU KNOW, HOW IS THAT, IS THAT CHANGING? AND OF COURSE, SPATIALLY, I'M TALKING ABOUT WHAT PART OF THE CITY W WE FIND CONCENTRATIONS IN AND IN THE TWO, AND THE TWO CAN BE MOVING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
THE THIRD POINT AUSTIN'S COLLAPSING HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IS REMAKING THE RACIAL AND ETHNIC LANDSCAPES OF NOT ONLY THE CITY, BUT THE MEL METROPOLITAN REGION AS WELL.
AND OF COURSE I COULD, YOU KNOW, I SORT OF THOUGHT ABOUT HOW DO I EXPRESS THAT I WOUND UP CHOOSING THIS, THIS NOTION OF AUSTIN'S COLLAPSING, HOUSING AFFORDABILITY, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US WHO LIVES HERE AND ESPECIALLY IN THE LAST YEAR HAS EXPERIENCED, RIGHT? THE STEEPNESS OF THE SLOPE OF THE INCREASE IN OUR HOUSING.
IT IS, IT IS INCREASED AT SUCH A RATE THAT THAT IS BEGINNING TO PUSH, NOT ONLY THE LOWEST INCOME AUSTINITES AROUND, BUT IT'S PUSHING EVERYBODY AROUND.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S PART OF YOUR CHALLENGE.
UM, AS I'LL SHOW YOU HERE IN A COUPLE OF SLIDES, NOW, A MAJORITY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN AUSTIN LIVE OUTSIDE THE CITY OF AUSTIN, RIGHT? AND THAT'S, UH, TH TH THAT SUBURBANIZATION PROCESS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'LL LOOK AT.
AND THEN THE FINAL POINT, THE STRUCTURAL AND SPATIAL HISTORIES OF AUSTIN'S AFRICAN-AMERICAN LATINO AND ASIAN POPULATIONS EACH HAVE HAD THEIR OWN UNIQUE TRAJECTORY.
AND MY POINT THERE IS THAT YOU CAN'T JUST LOOK AT THIS, YOU KNOW, I'M EVEN KIND OF LOATH TO USE THE TERM MINORITY.
I MEAN, IT'S, UM, I CONSIDER MYSELF A WORD PERSON.
I'M INTERESTED IN HOW WORDS COME IN AND OUT OF FAVOR, AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TERM MAJORITY MINORITY IT'S, UH, IT BEGAN TO BE FREIGHTED WITH THE PEJORATIVE OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.
ANYWAY, MY POINT HERE IS THAT I THINK AS A COMMISSION, YOU WILL SEE IN THE DATA WILL, THE DATA WILL SAY IT THEMSELVES.
EACH OF THOSE THREE COMMUNITIES IS EXPERIENCING NOT AN ISOLATED TRAJECTORY, BUT A SOMEWHAT INDEPENDENT TRAJECTORY NEXT, NEXT, RIGHT.
I WANTED TO SHOW YOU THIS MAP OF THE HUNDREDS OF MAPS I GOT TO MAKE AS A CITY EMPLOYEE, AND IS WORKING AS A DEMOGRAPHER.
THIS IS, THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MAPS, BECAUSE IT SAYS, I THINK IT SAYS TWO THINGS REALLY EFFECTIVELY.
SO YOU LOOK AT THAT RED AND KIND OF ORANGE, THAT COLLECTION OF, UH, UH, PRECINCTS IN WEST AUSTIN.
THOSE WERE THE PRECINCTS THAT VOTED TO KEEP THE STATUS QUO.
YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBER HOUSTON TALKED ABOUT
[00:55:01]
THE THREE CHOICES.IT SHOULD BE NO SURPRISE BECAUSE THIS WAS THE PART OF TOWN THAT WAS ENJOYING THE HEGEMONY OF WHAT IT MEANT TO SEND EVERYBODY TO COUNCIL.
A LOT OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE TALKED ABOUT, YES, THERE WAS THIS GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT.
IT SOUNDS REALLY HOKEY TO SAY THAT, BUT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT YES, THERE WAS AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND A LATINO ON COUNCIL, BUT THOSE COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE BEING CHOSEN, SELECTED AND SENT TO THE DYESS FROM WHITE, OLDER HOME OWNING WEST AUSTIN.
NOW, THE SECOND POINT, I THINK THIS MAP SAYS, AND THIS IS THE POINT THAT REALLY KIND OF FIRES ME UP BECAUSE, UM, THIS IS A, THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT'S, THAT'S NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART.
I'VE NEVER SEEN A MORE DISPARATE COLLECTION OF NEIGHBORHOODS, AND THOSE ARE THE BLUES AND THE DARK BLUES.
I'VE NEVER SEEN A MORE DISPARATE COLLECTION OF NEIGHBORHOODS.
ALL SAY THE SAME THING WE WANT GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION, RIGHT? KEEP IN MIND, THIS WAS THE SIXTH TIME THAT WE HAD GIVEN THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN, THE CHANCE TO GO BACK TO DISTRICTS.
RIGHT? AND SO, AND I THINK ONE OF MY KEY TAKEAWAY HERE IS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, AND I BELIEVE THIS AS A PROFESSIONAL DEMOGRAPHER, I BELIEVE THIS AS A NATIVE AUSTIN, IDA, BELIEVE THIS AS SOMEONE WHO LOVES THE CITY, WE ABSOLUTELY HAD TO GO TO DISTRICTS.
WE HAD BECOME TOO BIG, TOO DIVERSE.
IT JUST SIMPLY WAS SO NOT EQUITABLE TO CONTINUE WHAT WE WERE DOING.
AND YET I'M VERY, VERY CRITICAL TO ADD GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION ONLY WORKS IF YOU DRAW THE FOUR OPPORTUNITY DISTRICTS.
THINK ABOUT, IF YOU JUST IGNORE THE NOTION OF AN OPPORTUNITY DISTRICT, YOU COULD CREATE GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICTS REALLY PRETTY EASILY, RIGHT? YOU, YOU WOULDN'T BE CONCERNED WITH BALANCING THE RACE AND ETHNICITY, BUT THAT WOULD FLY IN THE FACE OF, AT LEAST WHAT'S LEFT OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
AND I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HEAR A PRESENTATION ON THAT.
I WANTED TO BE HERE FOR THAT MYSELF.
AND SO THAT WAS THE, THAT WAS THE PRO AND CON, BUT LOOK AT THESE VOTE TOTALS, RIGHT? YOU CAN SEE CIRCLE C OBVIOUSLY LEADING THAT CHARGE FOR GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION.
BUT LOOK AT RIVERSIDE, LOOK AT, UM, UH, SOUTH AUSTIN, LOOK AT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AREA.
JOHN NEIGHBORHOOD, LOOK AT NORTHWEST HILLS, LOOK AT THOSE BIG VOTE TOTALS ACROSS THE NORTHWEST AND THE NORTH CENTRAL AND EVEN THE NORTHEAST.
SO I, I, YOU KNOW, THERE JUST AREN'T THAT MANY CITY VOTES THAT TURN OUT LIKE THIS NEXT, NEXT, ALL RIGHT.
UM, AND IT'S IT'S, TO ME IT'S PRETTY AMAZING, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, UH, 20 YEARS AGO, I, WOULD'VE NEVER PREDICTED THIS, A NON HISPANIC, WHITE SHERIFF TOTAL HOVERING JUST BELOW 50% AND DURABLE.
I WOULD HAVE CONTINUED, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT WOULD HAVE CONTINUED TO DROP A HISPANIC, UH, SHARE OF TOTAL THAT IS LESS THAN IT WAS IN 2010.
I WOULD HAVE NEVER PREDICTED THAT.
UM, UH, THE ASIAN SHARE AT EIGHT AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHEV AT 77 FOR THAT I THINK WAS INEVITABLE, UM, WITHIN AN ALSO AN INCREASINGLY LARGE MULTI-RACIAL SHARE.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY, HOW ARE WE GOING TO ACCOMMODATE THAT? HOW DO WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT? I DON'T KNOW, THAT'S A CHALLENGE NEXT.
AND THE THING I WANT TO POINT OUT HERE, AND THERE'S, THIS IS ALMOST SORT OF THE GIVE, GIVE LILAH CREDIT FOR, UH, UH, SHE WAS A STUDENT OF DR.
THIS IS WHAT'S CALLED GOING MURDOCH IN THE BUSINESS WHERE YOU THROW UP A BUNCH OF THEM.
WE LOOK AT THE NUMBER ON THE FAR, RIGHT, ALMOST AT THE TOP AT 48.93 IN, IN BOLD.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS BACK TO THIS 200,000 POPULATION INCREMENT THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THEY WIN THE DISTRICT.
MOST HALF OF THAT INCREMENT CAME TO FROM NON-HISPANIC WHITES.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT URBAN TRAJECTORY IN, UH, IN, IN MOST BIG AMERICAN CITIES, IT'S CERTAINLY ANOMALOUS WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT FROM A TEXAS PERSPECTIVE NEXT LOOK AT THOSE COUNTIES, RIGHT? THESE ARE THE SIX BIG T UH, URBAN COUNTIES IN TEXAS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT TRAVIS ON THE FAR RIGHT, A PLURALITY OF ITS GROWTH.
AND OF COURSE, I'M USING TRAVIS AS A, AS A SURROGATE FOR THE CITY.
A PLURALITY OF ITS GROWTH HAS COME FROM NON-HISPANIC WHITES.
LOOK HOW DIFFERENT THAT IS FROM ALL THE OTHER URBAN COUNTIES.
NEXT, THIS IS WHAT, IN A SIMPLISTIC WAY, WE STARTED IN 1960 WITH THE NON-HISPANIC WHITE SHARE OF TOTAL BEING ALMOST 74% IN TWO, ALMOST EXACTLY EQUAL SHARES COMING FROM AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND HISPANICS.
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SHARED SHARE AT 13 AND HISPANIC SHARE AT 13, THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SHARED PROBABLY DOWN FROM ITS PEAK OF 15%, WHICH PROBABLY OCCURRED IN ABOUT 1955.
UM, OVER TIME, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE HISPANIC, LATINO, SHEER INCREASED, UM, ALMOST EQUALING THE, UH, THE NON-HISPANIC WHITE SHARE.
I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAVE CONTINUED NEXT.
AND OF COURSE, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I PULLED OFF MY WEBSITE, RIGHT.
WE WERE RIGHT ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE ASIAN SHARE WOULD, WOULD, WOULD AT SOME POINT SURPASS THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SHARE, BUT I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA FIND NINE YEARS FROM NOW WHERE, UM, THE LATINO SHARE IS LARGER
[01:00:01]
THAN THE, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH, WHITE SHARE NEXT.I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THESE QUICKLY.
UM, THIS IS A MAP CIRCA 1891 THAT SHOWS THE LOCATION OF FRIEDMAN COMMUNITIES RIGHT IN THERE.
THERE WERE 13 OF THEM AT THE TIME.
WE'RE ONLY SEEING ABOUT NINE ON THE MAP, UM, ROBERTSON HILL PLEASANT HILL MASONTOWN GREGORY TOWN, WHEAT VILLE, UM, UH, NOT SHOWN ON THE MAP IS, UH,
AND THEN THE FARTHEST WEST THAT YOU SEE THAT NUMBER FIVE THAT'S CLARKSVILLE.
AND I THOUGHT IT WAS, IT WAS SO FASCINATING TO HEAR COUNCIL MEMBER EUSTON TALK ABOUT SORT OF THAT THE CITY GAVE THESE SOMEWHAT EMPTY INCENTIVES, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE, DO YOU REMEMBER GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF? THIS WAS THE, THIS THING, THIS IS HOW IT EXISTS IN 1890 NEXT, AND THAT'S A SIMPLE LISTING OF IT.
AND YOU CAN GO THROUGH THIS AS YOUR, AS YOUR BACKGROUND THAT SIMPLY LISTING THOSE COMMUNITIES NEXT.
AND THEN IT WAS THIS, YOU KNOW, THE INFAMOUS 1928 MASTER PLAN, WHICH ATTEMPTED TO CONSOLIDATE THOSE, THOSE COMMUNITIES.
UM, I THINK IT'S WORTH SAYING THAT IF YOU EVER HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE THIS PLAN, GO TO THE AUSTIN HISTORY CENTER AND, YOU KNOW, HOLD IT IN YOUR HAND AND READ THROUGH IT TO MY MIND, IT'S ALMOST SINISTER WHAT AN OFFHANDED TREATMENT AND THE CREATION OF THE SO-CALLED NEGRO NEGRO DISTRICT.
IT IS, RIGHT, LIKE A LOT OF COMPREHENSIVE PLANS THAT DEALS WITH LAND USE, ZONING, TRANSPORTATION, RECREATIONAL FACILITIES.
AND IT'S JUST KIND OF A CHAPTER WHERE YOU GET THE CREATION, UH, OF, UH, OF THE NEGRO DISTRICT.
YOU KNOW, THIS WAS THE CITY'S ATTEMPT TO CODIFY JIM CROW, RIGHT? AND THIS AND THE CITY WAS NOT UNIQUE, BUT IT WAS.
AND I, AND I, AND NOW THAT I'M NO LONGER A CITY EMPLOYEE, I CAN SAY THIS TO ME, THIS IS A CITY.
THIS IS A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT WE IMPLEMENTED.
THERE ARE LOTS OF RECENT CONFERENCE AND PLANS THAT SIT ON THE SHELF AND GO UNEMPLOYMENT.
THE NEXT, THIS NOTION OF, UH, OF A COTTAGE SEGREGATED AUSTIN WAS FURTHERED WITH RED LINING.
AND I WONDER IF YOU CAN LOOK AT THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE MAP AND THAT, THAT, THAT PIECE OF EAST AUSTIN, WHERE YOU HAVE A RED LINE THAT, THAT, THAT THE LEGEND SAYS, AND THEN IMMEDIATELY UNDERNEATH THAT HAZARDOUS, WHICH IS BASICALLY RUNNING ALONG, WHAT IS TODAY EAST CESAR CHAVEZ? IT SAYS BEST WELL, MR. YOUNG TALKED ABOUT, UM, HIS SWEDISH CONSTITUENTS.
THAT WAS THE SWEDISH NEIGHBORHOOD IN, IN, IN, IN, IN, IN MANY REGARDS.
BUT MY POINT HERE IS THAT THIS IS THE CODIFIED SEGREGATION THAT WE IMPLEMENTED AS A CITY WAS FURTHERED AND ENTRENCHED BY RED LINING, WHICH OF COURSE OCCURRED ACROSS THE COUNTRY NEXT.
AND THIS IS A WAY TO LOOK, I'M GONNA BEGIN TO SHOW YOU CENSUS DATA, 1990 ON THE LEFT.
THIS IS CONCENTRATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS AT THE BLOCK LEVEL.
UM, I WISH I HAD A POINTER, BUT I, THAT DENSE CONCENTRATION OF THE PANEL ON THE LEFT I 35 IS IMMEDIATELY TO IT'S IT'S WEST.
AND I THINK A POINT THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT THE CONCENTRATION IN THAT 10 SHORT YEARS REALLY BEGINS TO BREAK UP, BUT I WANT TO MAKE THE POINT THAT, THAT 1990 DISTRIBUTION, THAT CONCENTRATION THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS REALLY THE, KIND OF THE, EVEN THE REMNANT OF WHAT WAS PROBABLY THE PEAK IN 1975.
NOW AGAIN, A HIGHLY SEGREGATED COMMUNITY, BUT A COMMUNITY THAT HAD A FULLY DEVELOPED ECOSYSTEM OF BUSINESSES, ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT.
UM, I SAW JAMES BROWN IN 1976 AT A PLACE CALLED CHARLIE'S PLAYHOUSE.
RIGHT? WE HAD VENUES THERE THAT OVER TIME DISAPPEARED AS THAT COMMUNITY LEFT AND MIGRATED OUT OF THE CITY.
AND SO WHILE CERTAINLY SEGREGATION BEGAN TO BREAK DOWN AND I'M NOT ARGUING THAT SEGREGATION GAVE US THAT AS A POSITIVE, BUT I WANT TO JUST WANT TO MAKE THE POINT THAT THERE WAS A COMMUNITY THAT TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT IN A VERY POSITIVE WAY NEXT.
SO I'LL BRING US UP TO DATE TWO THOUSANDS NOW ON THE LEFT AND 2010 ON THE RIGHT, YOU REALLY CAN HARDLY SEE EAST AUSTIN, RIGHT? AND THE, THE PANEL ON THE RIGHT YOU CAN HARDLY MAKE OUT.
WHERE WAS THAT NEGRO DISTRICT? I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT I'M MAPPING SHARE OF TOTAL.
IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT MAP WHEN YOU MAP ABSOLUTE NUMBERS NEXT, WHICH IS WHAT THIS IS.
AND THIS IS THE, SO IT'S THE SAME EXACT DATA FROM 2010, BUT RATHER THAN MAPPING AS A SHERIFF TOTAL MAPPING AS AN ABSOLUTE, AND YOU CAN BEGIN TO SEE THIS INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF DESEGREGATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS AND YET BACK TO YOUR TASK, RIGHT? SO WHAT IS THE 2020 MAP GOING TO LOOK LIKE? I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE EVEN MORE SPATIALLY, UH, DISPERSED, UM, WHICH AGAIN, I THINK IS A HUGE POSITIVE, BUT IT'S GOING TO MAKE YOUR TASK OF CREATING THIS AFRICAN-AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY DISTRICT REALLY, REALLY TOUGH NEXT.
UM, FROM THE, FROM 2020 10, WE ACTUALLY HAD A LOSS IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN INDIVIDUALS AT THE CITY LEVEL,
[01:05:01]
NOT AT THE MSA LEVEL, NOT AT THE METROPOLITAN LEVEL.UH, UH, AFRICAN-AMERICAN BROTHERS AT THE METROPOLITAN LEVEL HAS BEEN REALLY PRETTY STEADY, BUT, UH, MATT'S PROFESSOR ERIC TANG.
WHO'S REALLY PRETTY GOOD, PRETTY, PRETTY COOL GUY, BUT HE KNOWS HIS STUFF.
AND HE'S GOTTEN, HE'S GOTTEN QUITE A BIT OF ACADEMIC MILEAGE OFF THIS NOTION OF, HEY, AUSTIN IS THE ONLY BIG BOOM TOWN IN THE COUNTRY THAT ACTUALLY LOST BLACK POPULATION, OTHER BOOM TOWNS LIKE CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA IS A HUGE INCREASE IN ITS BLACK POPULATION.
UM, UH, AND YET I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT HAS TURNED AROUND NOW.
IT NOT, IT HASN'T, YOU TURNED AROUND IT JUST IN TERMS OF EXPLOSIVE BLACK GROWTH, BUT WE HAVE HAD POSITIVE AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION GROWTH IN THE CITY SINCE 2010 NEXT, RIGHT.
THERE'S A WAY TO SHOW AT THE CENSUS TRACK LEVEL LOSS AND GAIN.
AND SO THOSE RED CENSUS TRACKS, THERE'S CORY STAUNTON, THERE'S, UH, UH, SOUTHEAST AUSTIN.
AND THEN THERE'S THE NACA AREA.
WHEN I SAY NACA, THAT'S AN ACRONYM.
ACRONYM STANDS FOR NORTH NORTH AUSTIN CIVIC ASSOCIATION AREA.
IT'S THE AREA AROUND LINEAR HIGH SCHOOL.
SO ALL OF THOSE CENSUS TRACKS LOST AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE GREEN TRACKS TO THE EAST AND TO THE NORTH NEXT, AND I'LL SHOW YOU THAT THE MSA LEVEL.
SO, YOU KNOW, THIS, I THINK IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE STORY, RIGHT? AND I HAD A COUPLE OF CONVERSATIONS WITH A COUNCIL MEMBER HOUSTON OVER THE PAST WEEK.
AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I SORT OF ASKED HER TO SIT IN MY MIND, THIS IS A STORY OF ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT, RIGHT? UM, UH, BLACK FLAME THAT FAMILIES IN THE NINETIES AND DOUBLES WANTS REACHING.
MIDDLE-CLASS HA FINDING THE WHEREWITHAL TO SAY, WE'RE LEAVING.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO W WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE HIM FOR THE SUBURBS THE WAY HOUSEHOLDS DO ACROSS THE COUNTRY, RIGHT? AND THIS IS, UH, AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAVE SUBURBANIZED AT A, AT A FASTER RATE THAN OTHER GROUPS.
AND I THINK WHEN YOU DRILL INTO THAT, IT'S, WE'RE GOING TO GET MORE HOUSE FOR THE MONEY.
WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO REJECT A SEGREGATIONIST SORT OF PASS.
AND WE'RE GOING TO SORT OF, YOU KNOW, JOIN THIS SUBURBS.
THIS IS ANECDOTAL, BUT I HAVE A COLLEAGUE WHO I USED TO WORK WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, CHARLES NICHOLS.
HE, HE BOUGHT A HOUSE AND MAYBE 97 OR 98 AND KENT HOLLOW IN ROUND ROCK.
AND I SAID, CHARLES, WHY'D YOU MOVE TO THE SUBURBS.
AND HE GOES OF THE MANY REASONS, BUT HE GOES MUCH MORE HOUSE FOR THE, FOR THE, FOR THE DOLLAR, A MUCH BETTER SCHOOL SYSTEM, NOT TO DISRESPECT AISD, BUT IT'S A REALITY OF, OF THE LANDSCAPE.
AND THEN THE THIRD POINT REALLY INTRIGUED ME.
HE GOES, AND OUT HERE, I'M JUST ANOTHER GUY, MOE IN HIS GRASS, RIGHT? I'M NOT A, I'M NOT A BLACK FATHER, YOU KNOW, WHITE FAMILY AND OLD, THE OLD NEGRO DISTRICT.
AND SO THOSE ARE KIND OF COMPLICATED, BUT THE UPSHOT IS THAT WE HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF SUBURBANIZATION AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, THAT'S WHAT DROVE THAT NEGATIVE MEASURE FROM 2000 TO 2010 NEXT.
AND THEN THIS IS SIMPLY THE DOCUMENTATION OF THE FACT THAT MOST AFRICAN-AMERICANS NOW IN AUSTIN LIVE OUTSIDE THE CITY NEXT.
AND THAT'S A KIND OF A PLACE NAMED MAP OF, OF, UH, OF THE MSA WITH A CITY RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT NEXT.
NOW, BEFORE I MOVE ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER, THIS IS KIND OF A HARSHLY TITLED MAP, BUT I'M GOING TO STICK WITH IT.
THE WHITENING OF THE URBAN CORE FROM 2020 10, THIS IS WHAT I EXPECT WILL SEE.
WE WILL SEE WHEN WE GET DATA FROM 2020, WE'LL SEE SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR THAT HAD HAPPENED FROM 2010 TO 2020 NEXT NEXT, ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO WAY BACK FROM THE 28 PLAN AND THE CARTOGRAPHER USES THE TERM PRINCIPLE MEXICAN AREA, OF COURSE, THAT'S MEXICAN AMERICAN CHICANO LATINO AREA.
THE AREA OF ON THE, ON THE LEFT THERE THAT'S, THAT'S AN AREA THAT WAS BASICALLY AROUND REPUBLIC SQUARE.
AND THEN THE OTHER AREA WERE, UM, UH, UH, HOUSING THAT RAN ALONG A RED RIVER.
SO TWO REALLY VERY ISOLATED AREAS NEXT AND OVER TIME AS THAT COMMUNITY GREW, THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS REALLY BEGAN TO EXPAND.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE SAME OPERATION HERE IN 1990 ON THE LEFT IN 2000 ON THE RIGHT.
UM, YOU CAN BEGIN TO SEE ON THE 2000 PANEL, THE EMERGENCE OF DOVE SPRINGS, YOU CAN BEGIN TO SEE, UM, UH, PARTS OF SOUTH AUSTIN.
YOU CAN SEE, UH, YOU CAN ALSO BEGIN TO SEE THE, THE, ACTUALLY THE DIMINUTION OF CORE CORE EAST AUSTIN, BUT YOU CAN REALLY BE FINALLY BEGIN TO SEE KIND OF ST.
JOHN IN THE NACA AREA BEGINNING TO BECOME, UH, MORE AND MORE HEAVILY CONCENTRATED WITH HISPANICS NEXT AGAIN, IN 2000 ON THE LEFT AND 2010 ON THE RIGHT.
SO I THINK THAT WHAT WE WILL, YOU KNOW, 2010 LOOK, LOOK HOW DOVE SPRINGS WENT FROM BEING IN 2000.
IT WAS MAYBE ABOUT 45% HISPANIC BY TWO, BY 2010, IT WAS 75% HISPANIC, UM, RIVERS, RIVERSIDE AND MONTOPOLIS BECAME MORE AND MORE HISPANIC.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE, UH, THE NACA AREA BECAME MORE.
AND YOU REALLY HAD, YOU HAD SO MUCH MIGRATION POURING INTO TEXAS FROM,
[01:10:01]
UM, LATIN AMERICA, RIGHT? YOU HAD A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL OF INTERNATIONAL IMMIGRATION, AND YOU HAD KIND OF TWO THINGS HAPPENING.YOU HAD, YOU HAD MIDDLE-CLASS AND UPPER-MIDDLE-CLASS HISPANIC HOUSEHOLDS LIVING IN NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE OTHER MIDDLE CLASS AND UPPER MIDDLE CLASS HOUSEHOLDS LIVE, BUT YOU HAD CONCENTRATING NEIGHBORHOODS OF WORKING CLASS HISPANIC HOUSEHOLDS.
AND SO DURING THE TIME AISD HAD A PROGRAM CALLED BURST, THE BUBBLE AND THE BUBBLE THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT IS LINGUISTIC ISOLATION.
AND SO THESE NEIGHBORHOODS, I THINK DOVE SPRINGS AND NACA IS THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOOD EXAMPLES.
THEY BECAME PORTS OF ENTRY FOR INCOMING IMMIGRANTS AND THE NEIGHBORHOODS ON THE ONE HAND, IT SERVED AS SORT OF THIS, A PLACE THAT COULD IMMEDIATELY FAMILIES WHO CAME IN AND YOU COULD SPEAK SPANISH, BUY, BUY, AND TRADE.
IT WAS, IT WAS A COMFORTABLE WAY TO SORT OF LAND, BUT ALSO THEY WERE POTENTIALLY ISOLATING.
UM, NOW SINCE THEN, WHAT I THINK, AND W WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL WE SEE THE 20, THE 2020 DECENNIAL BLOCK LEVEL DATA, YOU WON'T SEE THESE TYPES OF CONCENTRATIONS.
THESE CONCENTRATIONS GAVE YOUR PREDECESSOR COMMISSIONER, AT LEAST PARTIALLY THE ABILITY TO DRAW A PRETTY STRONG OPPORTUNITY DISTRICTS.
AGAIN, I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO STILL BE ABLE TO DRAW THOSE OPPORTUNITY DISTRICTS, BUT THEY WON'T BE AS RICH NEXT.
AND ONE THING THAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED A LOT ABOUT, AND IT'S BACK TO THIS NOTION OF THOSE DISTRICTS, THE TOTAL TOTAL POPULATION IS GOING TO BE ALMOST EQUAL TO EACH OTHER.
I THINK THAT, UM, MR. YOUNG IS GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU VOTER REGISTRATION BY DISTRICT.
YOU'LL SEE QUITE A BIT OF VARIATION BECAUSE RIGHT.
THE PART OF THOSE CRITERIA, IT SAYS THE US CONSTITUTION, ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE.
AND SO YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE CONCENTRATIONS OF NON-CITIZENS THAT WHILE THEY ARE VERY MUCH A PART OF THE TOTAL POPULATION, THEY AREN'T PART OF WHAT'S CALLED CITIZEN VOTING AGE POPULATION.
SEE THAT, AND YOU'LL HEAR, YOU'LL HEAR PECK YOUNG TALK A LOT ABOUT
AND FINALLY, I'LL CLOSE WITH ASIAN POPULATION, TWO PANELS, AGAIN, 2020 10.
I'M AT THE COUNTY LEVEL THAT REALLY AN EXPLOSION AS, UH, AS AUSTIN REALLY KIND OF BECAME A PLACE ON A MAP, A GO-TO PLACE FOR ASIAN HOUSEHOLDS.
NEXT THAT'S THE SAME KIND OF, UH, DECLINE AND, AND GAIN.
UM, YOU HAD ASIAN HOUSEHOLDS LEFT RIVERSIDE, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT RED BLOCK ON THE LEFT IS A CONCENTRATION FROM A MARRIED STUDENT HOUSING, OF COURSE, AND THEN THE NACA AREA SHOWING AN OUTFLOW OF THE HOUSEHOLDS.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WHENEVER YOU, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT JUST US, BUT THIS IS THE CENSUS BUREAU, RIGHT? IF YOU ARE FROM PAKISTAN TO JAPAN, YOU ARE LABELED AS ASIAN.
UM, IT IS A VERY DIVERSE COMMUNITY.
AND IN AUSTIN'S CASE, THE BIG THREE ARE VIETNAMESE, CHINESE AND ASIAN INDIAN.
AND BY THE WAY, THAT 34.4% ASIAN INDIAN THAT'S THE HIGHEST ASIAN INDIAN.
IN OTHER WORDS, AUSTIN HAS THE LARGEST SHARE OF ITS ASIAN POPULATION.
THAT'S ASIAN INDIAN OF ANY OTHER LARGE CITY IN THE COUNTRY.
THE SECOND CITY BEHIND US IS CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS, WILL WE SOMEDAY BE ABLE TO DRAW AN ASIAN DISTRICT? I DON'T KNOW.
AND HERE'S WHY I THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, A CHALLENGE NEXT, YOU'VE GOT THESE BIG THREE GROUPS, BUT IN TERMS OF CONCENTRATION, THEY OCCUPY NOT COMPLETELY DISTINCT NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND SO DRAWING, YOU KNOW, FOLLOWING THOSE CRITERIA COMPACT AND CONNECTED DISTRICTS WOULD BE REALLY, REALLY TOUGH TO DO NEXT ASIAN, INDIAN SHERIFF TOADY.
YOU CAN SEE SOME OVERLAP, THE TWO THAT, THAT DARK PURPLE THERE.
THAT'S GREAT HILLS THAT SHARED BY BOTH.
AND, AND, UH, AND NEXT IS, IS, UH, FINALLY THE VIETNAMESE SHARE OF TOTAL POPULATION, WHICH IS THIS, YOU KNOW, ENTIRELY IT'S THE NORTHEAST.
AND SO BEFORE I LEAVE THESE AT THIS POINT, I WANT TO MAKE IS EVEN THOUGH AUSTIN'S ASIAN POPULATION IS GROWING VERY, VERY RAPIDLY.
IT'S EXTREMELY DIVERSE, IT'S SPATIALLY, UM, DISPERSED.
UM, AND AS A, AS A DEMOGRAPHER AND A PRACTICING CARTOGRAPHER, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU MEET THIS CHALLENGE OF, OF, OF, OF POTENTIALLY CREATING A DISTRICT THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, CAUSE OUR ASIAN SHARE OF TOTAL, MAYBE BY 2030 COULD BE, AS IT COULD BE AS HIGH AS 10%, 11%.
WE HAD ONE OF THE LARGEST, UH, ASIAN SHARES, UH, OF ANY, OF ANY CITY IN THE COUNTRY.
I THINK I'M GETTING CLOSE TO THE END QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, AND NEXT, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AND LISTENING TO THAT.
[01:15:02]
YOU SHOULD HAVE A COPY OF THIS.WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU SOME OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES IN THE DISTRICTS AS THEY CURRENTLY EXIST.
WE DON'T HAVE CENSUS DATA ANY MORE THAN YOU DO, BUT WE THANKS TO THE EXCELLENT VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORTS OF THE VOTER REGISTRATION OFFICES AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND TRAVIS COUNTY AND TRAVIS, FOR INSTANCE, IT'S 97% OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY AS OF JUNE, IT WAS 95.95%, WHICH I CAN ASSURE YOU HAVEN'T DONE VOTER REGISTRATION.
ALL MY LIFE IS VERY IMPRESSIVE.
AFTER, UH, ELECTION YEAR, WE HAVE NUMBERS FOR THE VOTER REGISTRATION IN ALL OF THE CITY DISTRICTS.
UH, THE AVERAGE DISTRICT SHOULD BE ABOUT 65,000 AND CHANGE.
WHAT YOU HAVE IS THE BORE MINORITY DISTRICTS, WHICH ARE ONE THROUGH FOUR ARE OBVIOUSLY UNDER, BUT IF YOU'LL REMEMBER ONE OF THE MAPS, HE JUST SHOWED YOU IN TERMS OF NONSENSE AND CONCENTRATIONS.
THIS IS A SUBSTITUTE FOR SOMETHING YOU'LL BE HEARING A LOT ABOUT AS HE TOLD YOU, AS RYAN TOLD YOU, CITIZEN VOTING AGE POPULATION, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL THINGS IN CREATING WHAT ARE CALLED OPPORTUNITY DISTRICTS, DISTRICTS, WHERE PEOPLE HAVEN'T, WHERE MINORITIES HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WIN A DISTRICT.
UM, WHAT CITIZEN VOTING AGE POPULATION OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, NOR DOES IT CARE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ABLE ALON CITIZENS, WHETHER OR PEOPLE, UH, WHO ARE UNDER AGE.
SO IN THE NON CITIZEN COMPONENT OF THE DATA THAT WE HAVE FOR MR. ROBINSON FOR HIS NUMBER ONE, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S A DISTRICT HALF OF WHAT IT WOULD BE IDEAL AND VOTER ID AND VOTER REGISTRATION.
ONE IS NUMBER THREE AND TWO IS NUMBER FOUR.
THEY'RE ALL THE SMALLEST DISTRICTS, UH, BECAUSE THEY LARGE CONCENTRATIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE NON-CITIZENS AT THIS POINT.
AND ALSO FRANKLY, BECAUSE OF THE HISTORY AND THE THREE HISPANIC DISTRICTS ARE TWO, THREE AND FOUR, FRANKLY, HAVE LARGER FAMILIES.
THE DISTRICTS THAT ARE SUBSTANTIALLY OVER DISTRICTS, FIVE, EIGHT, AND NINE ARE PERIPHERAL DISTRICTS.
EIGHT IS WEST ALL FAR WEST SOUTHWEST FIVE GOES FAR SOUTH AS THE DISTRICT I'M IN.
IT WAS ALL THE WAY OUT INTO, INTO, UH, HAYES COUNTY.
AND NINE IS DOWNTOWN, WHICH HAS WHAT IS UNIQUE.
THIS CENSUS BECAUSE OF THE LARGE AMOUNT OF INFILL BECAUSE OF THE CONDO PROJECTS BEING BUILT DOWNTOWN, THE POD, THE POPULATION EXPLOSION, DOWNTOWN REVERSES, LITERALLY A 40 YEAR TREND.
SO THAT NUMBER NINE DISTRICT, WHICH WHEN WE DREW IT ORIGINALLY WAS NOT, WAS JUST BARELY AT POPULATION LEVEL.
IDEAL IS NOW GONE, IS NOW SHOWING A VOTER REGISTRATION LIST NUMBER YOU CAN SEE, WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY OVER WHAT WE EXPECT.
SO THESE NUMBERS ARE SIMPLY THERE TO GIVE YOU SOME IDEA OF WHICH DISTRICTS WE BELIEVE WILL BE LARGER THAN EXPECTED, WHICH DISTRICTS WILL BE PROBABLY AT, OR BELOW WHAT WE EXPECTED.
AND IN THE CASE OF NUMBER FOUR, DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF NON CITIZEN, UH, VOTE PEOPLE IN POPULATION IN THAT DISTRICT AND THOSE THAT ARE UNDER AGE, THAT DISTRICT INDICATES TO US, IT WILL NEED SUBSTANTIAL MODIFICATIONS TO BRING IT UP TO SIZE.
ANY QUESTIONS I'LL MAKE ONE FINAL COMMENT.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AND WE APPRECIATE YOU LETTING US MAKE OUR PRESENTATION.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL ON US.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
THANK YOU, MR. YOUNG, AND ARE ALL OF YOU GOING TO BE STAYING THROUGH THE END? OKAY.
UM, I WANT TO SEE IF FIRST, IF ANY OF OUR VIRTUAL COMMISSIONERS ARE, UM, ARE ON WITH US AND HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ANY OF OUR GUESTS TODAY.
DO YOU, UH, DO ANY OF OUR COMMISSIONERS HERE HAVE QUESTIONS? YES.
I JUST HAVE ONE A CLARIFYING QUESTION FOR MR. ROBINSON.
I THINK YOU CAN EXPLAIN THIS FOR USUALLY, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THE DISTINCTION.
SO YOU SAID A MAJORITY OF AUSTIN'S AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY LIVES OUTSIDE THE CITY.
SO WHAT IS THE DEFINITIONAL CONSTRAINTS OF AUSTIN'S AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY, BUT THEN OUTSIDE THE CITY, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? IT SOUNDS A LITTLE CONTRADICTORY TO ME.
I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN BY THAT.
I HEARD ALMOST EVERYTHING PROBABLY EXCEPT A KEY
[01:20:01]
THING.SORRY, LET ME SPEAK A LOT MORE THAN THE MIC.
SO YOU SAID THAT THE MAJORITY OF AUSTIN'S AFRICAN-AMERICAN LIVES OUTSIDE THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THAT MEANS? YEAH.
AND SO W YOU KNOW, W THE WAY I DEFINE AUSTIN, IT, OF COURSE, THERE'S THE CITY, BUT THE ORGANIC, URBAN CREATURE, THE THING THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU PICK UP A NEWSPAPER IN EVERY OTHER AMERICAN CITY, AND YOU READ ABOUT US AND HOW FABULOUS WE ARE, THAT'S A METROPOLITAN CREATURE.
AND SO MY POINT IS THAT AUSTIN HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS VERY SIMILAR TRAJECTORY OF, OF, OF CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WHERE, UM, CITY CENTERS THAT USED TO HAVE NON-WHITE POPULATION CONCENTRATIONS, THAT'S NOT WHERE WE'RE GOING TO FIND THEM ANYMORE.
AND SO I SIMPLY WANTED TO MAKE THAT POINT TO SHOW THE COMMISSION THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I THINK WHEN YOU, SO CERTAINLY IT IS A KIND OF CONTRADICTORY STATEMENT IF WE WERE JUST TO TALK ABOUT CITY OF AUSTIN.
BUT I THINK THAT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT AUSTIN, AS, YOU KNOW, AS THIS, AS THIS IS AS BIG, YOU KNOW, URBAN ANIMAL THAT IT IS, IS THAT THAT'S THE ONLY POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE.
UM, AND I HOPE I'M NOT CONFUSING IT BY MAKING THAT, BUT IT'S, IT'S JUST KIND OF THIS NOTION THAT THAT LANDSCAPE IS CONSTANTLY SHIFTING.
AND THAT'S WHERE I THINK THAT MORE AND MORE AS I THINK AUSTIN IS BECAUSE OF OUR VIBRANT ECONOMY, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO ATTRACT A VERY, VERY DIVERSE STREAM OF POPULATION.
OUR SUBURBS ARE GOING TO BE WAY MORE DIVERSE THAN THEY USED TO BE, I GUESS THAT'S MY POINT.
UM, AND TO, UM, ANY OF YOU CAN ANSWER AT ONE, I WANTED TO ASK SPECIFICALLY OF, OF ORA HOUSTON.
UM, SO MY FIRST QUESTION WAS, UM, IF WE MISS THIS, THE NOVEMBER 1ST DEADLINE, WHICH WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN, UM, TO, OH, I'M SO SORRY.
UH, LET ME ASK THE QUESTION TO OUR HOUSTON FIRST.
UM, I WILL COME BACK TO THAT OTHER ONE.
UM, I WANT TO KNOW FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, AS A CITY COUNSELOR, HOW CAN WE, THIS COMMISSION HAVE THE MOST EQUITABLE PUBLIC HEARINGS POSSIBLE KNOWING THAT THE VOTER TURNOUT AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IS SO VARIED ACROSS THE CITY.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO START EARLY.
MANY PEOPLE ARE WORKING, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE ON THE CUSP OF THE END OF MAYBE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
AND SO PEOPLE WERE NOT PAYING OR NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN, IN CITY GOVERNMENT.
AND SO I THINK YOU HAVE TO START EARLY, YOU HAVE TO USE AS MANY SOCIAL OUTLET CHANNELS, AND WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS LIKE RADIO.
UH, THERE ARE SEVERAL GOOD, UH, UH, LATINO RADIO STATIONS.
A KCI IS ONE THAT PEOPLE LISTEN TO.
WE NEED TO START ACKNOWLEDGING AND NOT ANNOUNCING EARLY.
WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING PUBLIC HEARINGS, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THEM ON THESE DATES AT THESE PLACES.
SO PEOPLE CAN BEGIN TO GET IT IN THEIR HEADS, PUT IT ON THEIR CALENDAR.
IF YOU HAVE IT ON A SATURDAY, WE'LL, THERE'LL BE CHILDCARE AVAILABLE.
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO NEED TO KNOW STUFF LIKE THAT.
UH, IS IT GOING TO BE BEFORE LUNCH OR AFTER LUNCH? SO THEY EAT A DON'T EAT.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT SNACKS OR SOMETHING.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION, UH, TACKLED, ATTACKED, NOT TACKLED AURA, UH, ARE, ARE, UM, STARTED YOU START TALKING ABOUT THIS EARLIER, RATHER THAN SAYING ON AN INSTAGRAM OR EMAIL BLAST SATURDAY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MEETING.
AND WE NEED TO SAY HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS TO THEM.
SO NOT ONLY DO WE SAY IT EARLY OFTEN, WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE, BUT THIS IS WHY WE WANT YOU TO COME.
I NOTICED THAT THE POTENTIAL HEARING SCHEDULE THAT YOU'VE LAID OUT, PUTS SOME MINORITY COMMUNITY HEARINGS AT THE END, WHICH IS FINE.
WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO IS FINE WITH US.
WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO MEET WITH STAFF TO BE SURE THAT FOR INSTANCE, UH, HISPANIC AND BLACK, UH, NEWSPAPERS, UH, AND RADIO STATIONS ARE INCLUDED IN, AND ALSO WORK WITH YOU ON GETTING ON THEIR SHOWS, BECAUSE THERE ARE SPECIFIC PROGRAMS THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THIS, THAT WE WORK WITH TO BE SURE PEOPLE ARE IN IT.
AND PLENTY HAVE HEARD ABOUT THIS MORE THAN ONCE.
WE DON'T JUST GET IT THE DAY, THE WEEK OF THEIR EVENT.
UH, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU IN THAT WORK AND WORK WITH MATT AND HIS TEAM, TO BE SURE WE GET ENOUGH PUBLICITY.
AND SO THAT WE CAN STIR UP COMMUNITY INTEREST.
UH, WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE DONE THAT IN OUR OWN PROGRAMS, AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO ASSIST HERE.
AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, THAT'S THE WAY YOU DO THE,
[01:25:01]
YOU GET THE MOST ACTIVIST INTEREST IN ANYTHING IN THESE COMMUNITIES IS THROUGH THEIR OWN PUBLICITY.MAY I ADD ONE POINT OF INTEREST, UH, GONZALO BARRIENTOS AGAIN, UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT SO-CALLED, I SAY SO-CALLED BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN CALLED MEXICANS, MEXICANS WETBACKS, UH, LATINOS, CHICANOS TUNNELS.
IF YOU TALK ABOUT THE HISPANIC POPULATION OF OUR COUNTRY, CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENCES BECAUSE OF PUERTO RICANS FROM NEW YORK ARE NOT THE SAME THING AS THE CHICANOS AT TEXAS, UH, THE HOMELESS FROM AUSTIN ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT A LOT OF, UH, SPANISH SURNAME INDIVIDUALS MAY NOT, UH, BE CITIZENS OR BE ABLE TO VOTE.
SOME OF THOSE THINGS WILL MAKE A LOT OF DIFFERENCE.
ALSO IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATIONS.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS ONE RADIO STATION THAT MOST OF THE HUNTERS LISTENED TO, AND THAT, UH, IS, UH, AM 1600.
BECAUSE IF YOU LISTEN TO SOME OF THE OTHER STATIONS, IT'S BASICALLY MUSIC FROM MEXICO, NOT ATENEO MUSIC.
SO SOME OF THOSE LITTLE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS WOULD BE OF INTEREST TO YOU TO LOOK INTO INDIVIDUALS IN OUR PEOPLE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS BALANCE EQUITY FOR EVERYBODY.
AND I DO HAVE TWO MORE QUESTIONS.
SO MR. ROBINSON MENTIONED, UM, THAT HE DIDN'T SEE THIS POPULATION CHANGE COMING, RIGHT.
AND, UM, THERE'S HOUSING AFFORDABILITY ISSUES RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, AND I KNOW THAT THERE WERE SOME, AS YOU CAN SEE ON YOUR BEAUTIFUL MAP, UM, THAT YOU SAID WAS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITES THAT WERE AGAINST THE TEN ONE MEASURE.
UM, SO WHO HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN THIS PROCESS AND, UM, AND WHO NEEDS TO BE ON OUR RADAR? EVERYBODY HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN IT IN, IN MY OPINION.
AND MAYBE THAT'S NOT A GOOD ANSWER, BUT YOU KNOW, I'D SAY EVERYBODY, BUT I GUESS THE POINT, WELL, NO, I WANT TO, I WANT TO TRY AND COMMISSIONER HELP ME, HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE, THE, THE QUESTION MAY BE BETTER BECAUSE IT SURE.
SO I THINK THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AT, UH, THIS POPULATION CHANGE, UM, AND, AND I SEE A CONNECTION THERE AND WHEN YOU POINT OUT THE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS, AND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, ERIC TANG'S WORK RIGHT.
AND, AND HIS, HIS FOCUS ON HOW AUSTIN IS A BOOM TOWN.
AND ANYWAY, SO, UM, UM, I KNOW EVERYONE HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN REDISTRICTING OF COURSE, BUT, UM, BUT ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS MAYBE I SHOULD PUT IT THAT WAY THAT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF AND I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE.
I, UM, I DON'T, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'M ON SOLID GROUND IN TERMS OF FEELING THE SPECIAL INTERESTS, BUT I GUESS, I GUESS TO ME, I'D STEP BACK AND I'D SAY, I THINK WE ABSOLUTELY HAD TO MOVE AWAY FROM AN AT-LARGE SYSTEM BECAUSE WE HAD GOTTEN TOO BIG.
WE HAD GOTTEN TOO DIVERSE, UM, TO BE A LEGIT CITY.
I GUESS TO ME, THIS IS THE POINT THAT I'M WILLING TO MAKE.
AND I DIDN'T SAY IT WHEN WE PASS TEN ONE IN THAT MOMENT, WE SET OURSELVES UP TO HAVE A COUNCIL THAT LOOKED A WHOLE LOT MORE LIKE THE CITY AND THAT'S WORTHWHILE.
AND SO, AGAIN, THAT'S KIND OF PECS NOTION OF EVERYONE HAS A VESTED INTEREST.
TO ME, THAT'S, WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS TO KEEP THAT GOING, BUT THAT'S GOING TO BE HARDER TO DO AS THE CITY BECOMES SO MUCH MORE AFFLUENCE, SO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE TO LIVE IN IT, KEEP THE PROMISE OF TEN ONE ALIVE.
YOU'VE GOT TO THOSE FOUR DISTRICTS ARE THE HARD TO DRAW THE OTHER DISTRICTS WHILE THEY WON'T BE NECESSARILY JUST EASY.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE SO MUCH EASIER TO DRAW BECAUSE YOU'LL BE FOLLOWING THE NOTION OF COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST, YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, HIGH GROWTH DISTRICTS WILL HAVE TO GET SMALLER, LOW GROWTH DISTRICTS WILL HAVE TO GET BIGGER.
BUT AGAIN, COMMISSIONER, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, BUT I THINK IT'S JUST KIND OF TO KEEP THE PROMISE OF WHAT TEN ONE IS ALL ABOUT.
IT GOES BACK TO THOSE FOUR OPPORTUNITY DISTRICTS.
AND IN FAIRNESS, MY FRIEND, THE PERSON WHO HAS THE MOST EXPERIENCE WITH THIS PROCESS IS NOT A DEMOGRAPHER.
THOSE THAT ARE MOST INTERESTED IN DISTRICT'S NOT BEING DRAWN INDEPENDENTLY AS YOU HAVE, UH, AND IS BEING DONE FOR INSTANCE, IN CALIFORNIA, WHICH THIS PLAN IS BASED ON.
AND IN A FEW OTHER STATES, WHICH HAVE ADOPTED VERSIONS OF THE CALIFORNIA
[01:30:01]
PLAN, LIKE WE HAVE OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, UH, THE EASIEST WAY TO WIN AN ELECTION IS TO FIX IT.SO YOUR OPPONENTS CAN'T BEAT YOU.
UM, AND THE WAY TO DO THAT IS TO DRAW LINES THAT ARE SO DRAWN, THAT YOU CANNOT LOSE.
IT WAS THOUGHT UP IN THE 18TH CENTURY, BY A MAN WHO WOULD BECOME VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES NAMED ELDRIDGE GARRY, AND HAVING BEEN A PRACTITIONER OF THAT ART, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE LEAST INTERESTED IN YOU BEING SUCCESSFUL ARE THE PEOPLE HOLDING OFFICE AND THE PEOPLE WHO WANT FRIENDS OF THEIRS ELECTED OFFICE.
IT IS WHY YOU WERE CREATED IN OTHER STATES AND WHY YOU EXIST.
BECAUSE THE ENEMY OF WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO DO ARE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO CUT THE COST OF ELECTIONS AND THE EFFICIENCY OF ELECTIONS.
WE MAKE THEM MORE EFFICIENT FOR THEIR, THEIR SIDE BY RIGGING THEM AHEAD OF TIME BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY OCCUR BY REDISTRICTING.
AND DON'T BE CONFUSED BY THAT.
THERE ARE PEOPLE LIKE THAT IN AUSTIN TODAY, JUST LIKE THEY ARE IN CALIFORNIA AND EVERY PLACE ELSE.
IT WAS THE ONE THAT I WAS, I WAS GOING TO START WITH, AND IT'S, IT'S FROM, UM, A COMMENT THAT MR BORGELT MADE.
IF I PRONOUNCE THAT CORRECTLY.
UM, YOU MENTIONED IF WE MISSED THE, THE NOVEMBER 1ST DEADLINE, THAT WE CAN STILL SUBMIT MAPS, BUT THAT THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD, UM, WOULD CREATE THEIR OWN MAPS IN THE MEANTIME.
BUT I WONDER IF YOU COULD PROVIDE A SCENARIO FOR WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WITH THE DISTRICTS, WITH ELECTIONS AND ALL OF THESE THINGS, IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN? WELL, IT WOULD DEPEND UPON HOW QUICKLY YOU COULD, UH, YOU ALL WERE ABLE TO FINISH YOUR PROCESS.
YOU WOULD RUN UP AGAINST FILING DEADLINES, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS THAT WOULD REQUIRE PERHAPS FOR ONE ELECTION CYCLE IT'S POSSIBLE.
IF YOU COULDN'T MEET THE, SAY THAT DEADLINE AND TIME FOR, FOR FILING, FOR KENNEDY'S TO FILE FOR DISTRICTS TO, TO HAVE THE ELECTION IN NOVEMBER, THAT THERE MIGHT BE AN INTERIM MAP, AND THEN YOUR MAP WOULD COME INTO PLACE AT THE NEXT ELECTION CYCLE.
SO THAT'S HOW THAT WOULD PLAY OUT.
IT WOULD WAS JUST DEPENDING ON HOW QUICKLY YOU FINISHED.
SO DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Y'ALL WERE AN INCREDIBLE CHAIR.
CHAIRMAN, MAY I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION BEFORE WE FINISH THIS BLANK? YEAH.
JUST, JUST ONE MORE QUESTION, LISTENING TO THIS PRESENTATION.
SO ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE, THE DISTRICTS THAT WE HAVE NOW HAVE ENTIRE AND VERY LONG HISTORY THAT HAS INFLUENCED DEMOGRAPHIC AND, YOU KNOW, SEGREGATED PATTERNS AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY, UH, AND HOUSING MOBILITY, EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO THAT IS INFLUENCED THE DISTRICTS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY LIVING IN, BUT THOSE ARE ALSO THE DISTRICTS THAT WE ARE STARTING THIS PROCESS WITH.
AND I GUESS I'M WONDERING FROM, FROM YOUR ALL'S PERSPECTIVE, AND I DON'T WANT TO NECESSARILY OPEN THIS UP TO A, SORT OF A, A CRITICISM OF THE LAST COMMISSION OR, OR EVEN RIGHT NOW, SPECIFIC GRIEVANCES WITH THE CURRENT DISTRICT, BUT JUST SO WE'RE NOT SURPRISED, I WONDER HAVING LISTENED TO THIS, DO YOU THINK THAT THE LAST COMMISSION PRODUCED DISTRICTS THAT WERE EQUITABLE, THAT WERE FAIR, THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, IN YOUR GROUP'S EYES, LET'S JUST SAY GOOD DISTRICTS, OR DID THEY HAVE FATAL FLAWS AGAIN, WITHOUT GOING INTO THE SPECIFICS RIGHT NOW THAT NEED SERIOUS ADDRESSING AS WE GO INTO THE NEXT PROCESS, OR CAN WE FEEL SAFE BEGINNING WITH THESE DISTRICTS AS GOOD STARTING POINTS FORWARD? WE'RE A COALITION OF PEOPLE AND I'M SURE WE ALL HAVE OUR INDIVIDUAL OPINIONS AS TO, YOU KNOW, THE WAY SOME SPECIFIC DISTRICT WAS DRAWN.
SO I WOULDN'T WANT TO GENERALIZE FOR THE WHOLE GROUP ON THAT, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT OUR PRIMARY CONCERN IS THAT THE OPPORTUNITY DISTRICTS THAT ARE REQUIRED UNDER THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT BE DONE CORRECTLY.
THAT'S GOING TO BE, AS RYAN SAID, THAT'S GOING TO BE MUCH HARDER THIS TIME BECAUSE OF THE DISPERSION AND CHANGE IN CONCENTRATION OF SOME OF THESE POPULATIONS, IT WILL BE HARDER, BUT I THINK THAT'S THE MAIN THING THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON THAT YOU NEED TO DO.
UH, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON.
I THINK THE FIRST TIME AROUND, THEY PROBABLY DID.
I'M HOPING THAT ALL OF MY FRIENDS HERE WILL AGREE THAT PROBABLY DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB WITH THAT.
UH, THE REST OF IT, QUITE FRANKLY, WE DON'T HAVE AN OFFICIAL OPINION ON, WE JUST DON'T.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S KINDA WHERE WE ARE.
I'LL SECOND THAT I THINK I WAS, I WAS THE ONE INVOLVED DAY TO DAY.
LIKE I WILL BE WITH YOU, UH, OUR POSITION ON THE, ON THE FOUR, UH, MINORITY DISTRICTS IS THEY DID AN EXCELLENT JOB.
UH, WE ASSISTED THEM IN DRAWING THEM AND WE CERTAINLY AGREED THAT WE LIKED THEM.
UH, AND WE THINK ABOVE ALL, THEY WERE FAIR, COMPACT CONTIGUOUS, UH, GAVE TWO OPPORTUNITIES AND TWO SOLID MINORITIES, WHICH IS THE BEST THAT CAN BE DONE.
UH, WE THINK THEY DID WHAT THEY WERE SINCERELY BELIEVED WAS AS GOOD A JOB AS THEY COULD.
AND THAT'S OUR POSITION IS THAT THEY DID THE BEST.
THEY, AND WE DON'T HAVE A POSITION BEYOND THAT.
[01:35:01]
THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, IS THAT W I'M SORRY, I, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO SEE FROM HERE COMMISSIONER LANDS.UM, WE'LL, WE'LL WE HAVE, UM, UH, COPIES OF THE PACKET OF MATERIALS THAT WERE PRESENTED TONIGHT.
I BELIEVE THIS WAS ALL SENT TO OUR EMAILS PRIOR TO THE MEETING.
I WAS JUST GOING THROUGH MY EMAILS AND I DIDN'T SEE SOME OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC MATERIALS, BUT I MAY NOT HAVE DEALT DEEP ENOUGH.
WE'LL DOUBLE-CHECK AND MAKE SURE.
AND IF NOT, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO SEND THAT TO YOU.
YES, THERE'S THIS GREAT PRESENTATION.
WE REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING BY TONIGHT.
WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS.
AND, UM, AS, UH, THAT DOUGAN AND POINTED OUT EARLIER, ITEM THREE B THE PRESENTATION FROM DR.
HENRY FLORES HAS BEEN CANCELED.
THE NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS IS THREE C.
THIS IS THE ICEBREAKER PRESENTED BY VICE-CHAIR GONZALEZ.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS QUESTION IS THAT I THINK IT'S QUITE SIMILAR TO WHAT I HOPE WE CAN GET OUT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF EACH DISTRICT IN OUR PUBLIC HEARINGS.
UM, SHAREPOINT DOES, I'M GOING TO ASK THIS QUESTION TO ALL THE COMMISSIONERS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER, UM, COMMISSIONER BLANK, IF YOU DON'T MIND, UH, WHAT IS THE BEST ASPECT OF RESIDING IN THE CITY DISTRICT THAT YOU CURRENTLY REPRESENT ON THIS COMMISSION? SURE.
UH, WELL, I, I RESIDE RESIGNED DISTRICT EIGHT, WHICH IS IN SOUTHWEST AUSTIN FOR THE MOST PART, KIND OF SPREADS OUT ALL THE WAYS.
YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO AUSTIN OVER A DECADE AGO, I WAS MUCH MORE INTO BEING CENTRALLY LOCATED FOR ALL OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT OFFERS FOR, YOU KNOW, FOOD AND DINING AND ENTERTAINMENT.
AND THEN YOU GET A LITTLE BIT OLDER AND YOU HAVE KIDS AND YOU HAVE OTHER PRIORITIES.
AND SOUTHWEST AUSTIN IS A REALLY GREAT PLACE.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT'S NOT TRUE OF A LOT OF OTHER PARTS OF AUSTIN, FOR SURE.
UH, DEFINITELY COULD BE HAPPY IN A LOT OF PLACES IN THE CITY, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE SORT OF LIVING A SIMPLE LIFE WHERE YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOUR BIGGEST THINGS ARE LIKE GOING TO HEB AND TARGET AND TAKING YOUR KIDS TO THE PARK, SOUTHWEST AUSTIN, THE PLACE TO BE, AND STILL GOING.
AND WE TOOK ME 15 MINUTES TO GET HERE THIS AFTERNOON.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY, MY, MY PITCH, I GUESS, FOR DISTRICT EIGHT.
COMMISSIONER BLINK, UH, COMMISSIONER ON SAME QUESTION TO YOU.
SO I'M IN DISTRICT TWO AND, UM, I'VE BEEN HERE SEVEN YEARS.
AND I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS LOOKING FOR AN APARTMENT, UM, I, I STOPPED AT THE CORNER OF WIND CANON SELF FIRST, AND I SAW THIS ELDERLY GENTLEMAN WEARING A SEWN BENITO AND MATCHING BOOTS.
AND I WAS LIKE, THIS IS THE KIND OF PLACE I WANT TO LIVE.
UM, THERE'S STILL, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MORE, THERE'S LIKE, YOU CAN STILL FIND LIKE SHOPPING CENTERS FILLED WITH, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES OR IT'S LIKE INSINUATE ADDRESSES AND MEXICAN RESTAURANT AND VIOS OF THE NETTLE.
AND, UM, AND THAT SPEAKS TO ME.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, UM, BECAUSE I AM A SENORA, I REALLY ENJOY THE FACT THAT NOTHING EVER HAPPENS HERE IS JUST A BUNCH OF FAMILIES, UH, LIVING THEIR LIVES.
SO LIKE, THEY DON'T REALLY SHUT THE STREETS DOWN ON, THERE'S NO PARADES.
UH, WE DON'T REALLY GET A LOT OF OUT OF TOWN.
PEOPLE SWARMING THE AREA, UH, AS WITH OTHER PLACES WHERE I'VE WORKED, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE STREETS GET SHUT DOWN.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM OUT OF TOWN KIND OF ENDED UP TAKING PARKING AND STUFF.
SO, UM, PLUS THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD RESTAURANTS DOWN HERE, SO I REALLY JUST KIND OF ENJOY THE AREA FOR ALL OF THOSE REASONS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER, UM, COMMISSIONER ON QUESTION TO YOU MA'AM HI, THANK YOU.
AND APOLOGIES FOR MY DELAY AND UNMUTING MYSELF.
SO, UM, I'M IN DISTRICT SEVEN, PROD RESIDENTS, UM, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE PANDEMIC, WHAT REALLY IS THE BEST THING ARE MY NEIGHBORS JUST, WE REALLY BANDED TOGETHER DURING THE PANDEMIC AND DURING THE STORM.
UM, WE'RE CONNECTED IN MANY WAYS, UM, THROUGH VARIOUS GROUPS THAT I PARTICIPATE IN, I'M JUST, I'M SURE AS IT WAS THE CASE AND CONTINUES TO BE THE CASE IN ALL OF AUSTIN, JUST A REAL WILLINGNESS TO HELP EACH OTHER OUT.
UM, AS I'VE LEARNED MORE ABOUT MY DISTRICT, UM, I REALLY ALSO APPRECIATE THAT ITS FANS, UM, DIFFERENT PARTS OF AUSTIN.
SO WE HAVE SOME THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED MORE CENTRAL AND SOME THAT MAY BE CONSIDERED, UM, MORE NORTH.
[01:40:01]
SO I LIKE THE DIVERSITY THAT THAT REPRESENTS IN TERMS OF GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION.AND I'D LOVE TO SEE, UM, MORE PARTICIPATION FROM MY DISTRICT AS THE PROCESS CONTINUES.
I'M GOING TO RECOGNIZE MYSELF IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.
I APPRECIATE THAT DISTRICT 10 IS A BIT MORE DIVERSE THAN WHAT YOU MAY SEE ON MAPS.
UH, THERE IS A CONCENTRATION OF ASIAN-AMERICAN POPULATION WITHIN DISTRICT 10.
UM, THERE'S A YOUNGER POPULATION THAT RESIDES IN DISTRICT 10.
AND I FEEL LIKE WITH THE PREDOMINANTLY OLDER WHITE POPULATION, THERE IS A GOOD MIX.
UM, WE HAVE THE JEWISH CENTER, THE ADELE JEWISH COMMUNITY CAMPUS, UM, AND IT SPRAWLS, UH, WHETHER THAT WAS BY DESIGN OR NOT FROM 360 TO TERRY DOWN, DOWN TO THE LAKE AT A LITTLE BIT ACROSS MOPAC.
UM, IT'S A BIT MORE DIVERSE THAN YOU WOULD SEE FROM APPS.
SO THE BEST ASPECT OF DISTRICT 10, UM, I MAY NEED A MINUTE TO SEE WHAT LETTER COMES AFTER G UM, I BELIEVE THAT'S COMMISSIONER LEE.
FIRST K COMES BEFORE L UM, COMMISSIONER CANNON.
I WAS STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DISTRICT I'M IN.
UM, THERE'S ALSO KAMBO UH, OH, UM, SHOULD WE LET HER GO FIRST OR EXACTLY? I APOLOGIZE AGAIN, COMMISSIONER KAMBO WE'LL HAVE YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE BEST ASPECT OF THE DISTRICT THAT YOU CURRENTLY REPRESENT ON THIS COMMISSION.
UH, JUST TO BE BRIEF, I'M A STUDENT AT UT, SO I WOULD SAY THAT'S THE BEST PART JUST BEING NEAR CAMPUS.
AND I REALLY ENJOY THE CAMPUS LIFE AND CULTURE.
I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF YOUNGER PEOPLE AS WELL, THAT HOPEFULLY ARE INTERESTED IN THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS.
SO I'M VERY GLAD TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL.
AND AGAIN, APOLOGIES ABOUT THAT.
I THINK, UM, I'VE LIVED IN MY DISTRICT FOR THE LAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS NOW, AND I THINK IT'S, UH, EASE OF ACCESS TO BE ABLE TO USE VERY, VERY TRANSPORT.
I LIKE WALKING OR CYCLING EVERYWHERE.
I USED TO WORK DOWNTOWN, SO I LIKE THAT.
I HAVE ACCESS TO, I DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE A CAR VERY RARELY DO WE HAVE ONE CAR AS A FAMILY? WE SPLIT IT ONLY WHEN WE NEED TO EITHER SHOPPING OR TAKE THE DOG SOMEWHERE.
THAT'S THE ONLY REASON WE USE THE CAR, IF NOT, I USUALLY RIDE MY BICYCLE EVERYWHERE.
SO ACCESSIBILITY AND IT'S A VERY IT'S SOUTH AUSTIN.
SO IT'S A FAIRLY KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD KIND OF, I DON'T KNOW.
I THINK THAT'S CHANGED OVER TIME, BUT IT'S A VERY FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD WALKABLE.
SO THAT WAS A GREAT RESPONSE COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER LANDS.
I FIND THAT I'M LIVING IN THE DISTRICT THAT I'M IN, UH, AND THE CHURCHES IN, UH, ON THE CUSP OF A SECOND OF ANOTHER DISTRICT.
SO I HAVE A TEST TO SPEAK ABOUT BOTH.
I'VE BEEN IN THIS DISTRICT FOR 37 YEARS.
UM, AND, UH, I'VE SEEN THE CHANGE, BUT I LIKE THE CHURCH ENVIRONMENT AND I LIKE THE, UH, THE PEOPLE THAT I'VE GROWN TO KNOW OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER LEE, WAIT MY TURN.
UH, UH, I'M UH, FROM DISTRICT THREE, UM, YOU KNOW, AS I SAY THE BEST AND ALSO THE MOST DIFFICULT PART IS THE EVER-CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF THE THREE FROM, UH, EAST AUSTIN, UH, YOU KNOW, SIX STREET, FOUR STREETS AND THE STREET, UH, CHANGING AND GROWING WITH THE YOUNGER POPULATION THERE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, LEARNING ABOUT THE PUBLISHING AND ON THE EAST RIVERSIDE AREA AND MY TOP LIST, AS WELL AS THE SOUTH SOUTH AUSTIN AREA.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE.
I LEFT TO LIVE IN ALL THREE PARTS.
I'VE LIVED IN, UM, YOU KNOW, BY YOUR SIDE, MY TOP LIST.
AND I'VE ALSO LIVED, UM, YOU KNOW,
[01:45:01]
ON SOUTH SOUTH AUSTIN AND BY BEN WHITE AND CONGRESS.AND THEN, YOU KNOW, NOW OUT ON, UH, EAST FOURTH STREET.
SO, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S SUCH A GREAT AREA AND DISTRICT TO LIVE IN WITH SO MANY DIVERSE, UM, AREAS AND, AND PARTS OF BOSTON.
I THINK I HAVE THIS NEXT ONE, CORRECT WITH COMMISSIONER POINT THOSE RIGHT.
UM, I LIVE IN DISTRICT SEVEN AS WELL, AND, UH, I'VE BEEN THERE FOR FIVE YEARS, UH, BEFORE THAT I'VE LIVED IN OTHER AREAS OF AUSTIN, UM, IN MY 11 YEARS HERE.
UM, BUT, UM, MY HUSBAND AND I BOUGHT A PROPERTY IN, UH, THE GRACIE WOODS AREA OFF OF GRACIE FARMS. AND WE ARE WALKING DISTANCE FROM WALNUT CREEK METROPOLITAN PARK, AND WE HAVE TWO DOGS, SO WE LOVE IT.
AND, UM, AND WE TAKE THEM THERE EVERY SINGLE WEEK WITHOUT FAIL.
I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF DISTRICT SEVEN.
UM, MY GENERAL NEIGHBORHOOD, I LOVE SO MANY THINGS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE LANDSCAPE AND THE PARKS AND EVERYTHING, BUT I REALIZED THAT SOME OF THE PARTS THAT I ACTUALLY LOVE IN MY VICINITY ARE DISTRICT FOUR AND NOT DISTRICT SEVEN, LIKE THE CHINATOWN AND, UM, AND ALL OF THE AMAZING CUISINE THAT'S UP AND DOWN NORTH LAMAR.
UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S NOT MY DISTRICT, BUT, UM, JUST TELLS YOU THAT I LOVE ALL THE DISTRICTS REALLY.
UH, BUT, BUT MY, MY NEIGHBORHOOD HAS A FUNNY STORY AND I'LL JUST TELL IT VERY QUICKLY.
UM, SO GRACIE FARMS HAS THESE GUINEA BIRDS THAT WALK THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THEY DO NOT BELONG TO ANYONE.
AND SO WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, I WONDERED HOW THEY GOT THERE AND TURNS OUT BACK IN THE 1940S, THEY HAD BLOWN INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD FROM KRAMER FARMS, WHICH WAS NEARBY IN LIKE A REALLY BAD THUNDERSTORM AND THE GUINEA BIRDS HAVE LIVED IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD TO THIS DAY.
AND SO IT'S JUST A GREAT QUIRK ABOUT, ABOUT MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
I THINK THAT'S AGAIN, PROBABLY MY FAVORITE PART DISTRICT SEVEN.
DOES, UM, COMMISSIONER EAT? WILL YOU CLOSE THIS OUT ON AN ICEBREAKER? OH, HI.
SO I LIVE IN DISTRICT ONE, UM, CLOSE TO
UM, PREVIOUSLY I'D LIVED IN BRENTWOOD, BUT WHEN MY MOM MOVED HERE, UM, SHE WANTED TO LIVE NEAR AN ASIAN COMMUNITY, WHICH A CHAIR APPOINTED SAID IS JUST KIND OF LIKE DISTRICT FOUR, VERY CLOSE DRIVING.
UM, SHE LIVES OVER BY, UH, BREAKER AND
UH, JUST ON MY BLOCK, THERE ARE JUST SO MANY DIFFERENT FOLKS OF ALL DIFFERENT AGES AND RACES.
UM, I DO FEEL LIKE THERE IS THIS KIND OF GEOGRAPHIC ISOLATION IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN, BUT THERE'S JUST SO MUCH TO APPRECIATE THERE AS WELL.
UM, IT'S A WELCOMING COMMUNITY.
MY, UH, MOM GOES TO THE, THE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, RECREATION CENTER ON RUNDBERG AND THE Y ON RUNDBERG AS WELL.
AND IT'S, UH, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING THE LATE GUS GARCIA THROUGH HER AND, UH, THE VERY, UM, ACTIVE, POLITICALLY ACTIVE SENIOR CITIZENS IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO REALLY APPRECIATE LIVING THERE.
YE COMMISSIONER PRENTICE, TURN THE MIC BACK OVER TO YOU.
AND OUR NEXT ITEM IS 3D THE DISCUSSION ON VALUES AND NORMS. MY PLAN WAS TO HAVE A QUICK RECESS, UH, AFTER THAT, BUT GIVEN THE HOUR, UM, I'LL ASK THE COMMISSIONERS HERE.
UM, AND VIRTUALLY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A FIVE MINUTE RECESS BIO BREAK? YES.
WE WILL DO THAT IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, WE WILL TAKE A RECESS FOR FIVE MINUTES AND WE WILL BE BACK AT 7 55.
EVERYONE, THE MEETING WILL COME TO ORDER.
THE TIME OF RECESS HAS EXPIRED.
I WILL WAIT JUST ANOTHER MINUTE.
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE SOME FOLKS TRICKLING IN, UH, HOPEFULLY EVERYONE WHO IS WITH US ONLINE IS ALSO BACK OKAY.
SO LET ME START BY SAYING, UH, REGARDING ITEM 3D, THE DISCUSSION ON VALUES AND NORMS. I KNOW WE MAY NOT EQUALLY FEEL EXCITED ABOUT
[01:50:01]
HAVING THIS CONVERSATION, ESPECIALLY AT 8:00 PM, BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY I THINK I HAVE TO, UM, TAKE A MINUTE TO EXPLAIN TO YOU WHAT I BELIEVE ITS VALUE TO BE THE VALUE OF, OF THIS EXERCISE.UM, SO TOGETHER WE ARE GOING TO CREATE A DOCUMENT THAT WILL LIVE ON AS THIS NORTH STAR OF OUR COMMISSION, UM, AND IN OUR WORK AND THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS WHERE CITIZENS ARE IN CHARGE OF IT RATHER THAN POLITICIANS.
AND I THINK WE'VE HEARD THAT PRETTY CLEARLY TONIGHT, WE ARE CREATING A DOCUMENT FOR THE PUBLIC FOR ALL FUTURE ICRCS AND FOR THE CITY TO KNOW WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO AS CITIZENS ON THIS COMMISSION, UH, REDISTRICTING, A CITY OF NEARLY A MILLION PEOPLE.
THIS DOCUMENT WILL SHOW OUR COMMITMENT TO THE CITY CHARTER, TO THE TASK OF REDRAWING, THE DISTRICTS OF AUSTIN, AND TO EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION FOR ALL AUSTINITES.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, IT SHOULD BE LIGHTWEIGHT, SIMPLE TO UNDERSTAND PRINCIPLED IN TIMELESS, I'M ENVISIONING NO MORE THAN FIVE TO SIX POINTS ON OUR VALUES AND NORMS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE AND ENGAGEMENT WITH EACH OTHER AND THE COMMUNITY.
SO FIRST I THINK EVERYONE HAS PAPER AND PENS.
IS THAT CORRECT? AND THOSE OF YOU, UM, AT HOME OR WHEREVER YOU ARE, I'D LOVE, IF YOU COULD WRITE SOME OF THESE THOUGHTS OUT OR TYPE THEM OUT ON YOUR COMPUTER.
SO LET'S TAKE THREE MINUTES TO JOT DOWN A LIST OF YOUR VALUES IN PUBLIC SERVICE NORMS, FOR ENGAGEMENT AND THE STRENGTHS YOU BRING TO THIS COMMISSION AND CONSIDER THE REASONS BEHIND EACH OF THE POINTS ON YOUR LIST.
SO I'LL SET A TIMER FOR THREE MINUTES.
I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THAT'S UP.
COULD YOU REPEAT COMMISSIONER FALCON? SORRY.
COULD YOU REPEAT THE THREE ITEMS? ABSOLUTELY.
SO I, I THINK YOU ASKED ME TO REPEAT THE THREE ITEMS. OKAY.
SO YOUR LIST OF VALUES IN PUBLIC SERVICE, YOUR NORMS FOR ENGAGEMENT AND THAT'S ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY AND ENGAGEMENT WITH EACH OTHER, AND THE STRENGTHS THAT YOU BRING TO THE COMMISSION UM, SHAREPOINT.
THIS MAY I MAKE A SUGGESTION? YES.
UM, IF IT'S NOT TOO MUCH, IT MIGHT ALSO BE VERY INTERESTING TO HEAR THE SAME FROM BOTH MATTHEW AND MR. PAT GAN, CAUSE THEY'RE ALL HERE AND WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING TOGETHER.
I FEEL LIKE IT MIGHT BE INTERESTING TO HEAR FROM THEM TOO.
IF, IF Y'ALL ARE COMFORTABLE PARTICIPATING IN THE EXERCISE, THAT'S, THAT'S AN INTERESTING SUGGESTION.
[01:55:13]
YOU HAVE ABOUT 30 SECONDS.SO AS YOU'RE WRAPPING THAT UP, MA'AM JEREMY, MAY I LEAD OFF? ABSOLUTELY.
LET ME SAY SOMETHING REALLY QUICK.
AND THEN, AND THEN ACTUALLY MY PLAN WAS TO START WITH, UH, OUR MEMBERS WHO ARE, ARE ONLINE.
UM, I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT YOUR LIST AND I KNOW THIS IS GOING TO BE HARD, BUT PICK ONE POINT EITHER A VALUE OR A NORM THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON THIS DOCUMENT, WE'RE GOING TO CREATE TONIGHT AND BE PREPARED TO EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS AND WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU.
AND IF YOU'RE COMFORTABLE, YOU CAN SHARE ALSO ONE OF YOUR STRENGTHS THAT YOU BRING TO THIS COMMISSION.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE SEE EACH OTHER'S STRENGTHS AND WE HONOR THEM.
AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE'RE GOING TO START WITH MEMBERS WHO ARE WITH US VIRTUALLY TONIGHT AND THEN MOVE TO THE MEMBERS IN PERSON.
AND WE'LL JUST GO FROM LEFT TO, RIGHT.
SO STARTING WITH COMMISSIONER BLANK WHEN WE GET TO, UM, THE MEMBERS IN PERSON.
AND, UH, AND THEN AFTER THAT, WE'LL OPEN UP THE FLOOR TO DISCUSS OUR RESPONSES AND CONDENSE OUR LIST.
AND I ASKED THAT WE ARE ALL RESPECTFUL OF EACH OTHER'S VOICES, MEANING THAT WE HEAR EACH OTHER OUT UNTIL EACH PERSON HAS FINISHED TALKING AND WITHOUT JUDGMENT.
SO, UM, COMMISSIONER LANDS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO START US OFF? YES.
UM, I THOUGHT THIS WAS VERY INTERESTING.
I, I VALUE, UH, FIRST OF ALL, I BELIEVE THAT INTEGRITY IS AT THE TOP OF MY LIST.
UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE, UM, I, I THINK WE SHOULD BE WHO WE SAY WE ARE AND WE SHOULD, UM, TRY TO BE THAT ALL OF THE TIME SO THAT PEOPLE WILL HAVE ENOUGH CONFIDENCE AND, UH, I'LL FIND A PRODUCT.
I BELIEVE THAT, UH, WE VALUE THAT THE COMMUNITY'S, UM, UM, RECEPTION OF WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY BASED ON THE INPUT AND FEEDBACK THAT WE GET FROM THEM.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, I BRING THREE DECADES OF, UH, OF COMMUNITY, UH, ACTIVISTS, UH, AND, UH, COMMUNITY SERVICE AND OBSERVED ALL OF ITS MANY COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS THAT WE CAN NAME, UH, HERE.
AND I HOPE THAT THAT WILL ADD SOMETHING TO WHAT WE DO.
AND, AND FOR THE RECORD, YOUR NUMBER ONE IS INTEGRITY.
UM, I'LL HAVE COMMISSIONER GOLDEN GO NEXT IN THERE.
SO I THINK THAT KIND OF, UM, SIMILAR TO COMMISSIONER LANDS FOR ME, UH, NUMBER ONE VALUE IS RESPECT.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S A BROAD CATEGORY AND ABROAD APPLICANT.
THE APPLICATION SPECIFICALLY THOUGH, I, I FEEL THAT WE'RE ALL IT IS INCUMBENT UPON ALL OF US TO RESPECT EACH OTHER.
UM, THAT INCLUDES, YOU KNOW, UH, EACH OTHER'S IS, YOU KNOW, WORDS EACH OTHER'S HIS TIME ON EACH, OTHER'S HIS COMMITMENTS.
UM, I THINK WE NEED TO RESPECT THE CITY STAFF WHO WHO'S HERE, WHO SPENT A LOT OF TIME LATE AT NIGHT SUPPORTING US.
AND I THINK FUNDAMENTALLY, UH, RESPECT FOR THE PUBLIC, UM, BECAUSE AS, UH, FOLKS MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE JUST TRYING TO LIVE.
AND SO HERE WE ARE AS REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR COMMUNITY DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE TO, UM, UH, PROVIDE THEM WITH THE MOST ADEQUATE PUBLIC REPRESENTATION.
AND SO I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, RESPECTING THIS COMMISSION, RESPECTING EACH OTHER, RESPECTING THE PUBLIC, UM, IS REALLY OUR DUTY.
AND THAT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, NOT, UM, LIKE RESPECTING EACH OTHER'S WORDS, LIKE SOME SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD THINGS LIKE THAT, MORE SPECIFICALLY RESPECTING EACH OTHER'S TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE WE'RE DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE, IF THEY'RE REQUIRED READING AND THINGS LIKE THAT BEFORE WE SHOW UP TO MEETINGS.
UM, SO, UM, THAT'S, UM, THAT'S KIND OF, UM, SO RESPECTS MY NUMBER ONE, UH, AS FAR AS SKILLS, UH, I AM BILINGUAL, I'M ORGANIZED AND I'M CURRENTLY VERY AVAILABLE, UH, FOR THE COMMISSION, UH, IN AS FAR AS MY PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENTS.
[02:00:01]
THOSE ARE MY STRENGTHS AT THE MOMENT.LET'S HAVE COMMISSIONER COMBO GO NEXT.
SO I WOULD SAY THAT I AGREE WITH A LOT OF WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID.
UM, BUT, UM, I GUESS TO PUT IT IN OTHER WORDS, UM, INCLUSIVITY IS ONE BIG THING HEARING FROM THE SPEAKERS, UM, FROM THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND JUST KEEPING IN MIND, UM, PUBLIC INTERESTS AND THE NEEDS OF THE GREATER COMMUNITY.
UM, I THINK THAT I'M A GOOD LISTENER AND I'M CREATIVE, SO I DEFINITELY PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE'S, UM, NEEDS AND OPINIONS ARE MET AND TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
I'VE BEEN HAVING SOME AAV ISSUES TODAY.
SO, UM, I, AS FAR AS VALUES AND ALSO WHAT GOES TO PUBLIC SERVICE, UM, MY PERSONAL NUMBER ONE VALUE IS DIGNITY.
JUST ALLOWING PEOPLE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, LIVE A LIFE OF DIGNITY, TO HAVE DIGNITY IN HOW THEY INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER.
AND I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT AS WE HEAR FROM DIVERSE VOICES.
AND WE HEAR FROM PEOPLE WITH, UM, DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS THAT WE ALLOW EACH PERSON TO MAINTAIN, UH, THE DIGNITY THAT THEY WOULD BRING TO ANY INTERACTION WITH US.
UM, I LOVED AND JUST TO ECHO, UM, WHAT WE HEARD FROM OUR SPEAKERS, UH, RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER WAS, UM, SOMETHING THAT REALLY STOOD OUT TO ME AND I LOVED IT AND I WROTE IT DOWN.
SO IT WAS VERY FITTING TO HAVE THAT AS A QUESTION, I THINK, STRENGTHS TO THE COMMISSION COMMISSIONER, JUST RANGE OF EXPERIENCE.
UM, I'VE DONE PUBLIC HEARINGS BEFORE PROFESSIONALLY.
I'VE DONE SORT OF CONTRACTING, UM, I LOVE LEARNING NEW THINGS, SO THAT HAS ALLOWED ME TO BE A JILL OF ALL TRADE IF YOU WILL.
AND, UH, AND I ALSO LOVE AUSTIN.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING JUST TO, UM, MAYBE THAT'S MY, MY BEST STRENGTH THERE.
UM, I WOULD, I WOULD WANT TO ADD, UM, PATIENTS, UM, I'M GOING TO COMBINE THOSE WITH MY VALUES AND ALSO STRENGTHS, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PATIENTS, FOR US TO LISTEN TO EVERYONE, THE PATIENTS TO, UH, TAKE INPUT IN OUR PATIENTS, IN THE PROCESS AND PATIENTS IN LISTENING TO EACH OTHER.
UM, I THINK IT'S GONNA TAKE A LOT OF PATIENTS IN ALL OF US TO GET THIS PROCESS GOING AND, AND, AND THROUGH, UM, I DO WANT TO ADD SOMETHING FOR THE NORMS ON HOW, HOW WE SHOULD ENGAGE WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE PUBLIC.
UM, I WOULD SAY ENGAGE WITH, UH, WITH AN OPEN MIND AND AN OPEN HEART AND GETTING OTHERS THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT.
I'LL LET YOU GET AWAY WITH HAVING TO COMMISSIONER LEE.
WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO, UM, THE MEMBERS HERE TONIGHT AND WE'LL START WITH COMMISSIONER BLANK.
UM, I THINK WE'VE ALREADY HAD A LOT OF REALLY, REALLY GOOD ONES HERE.
SO I'M PROBABLY GONNA ALREADY, UH, FOLLOW UP ON SOMETHING THAT COMMISSIONER CALDERON SAID AND REALLY FOCUS ON RESPECT.
I THINK THAT'S SORT OF THE MOST IMPORTANT VALUES, YOU KNOW, TREATING EACH OTHER WITH RESPECT THAT YOU'D LIKE TO BE TREATED WITH.
ALWAYS, UH, YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY I STUDY PUBLIC OPINION AND ATTITUDES FOR LIVING.
SO I KNOW HOW DIFFERENT MY OWN OPINIONS ARE FROM A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON LOTS OF TOPICS, AND I DON'T EXPECT TO WALK INTO A ROOM AND HAVE EVERYBODY THINK THE SAME WAY I DO.
AND PART OF THAT IS JUST RESPECTING PEOPLE'S DIFFERENCES.
BUT I THINK IN PARTICULAR WITH RESPECT, I WOULD FOCUS ON, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE WOULD BE REALLY SPECIFIC ABOUT THIS.
SO, YOU KNOW, RESPECT FOR THE, BOTH THE TIME AND THE EFFORTS OF THE INDEPENDENT CITIZENS, REDISTRICTING COMMISSION, AND THAT INCLUDES THE MEMBERS, THE SUBCOMMITTEES, THE WORKING GROUPS.
AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT ALSO FOR THE RESPECT FOR THE TIME AND EFFORT OF THE PUBLIC.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THESE PUBLIC, AT LEAST FOR THE PUBLIC SIDE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THESE PUBLIC HEARINGS.
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO TAKE TIME OUT OF THEIR DAYS AND THEIR EVENINGS TO COME OUT.
AND WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, IN THOSE CASES REALLY GIVE THEM, YOU KNOW, RESPECT THEIR TIME WITH OUR TIME AND LISTEN AND SHOW UP FOR, FOR THE CITIZENS AT THE SAME TIME.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE WORK THAT'S GOING ON IS GOING ON OUTSIDE OF THESE COMMITTEE MEETINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET WORK DONE.
AND I REALLY JUST, YOU KNOW, KNOW THAT I KNOW AT LEAST FROM THE BRIEF TIME THAT I'VE BEEN ON THIS COMMISSION, THAT I THINK EVERYBODY HERE HAS GOOD INTENTIONS.
UH, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT MEANS TO ME IS THAT WHEN A GROUP GOES OFF AND PUTS IN TIME AND EFFORT INTO MOVING STUFF FORWARD, I WANT TO RESPECT THAT TIME AND EFFORT.
[02:05:01]
AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT I WANNA WANNA FOCUS ON.UM, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD HERE? YOU KNOW, I GUESS WHAT DO I, YOU KNOW, MY OWN EXPERIENCE I BRING TO THIS, I GUESS I'LL JUST ADD, AS YOU KNOW, I HAVE A LOT OF EXPOSURE TO THIS STUFF.
I HAVE A PHD IN POLITICAL SCIENCE.
I KNOW WHAT
SO I HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT, UH, PEOPLE HAVE QUESTION ABOUT QUESTIONS ABOUT, OR ONE OF THE RESOURCES, OR WANT TO LEAN ON ME FOR THINGS LIKE THAT, IT'S CERTAINLY AN AREA I'M VERY COMFORTABLE IN.
LET'S HAVE COMMISSIONER CANNON.
I THINK IT'S AN INTERESTING EXERCISE.
I'LL USE THE SAME THREE VALUES I USE IN MOST OF MY INTERVIEWS WHEN I'M INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE.
UM, MY TOP THREE VALUES ARE, I LIKE TO BE FAIR.
AND WHEN I SAY OBJECTIVE, IT'S USUALLY TRY TO BE DATA-DRIVEN.
AND THE THIRD THING IS TRY AND DO THE RIGHT THING.
AND SOMETIMES IT'S NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE TO DO ALL THREE.
I TRY TO HIT AT LEAST TWO OUT OF THE THREE WHEREVER POSSIBLE.
AND I THINK IF THERE'S ONE VALUE FOR ME TO TAKE AWAY, IT'S TRYING TO BE FAIR.
I HAVE A VERY HIGH SENSE OF TRYING TO BE FAIR IN MOST SITUATIONS.
AND THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE FOR THIS COMMISSION TO WALK AWAY WITH.
I THINK MY TYPICAL STRENGTHS AND MY NORMS OF ENGAGEMENT WOULD BE, I APPROACH MOST THINGS WITH CURIOSITY.
I'M A LIFELONG LEARNER, AND I AM TRYING TO UNDERSTAND BY ASKING QUESTIONS.
AND SO THAT'S JUST MY DEFAULT.
I'M NOT ASKING QUESTIONS BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO BE DIFFICULT.
I'M ASKING QUESTIONS BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETHING BETTER.
SO, UH, I WOULD SAY BEEF BEING FAIR IS PROBABLY MY NUMBER ONE.
AND I, I HEARD THAT MULTIPLE TIMES THROUGH ALMOST EVERYONE'S PRESENTATION TO, TO TRY TO BE FAIR.
AND IT'S THE HARDEST THING TO DO I THINK IN THIS WORLD.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONER.
YE THIS IS GOING TO TOTALLY LOOK LIKE I WAS COPYING COMMISSIONER CANNON'S HOMEWORK, BUT FAIRNESS WAS NUMBER ONE FOR ME TOO.
UM, I THINK THAT, UH, IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY INTERESTING.
UH, IT'S GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING JOURNEY, UH, HEARING ALL THESE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND THESE DIFFERENT NEEDS, AND, UH, MAYBE SOMETIMES SOME THAT DON'T FIT IN WITH WHAT WE WANT OR, OR PEOPLE THAT WE KNOW WANT, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO, UM, DO WHAT WE THINK IS, RIGHT.
SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S THE NUMBER ONE FOR ME.
AND THEN IN TERMS OF LIKE MAYBE WHAT I CAN BRING, UM, I WOULD SAY COMMITMENT, UH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS A SALESPERSON, YOU JUST HAVE TO BE COMMITTED TO MOVING THE DEAL ALONG AND GETTING THE JOB DONE.
SO, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY WHAT, YEAH.
AND COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ, IT KIND OF ENCOMPASSES A LOT OF WHAT THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE STATED, BUT TRUST WOULD PROBABLY BE MY NUMBER ONE TRUST IN THE SKILLS THAT WE HAVE SAID THAT WE ALL BRING TO THIS COMMISSION.
AND IN TRUSTING THAT WE ARE GOING TO LISTEN TO THOSE EXPERTS IN THE FIELD.
I BELIEVE WE DID THAT TODAY WITH THE PRESENTATION THAT WE HAD.
WE HAD A GROUP OF SPEAKERS WHO HAVE EXPERTISE LIVED EXPERIENCE, AND WE ARE ENTRUSTING, UM, THEIR PRESENTATION TO GUIDE US IN THIS WORK.
UM, TRUST ALSO THAT AS COMMISSIONER BLINK SAID, THE WORKING GROUPS, THE COMMITTEES THAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED ARE DOING THE WORK ON BEHALF OF THE FULL COMMISSION WITH THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COMMISSION IN MIND, THE BEST INTEREST OF THE PUBLIC IN MIND, I'VE SEEN THAT IN THE PUBLIC WORKINGS, THE PUBLIC HEARINGS WORKING GROUP AND IN THE FINANCE GROUP.
UM, SO JUST TRUSTING THAT YOU HAVE TASKED INDIVIDUALS WITH DOING THE BEST FOR FULL BODY AND THESE WORKING GROUPS, UH, THE STRENGTH I BRING, I FEEL I HAVE A GREAT ABILITY TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK TOGETHER TO A COMMON GOAL.
UM, AND THAT'S WHAT I STRIVE TO DO ON THIS COMMISSION EVERY DAY.
AND AS THE VICE CHAIR ON THIS COMMISSION, UM, I'D ALSO SAY JUST ONE MORE STRENGTH IS MY COMMITMENT.
I KNOW WE ALL HAVE FULL-TIME JOBS.
UH, THIS IS THE SECOND FULL-TIME JOB FOR ME.
UM, BUT JUST KNOW THAT I AM COMMITTED TO THIS PROCESS.
I AM COMMITTED TO THIS COMMISSION AND TO EVERY COMMISSION HONOR COMMISSIONER ON IT.
UM, THANK YOU, JERRY, WITH THIS.
AND I'LL READ, UH, MR. PECK YOUNG SUBMITTED HIS VALUES AND NORMS. I WILL READ THOSE OUT LOUD BEFORE I GET TO MINE.
HE SAYS HIS VALUES ARE, DO THE MOST GOOD FOR THE MOST PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE MOST OFTEN IGNORED NORMS AND ENGAGEMENTS.
BE HONEST, BE FACTUAL, BE FORCEFUL
[02:10:01]
AND BE FAIR AS FOR MINE.UM, I, IT WAS HARD FOR ME TO PICK ONE.
UM, I, I ALSO HAD RESPECT LISTED, BUT, UM, AND I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT EVERYONE HAS SAID TONIGHT ABOUT RESPECT OR DEEPLY RESONATES WITH ME.
I WOULD ALSO SAY RESPECT THE PROCESS AND THE CHARTER, UM, AND, AND THE DEADLINE THAT WE'RE UP AGAINST ON NOVEMBER 1ST, UM, TO BE EQUALLY COMMITTED TO EACH DISTRICT AND AT ALL COMMUNITY GROUPS.
I THINK THAT THAT'S ANOTHER VALUE IN PUBLIC SERVICE PRIORITIZING.
UH, I THINK THAT WE HAD THAT EXAMPLE FROM THE CHARTER, YOU KNOW, PULLED OUT OF THE CHARTER TONIGHT.
I THINK IT WAS, WAS IT SECTION THREE E UM, I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PRIORITIZATION HERE.
SOMETIMES SOMETHING THAT FEELS VERY IMPORTANT TO US PERSONALLY MAY NOT BE THE BEST PRIORITY FOR THE ENTIRE COMMISSION OR FOR THE CITY, FOR THE PUBLIC, RIGHT.
UM, TRANSPARENCY THAT WE'RE ALWAYS TRANSPARENT WITH OUR PROCESS AND WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HOW WE'RE DOING IT.
UM, AND JUST SHOWING UP AND HONORING THAT COMMITMENT THAT WE HAVE TO THE COMMISSION AND IN TO THE CITY AND, AND TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND I WOULD SAY THAT MY NUMBER ONE, JUST TO MIX IT UP A LITTLE BIT, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT IT IS, UH, PRIORITIZE THAT WE HAVE TO PRIORITIZE.
AND AS FAR AS MY STRENGTHS, UM, I AM A FORMER PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER AND WITH THAT COMES A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN PROBLEM SOLVING, BUT MORE SO, UH, AVOIDING PROBLEMS TO BEGIN WITH.
SO I WOULD SAY THAT MY STRENGTH IS, IS PROBABLY JUST THAT, UM, PREVENTATIVE MEASURES, PREVENTING DISASTER.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, I REALLY THINK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR INPUT AND FOR STICKING WITH US THROUGH THIS, I WANT TO STRESS THAT WE ARE MAKING HISTORY WITH THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
AND I DON'T SAY THAT LIGHTLY, WE ARE CREATING THE FUTURE OF AUSTIN, WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
AND WE'RE HERE TO ENSURE FAIR AND EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION FOR ALL OF AUSTIN.
AND I THINK THAT OUR DOCUMENT THAT WE'RE GOING TO CREATE TONIGHT REPRESENTS THIS DUTY.
AND, UM, MATT, I DON'T KNOW IF, TO THIS POINT YOU'VE BEEN RECORDING THE CONVERSATION.
UM, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO SHARE WHAT YOU'VE WRITTEN OR, UM, EVEN PUTTING IT ON THE SCREEN OR JUST READING IT OUT LOUD FOR US? YES.
I WANTED TO ASK IF THE CITY, UM, OUR CITY PARTNERS WANTED TO SHARE, OR IF NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR THAT.
I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO FORGET THAT WE HAD INVITED THEM TO PARTICIPATE.
DID YOU WANT TO JUMP IN ON THAT, MATT? I THINK WE, WE GOT FEEDBACK JUST FROM MR. YOUNG TONIGHT.
UM, I FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE JUST, UM, UH, JUST LISTENING AND OBSERVING AT THIS POINT, BUT THANKS FOR, UH, THANKS FOR, INCLUDING ME.
UM, SEEMS LIKE A COMPUTER CENTER RESTART, CANCEL THE RESTART.
NOW WE'RE AND 29, WE SHOULDN'T BE DONE BY THAT.
SO YOU JUST WANT ME TO SCROLL THROUGH IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND AND, UH, AND JUST READING IT OUT LOUD AS WELL.
SO FOR, UM, LANDS, I HAD INTEGRITY.
WE SHOULD BE WHO WE SAY WE ARE, UH, RECEPTION OF WHAT, UM, OH, I THOUGHT WAS MY PERCEPTION OF WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY.
UM, HE HAS THREE DECADES OF COMMUNITY ACTIVISM HOLD THEIR OWN RESPECT, UH, WHICH IS A BROAD CATEGORY APPLICATION INCUMBENT ON ALL OF US TO RESPECT EACH OTHER.
OUR WORDS, OUR TIME CITY STAFF, PUBLIC PEOPLE THAT ARE TRYING TO LIVE DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE.
UM, AND THAT SHE'S BILINGUAL ORGANIZED AND AVAILABLE COMBO IS AN INCLUSIVITY, A PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
UH, AND THEN SHE'S A GOOD LISTENER.
CREATIVE MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S NEEDS ARE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHILE CONE STIGMA T ALLOWING PEOPLE TO LIVE A LIFE OF DIGNITY, HOW THEY INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER, UH, DIVERSE VOICES, DIFFERENT VOICES, ALLOW PEOPLE TO MAINTAIN THEIR DIGNITY, RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER.
UH, AND SHE LOVES LEARNING NEW THINGS, UH, AS A JILL OF ALL
[02:15:01]
THINGS AND LOVES AUSTIN LEE PATIENTS.PATIENTS LISTEN TO EVERYONE TO TAKE INPUT, TO LISTEN TO EACH OTHER, ENGAGE WITH AN OPEN MIND AND OPEN HEART AND GIVE OTHERS THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT OFF A BLANK, RESPECT, A LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT OPINIONS, RESPECT PEOPLE'S DIFFERENCES, RESPECT FOR THE TIME AND THE EFFORTS OF THE ICRC MEMBERS, COMMITTEES, WORKING GROUPS AND THE PUBLIC RESPECT THEIR TIME.
UH, AND THEN HE HAS EXPOSURE TO THESE TOPICS AND COMFORTABLE WITH REDISTRICTING TOPICS, CANON A FAIR OBJECTIVE.
DATA-DRIVEN I DO THE RIGHT THING.
HE TRIES TO DO ALL THREE, UM, APPROACH THINGS WITH CURIOSITY AND OPENNESS, ASK QUESTIONS TO UNDERSTAND YE FAIR, HOW THERE WOULD BE AN INTERESTING JOURNEY, HEARING ALL THE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND NEEDS.
WE'LL HAVE TO DO WHAT WE BELIEVE IS RIGHT FAIR.
UM, AND SHE'S COMMITTED TO GET THE JOB DONE.
OUR SHARE OURS WAS COMMITMENT, UM, AND TO GET THE JOB DONE, A GONZALEZ TRUST, TRUSTING THE SKILLS WE ALL BRING TO THIS COMMISSION TO LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS IN THE FIELD.
FOR EXAMPLE, TODAY'S PRESENTATION TRUST THE WORKING GROUPS AND COMMITTEES ARE DOING THE BEST INTEREST OF THE FULL BODY, UM, AND HIS, HIS ABILITY TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK TOGETHER, UM, AND COMMITMENT, COMMITMENT TO THOSE PROCESS.
AND THEN MR. YOUNG DO THE MOST GOOD FOR THE MOST PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE THAT ARE MOST OFTEN IGNORED.
UM, AND THEN I MISS THE NORMS FOR HIS, UH, POINT TO US, RESPECT, NOT RESPECT THE PROCESS AND THE CHARTER AND THE NUMBER ONE DEADLINE TO BE EQUALLY COMMITTED TO EACH DISTRICT PRIORITIZATION.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, SECTION THREE E FROM TONIGHT, UH, TRANSPARENCY WITH OUR PROCESS SHOWING UP AND HONORING OUR COMMITMENT TO THE CITY AND TO ALL OF AUSTIN, UH, THE PRIORITIZE, I BELIEVE THAT WAS YOUR NUMBER ONE.
SO UNDERLINE THAT, UM, AND THEN SHE WAS A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER, UH, SOME PREVENTATIVE MEASURES, PREVENTING DISASTERS.
DOES EVERYONE FEEL LIKE THIS LIST ACCURATELY REPRESENTS WHAT THEY COMMUNICATED TONIGHT? AND IS THERE ANYTHING THAT ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO ADD? IF SO THE FLOOR IS OPEN BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT ARE AS A NORM OF HOW WE WORK TOGETHER AND HOW WE CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER.
IT'S BEEN EXPRESSED BY MULTIPLE COMMISSIONERS, BUT THAT OUR MEETINGS REMAIN A SAFE SPACE FOR DIFFERING OPINIONS AND DEBATE A DIALOGUE.
I PERSONALLY AM HERE ALSO TO, WITH A WILLINGNESS TO LEARN.
I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER STRENGTH OF MINE.
UM, I'M WILLING TO LEARN FROM EVERY COMMISSIONER AND RESPECTING WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY.
SO JUST, UM, ENSURING THAT OUR MEETINGS REMAIN A SAFE SPACE AND THAT WE ALLOW EACH OTHER TO GET THE WORK DONE WITH MINIMAL CONFLICT OR DISAGREEMENTS.
SO MY PLAN IS TO TAKE THIS DOCUMENT AND FOR THE SAKE OF TIME, I WILL DO THE WORK OF CONDENSING THIS DOWN AND I'LL PRESENT IT AT OUR NEXT MEETING BRIEFLY.
UM, AND, AND IF EVERYONE IS HAPPY WITH IT, THIS WILL BE OUR DOCUMENT.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT WITH US AGAIN, AS OUR NORTH STAR AT, AT EVERY FUTURE MEETING.
UH, SOMETIMES I MAY REFERENCE IT RIGHT, AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT THESE ARE VALUES AND NORMS THAT WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER AS A COMMISSION.
SO THANK YOU, MATT, FOR PUTTING THAT TOGETHER AND YOU CAN END THE SHARE SCREENS THAT I CAN SEE THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS.
UNDER UNFINISHED BUSINESS ITEM TWO, A WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE UPDATE FROM THE HIRING WORKING GROUP AND COMMISSIONER.
YE COULD YOU PLEASE PROVIDE THE UPDATES? HELLO.
SO FOR THE HIRING WORKING GROUP, UM, WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, SAY THAT OUR CANDIDATES THAT WE INTERVIEWED, UM, ARE, ARE SIGNING ON WITH US.
SO THAT WOULD BE, UH, CHRISTINE GRANADOS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER, AND THEN GEORGE KORBEL AND DAVID RICHARDS FOR LEGAL COUNSEL.
UM, NEXT FOR US, WE'LL BE LOOKING INTO HIRING A MAPPING SPECIALIST.
UM, WE WILL BE DOING SOME WORK BEHIND THE SCENES TO ADVANCE THAT, UM, CHAIR POINT IS WE'LL BE WORKING, UH, TO ONBOARD, UH, CHRISTINE GRANADOS.
AND, UH, OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON THE 19TH SO WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH HIRING MAPPING SPECIALIST.
DID I MISS ANYTHING? I THINK THAT YOU COVERED IT.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE FROM OUR OTHER HIRING WORKING GROUP MEMBERS? NO.
[02:20:01]
WONDERFUL.THE NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS IS UNDER NEW BUSINESS.
THIS IS ITEM THREE E THE UPDATE FROM THE PUBLIC HEARING WORKING GROUP.
AND UNDER THIS ITEM, WE WILL VOTE ON PROPOSED PUBLIC HEARING DATES.
DOES MATT, WERE YOU ABLE WITH THE PHOTO THAT YOU TOOK, MAYBE SHARE THAT WITH OUR COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE CONNECTING VIRTUALLY? YEAH.
WHILE MATT IS PULLING THIS DOCUMENT UP, I WENT TO PROVIDE THE UPDATE FROM THE PUBLIC HEARINGS GROUP, THAT THESE ARE PROPOSED SCHEDULE DATES FOR OUR PUBLIC HEARINGS WITH EMPHASIS ON THE FIRST ONE BEING THURSDAY, JULY 15TH, FROM 68, AS WE'VE HEARD MANY TIMES TODAY, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE TIME COMMITMENT AND THE TIMELINE THAT WE ARE DEALING WITH, WE IN THE CHARTER STATED TO HAVE 10 PUBLIC HEARINGS.
WE ARE GOING AN EXTRA STEP AND TRYING TO HAVE AN 11TH OF VIRTUAL OPPORTUNITY IN THE AGE OF THE PANDEMIC BEFORE SEPTEMBER 1ST, WE FEEL THAT TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS EACH WEEK UNTIL THE END OF AUGUST IS GOING TO BE A TOUGH TIMELINE, BUT ONE THAT WE FEEL WE MUST MEET.
SO I WANT THE COMMISSIONERS TO PLEASE LOOK AT THESE DATES, UNDERSTAND THEM, AND THEN HOPEFULLY THIS EVENING WE CAN VOTE TO PUSH FORWARD WITH CONFIRMING THESE CHAIRMAN.
UM, I RESPECT THE WORKING COMMISSION.
THAT'S COME UP WITH THESE DATES.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WORKED WITH OUR PARTNERS IN THE FIELD TO ENSURE THAT THERE WILL BE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, BECAUSE THESE ARE VERY AGGRESSIVE AND VERY QUICK DATES.
SO ARE WE, ARE WE KIND OF LIKE THUMBS UP ON THAT, RIGHT.
AND, UM, AND WE'RE POURING ALL OF THE RESOURCES WE CAN INTO THIS.
AND I KNOW THAT MR. YOUNG ALSO, UM, HAS EXPRESSED INTEREST IN HELPING GARNER PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT THESE PUBLIC HEARINGS.
AND YES, IT IS AGGRESSIVE, BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, AND IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, THE CITY CHARTER, WE NEED TO HAVE COMPLETED A PRELIMINARY MAPS AND THEN PRESENT THOSE PRELIMINARY MAPS IN FOR MEETINGS AND THAT WE WON'T GET THE CENSUS DATA UNTIL SEPTEMBER.
UM, AND SO AT THAT POINT FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HOLD FOR MORE.
IN ADDITION TO THESE 10 OR 11, UH, PUBLIC HEARINGS TO PRESENT THE MAPS THAT WE HAVE CREATED, WE'LL TAKE THAT FEEDBACK.
AND THEN WE WILL CREATE FINAL MAPS AND PRESENT THE FINAL MAPS IN TWO MORE PUBLIC HEARINGS, NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE RIVER.
AND SO THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN REALLY GET ALL OF THESE MEETINGS UNDER OUR BELTS, UM, WITH THE TIMELINE THAT WE HAVE IS TO HAVE THIS AGGRESSIVE AGENDA.
AND MY REASON FOR QUESTIONING WAS NOT BECAUSE WHETHER I'M ABLE TO ATTEND, I THINK I'M GOING TO TRY AND IT IN ALL OF THESE GREAT.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET PEOPLE TO ATTEND THESE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? IT'S LESS ABOUT US, I THINK, AND MORE ABOUT LIKE, CAN PEOPLE MAKE THESE TIMES AND BECAUSE THEY ALL, I FEEL LIKE THE TUESDAY MEETING SOLD SIX TO EIGHT AND THE SATURDAY ONES WERE ONE TO THREE.
IT WAS THAT LIKE, UH, JUST, WAS THAT AN INFORMED DECISION JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KNEW YES.
WHEN DOES, UH, COMMISSIONER CANNON BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS ICRC COMMISSION BASED ON WHAT WE'VE HEARD IN THIS PRESENTATION TODAY THAT MAY, THAT DURING THE WEEK IN THE EVENINGS AND SATURDAYS AROUND ONE O'CLOCK SAW GOOD TURNOUT THE LAST TIME.
SO THESE DATES ARE BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS COMMISSION, UM, AND THE PRECEDENT THAT THEY SET.
UM, SO THERE IS A, THERE IS A REASONING, UH, FOR THE DATES.
I I'M NOT, I DON'T WANT TO QUESTION IT.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS REASON.
WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION? UM, I'D LIKE TO MAKE THE MOTION TO PROPOSE THE STATES AS THE OFFICIAL DATES FOR US TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS.
SO, AND I'D LIKE TO SECOND THAT MOTION.
[02:25:01]
THANK YOU.SO IT HAS BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED TO APPROVE THESE DATES FOR OUR PUBLIC HEARINGS.
AND I CANNOT AT THE MOMENT, SEE, UH, OUR COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE WITH US VIRTUALLY, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENT OR QUOTE, UNQUOTE DEBATE, PLEASE SPEAK UP IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DEBATE.
CAN WE TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS POINT? THAT'S ACTUALLY A GOOD QUESTION.
MADAM CHAIR, THE AMOUNT ONLY QUESTION IS, DOES THE SAME ORDER OF DISTRICTS APPLY AS ON THE PREVIOUS HANDOUT? OR DO YOU HAVE AN ORDER OF DISTRICTS YET? BECAUSE WE'RE INTERESTED IN ASSISTING ON THE BOARD MINORITY DISTRICTS, BUT WE NEED TO KNOW WHEN THOSE DISTRICTS HEARINGS WILL OCCUR.
GONZALEZ, ANSWER THAT QUESTION, SIR.
MR. YOUNG, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UH, RIGHT NOW WE ARE UNDER PRESSURE AND TIME TO CONFIRM DATES AND VENUES GIVEN THE PANDEMIC.
RIGHT NOW, WE ARE ENVISIONING A 10 TO ONE CHRONOLOGIC THE ORDER 10 TO ONE.
IN OTHER WORDS, LIKE THE BLOCK PREVIOUS, EXACTLY.
YOU HAVE REQUESTED A COPY OF THE WORKING DOCUMENT.
AGAIN, I WILL STRESS THAT THAT IS AN EDIBLE WORKING DOCUMENT WITH, UH, VERY FEW OF THESE, UH, DATES CONFIRMED WITH TODAY.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, WE JUST NEED TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH MATT AND HIS TEAM, PLEASE.
UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE UPDATES, UH, AS WE CONTINUE, WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS SINCE THE LAST TIME YOU HAVE REQUESTED US.
I WILL JUST STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEM.
AND WHEN WE GET THEM CONFIRMED, YOU'LL TELL US.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DEBATE? SO THE QUESTION IS ON THE ADOPTION OF THE MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THIS PROPOSED SCHEDULE FOR PUBLIC HEARING DATES THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION.
THOSE OPPOSED SAY NO, THE I'S HAVE IT.
THE NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS IS THREE F THE UPDATE FROM THE COMMUNICATIONS WORKING GROUP.
UM, COMMISSIONER CALLED IT ON, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND GIVING US THAT UPDATE.
SO, UM, IN OUR LAST MEETING WE, UM, DISCUSSED, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, CREATING, WE CREATED A REALLY COLLABORATIVE AND CREATIVE INITIAL MEET INITIAL MEDIA LIST TO HELP US PUBLICIZE THE PUBLIC HEARINGS.
WE, UM, DISCUSSED COORDINATING WITH THE WEBSITE DEVELOPER SO THAT ONCE AND COORDINATING WITH THE PUBLIC HEARINGS WERE SO THAT ONCE WE HAVE A FINAL SCHEDULE, WE CAN PUT IT ON THE WEBSITE AND SITU WAY THAT IT'S EASY TO SHARE A LINK.
UM, WE ALSO CREATED LIKE AN IMAGE TEMPLATE TO PUBLICIZE EACH INDIVIDUAL, UM, HEARING, UH, ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND SUCH.
UM, WE DISCUSSED HOW THE WEBSITE REDESIGN IS IN ITS INITIAL PHASE.
WE THANK YOU SO MUCH, MATT, BY THE WAY, UM, FOR WORKING ON GETTING US, UM, UH, COORDINATING WITH THE FORMER ICRC MEMBERS TO GET US ACCESS TO THE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER GROUP, UM, WE WERE SUCCESSFULLY ABLE TO GET ACCESS TO THE FACEBOOK PAGE.
UM, WE HAVE AMELIA CURRENTLY, UH, COMMISSIONER
UM, AND ALSO I'M GOING TO BE WORKING ON GETTING ACCESS TO TWITTER, UH, HERE IN THE FUTURE, BUT WE FIGURED FACEBOOK IS PROBABLY A MORE USEFUL PLATFORM IN THE SHORT TERM FOR SPREADING THE WORD FOR EVENTS SPECIFICALLY.
SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
MAY I COMMISSIONER CANNON, UM, THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE WORK AND WE TRUST THE COMMITTEES ARE WORKING THROUGH IT.
AND I JUST HEARD FEEDBACK TODAY THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO DO SOME NON-TRADITIONAL CHANNELS.
IS THAT PART OF SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO INCORPORATE GOING FORWARD? AND HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THAT OR LIKE, ESPECIALLY SOME OF THE RADIO CHANNELS THAT WERE MENTIONED TODAY.
WE HAVE A LIST OF MEDIA THAT INCLUDES EVERYTHING FROM INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS TO NEWSPAPERS, TO RADIO STATIONS
[02:30:01]
AND TELEVISION STATIONS, AS WELL AS SMALLER, INDEPENDENT BLOGS.I'M HAPPY TO COPY AND PASTE THIS SPREADSHEET FOR YOU.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT INFORMATION, YOU CAN JOIN THE COMMUNICATIONS WORKING GROUP, IF YOU WISH.
UM, AS LONG AS THERE'S NOT BREACH OF FORUM.
UM, NO, WE, WE TRUST THE WORKING GROUPS.
SORRY, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER FALCON.
I ALSO WANTED TO FURTHER SUPPORT THAT AS WELL.
CAN YOU, UM, PUT THE MIC CLOSER TO YOUR MOUTH? I'M SORRY.
NO, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME KNOW.
UM, JUST ALSO TO GIVE FURTHER SUPPORT FOR THE WORK.
UM, I ALSO SERVE ON THE COMMUNICATIONS WORKING GROUP AND ON THE PUBLIC HEARING WORKING GROUP.
AND AS WE ARE DOING OUTREACH, SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE PLEDGED THEIR SUPPORT TO HELP, UM, SPREAD THE WORD.
SO I'M JUST KIND OF NOTING HOW WELL THOSE TWO THINGS ARE WORKING TOGETHER, UM, AND FEELING REALLY POSITIVE ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO LIKE OUR GUESTS TODAY HAVE OFFERED THEIR SUPPORT IN GETTING OUT THE WORD, UM, IN EVERY MODALITY POSSIBLE.
IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS I WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS.
THIS IS 3G, THE UPDATE FROM THE FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE.
THERE IS NOT MUCH OF AN UPDATE FROM THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, UM, COMPARED TO OUR LAST MEETING WHERE WE PRESENTED A BUDGET OF $150,000 FOR THE ICRC.
UM, THERE WAS A SPREADSHEET SHOWING, UH, FUNDS FOR OUR STAFF, INCLUDING THE LEGAL COUNSEL, THE ADMIN MANAGER, UM, AND THE MAPPING CONSULTANT, AS WELL AS SOME FUNDS ALLOTTED FOR THE PUBLIC HEARINGS, EXPENSES, UH, RENTAL FEES, UH, MASKS AND HAND SANITIZER THAT WE SHOULD PURCHASE IN THE AGE OF A PANDEMIC, UM, AND MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS LIKE PRINTING.
UM, WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY WORKED WITH THE CITY TO ENSURE THAT OUR CONCERNS OF NEEDING A BUDGET INCREASE WILL BE MANAGED.
UH, SO WE ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY TO ENSURE THAT, UH, BASICALLY BUDGETS WILL NOT HINDER OR FUNDS WILL NOT HINDER OUR WORK AS A COMMISSION.
UM, THERE IS, UH, A LINGERING QUESTION OR AN OPEN QUESTION FOR OUR CITY PARTNERS IN REGARDS TO WHAT THE FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE COULD DO IN REGARDS TO THE LIMITATIONS OF TOMA.
SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE A FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE AND I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE A CLEAR ANSWER YET ON WHETHER WE NEED TO FOLLOW TOMA IN REGARDS TO 72 HOURS OF ADVANCED NOTICE FOR AN AGENDA, UM, AND WHETHER WE NEED TO, OR WE'RE CON CONFINED TO WEBEX AND VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF MATT OR I SAW CAROLINE ON THERE.
UM, CAROLINE, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S AN UPDATE OR WHETHER WE WOULD NEED TO TAKE THE POSSIBLE ACTION.
THAT'S LISTED ON THE AGENDA OF, UM, CHANGING OUR SUBCOMMITTEE TO A WORKING GROUP TO GET WORK DONE A BIT QUICKER.
S S SO AS FAR AS THAT, SORRY, THIS IS CAROLINE WEBSTER WITH A LOT OF VISION.
UM, NOW WHAT I'M GOING TO BE REFERRING TO HERE IS CHAPTER TWO, ONE OF THE CITY CODE, WHICH YOU ALL ARE NOT NECESSARILY UNDER, UH, BECAUSE YOU'RE FORMED UNDER THE CITY CHARTER AND, AND YOUR, YOUR, YOU DON'T HAVE THESE SPECIFIC GUIDELINES.
HOWEVER, WE CAN LOOK AT CHAPTER TWO, ONE OF THE CITY CODE TO GIVE US SOME GUIDANCE.
AND CHAPTER TWO, ONE OF THE CITY CODE DRAWS A DISTINCTION BETWEEN A COMMITTEE.
WHAT IS IT CALLED? WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS A COMMITTEE AND A WORKING GROUP.
AND A COMMITTEE IS SOMETHING THAT USUALLY IS FORMED AS A RELATIVELY MORE PERMANENT PART OF THE MAIN BODY.
UH, IT, IT CONTINUES TO SERVE AND SERVE AND SERVE TO HANDLE SOMETHING THAT'S A COMMON ISSUE THAT YOU CONSTANTLY NEED TO REFER TO AND DEAL WITH.
IT CAN ONLY BE COMPOSED OF MEMBERS OF THE, UH, COMMISSION AS A WHOLE, UH, WORKING GROUP IS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT BODY UNDER AGAIN, UNDER CITY CODE CHAPTER TWO, ONE, UH, WORKING IS COMPOSED OF, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ITSELF.
IT CAN, BUT DOES NOT HAVE TO, IT CAN INCLUDE FOLKS WHO ARE FROM OUTSIDE OF THE COMMISSION.
UH, SO OTHER EXPERTS OR WHATEVER WHO ARE BROUGHT IN TO ADVISE, BUT A WORKING GROUP IS ESTABLISHED FOR A SPECIFIC ISSUE TO ANSWER A SPECIFIC QUESTION, AND THEY DO THEIR WORK ON THAT QUESTION.
AND THEY PRESENT A REPORT TO THE COMMISSION AS A WHOLE.
AND ONCE THEY HAVE PRESENTED THAT REPORT,
[02:35:01]
THEY ARE AUTOMATICALLY DISSOLVED.SO THEY NO LONGER EXIST ONCE THEY HAVE THAT.
ONCE THEY HAVE RESOLVED THAT ISSUE AND THEY DO THEIR REPORT, THEY'RE DONE AS OPPOSED TO UNDER CHAPTER TWO, ONE A COMMITTEE, WHICH TENDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS MORE LONG-LASTING DEALS WITH AN ISSUE THAT IS GOING TO COME UP AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS KIND OF THING.
SO I, I CAN'T TELL YOU ALL HOW YOU ENVISION THIS GROUP.
UH, THAT'S UP TO YOU TO DECIDE IF YOU ENVISION THIS GROUP IS HAVING A SINGLE ISSUE THAT THEY ARE DEALING WITH, THAT THEY ARE GOING TO GIVE YOU A REPORT ON AND THEN BE DISSOLVED, THEN THEY CAN BE CHARACTERIZED AS A WORKING GROUP.
AND THE CRUCIAL DISTINCTION THERE UNDER THE
THEY'RE TASKED WITH HAVING KIND OF INTIMATE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT A GIVEN SUBJECT.
THEY PRESENT THEIR REPORT TO THE BOARD AS A WHOLE, UH, THEY TAKE NO KIND OF OFFICIAL ACTIONS OTHER THAN PRESENTING THAT REPORT.
AND THEN THE, THE COMMISSION, I SHOULD SAY, AS A WHOLE, THEN CAN ACT ON THAT OR TAKE, YOU KNOW, TAKE THEIR ADVICE OR, OR, OR, YOU KNOW, DO WHAT THEY DO WITH THAT.
AND SO IT'S UP TO YOU ALL TO DECIDE HOW THIS GROUP IS CHARACTERIZED.
IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT'S SOMETHING YOU'RE GOING TO WANT TO CONTINUE AND CONTINUE AND CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT DECADE, FINE.
IF IT'S SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO ACT WITH A SINGLE THING THAT WILL, THAT CAN JUST DISSOLVE ONCE IT MAKES ITS REPORT, THEN IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED REALLY MORE LIKE A WORKING GROUP.
AND IT WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE OPEN MEETING ACT, UM, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE OPEN MEETINGS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
NOW THEY CERTAINLY MAY, THEY CAN DO WHAT THEY WANT.
THEY CAN BE, THEY CAN BE AS PUBLIC AS POSSIBLE.
AND TRANSPARENCY IS A GOOD THING, BUT THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED, UH, TO, TO COMPLY WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
AND, UH, AND THE REASON FOR THAT AGAIN, IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A SMALLER SCOPE.
THEY'RE JUST DECIDING THEY'RE KIND OF WORKING ON THIS ONE SORT OF TOPIC, ONE ISSUE.
SO THAT'S UP TO YOU ALL TO DECIDE WHAT THEIR MISSION IS AND WHAT THEY'RE TASKED WITH, UH, HOW YOU WANT TO CHARACTERIZE THEM, UH, WHETHER THEY'D BE SUBJECT TO THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT OR NOT.
AND WITHOUT GETTING INTO TOO DEEP OF A DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU ALL ARE UNDER THE BUILDINGS ACT BECAUSE OF OUR CHARTER.
UM, AND SO WE'RE, WE HAVE TO KIND OF APPLY OUR CITY CODE AS BEST WE CAN, UM, TO, TO WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING.
AND WE APPLY TO THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT, OF COURSE, AS BEST WE CAN, UH, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL BEING AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE.
SO, SO THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE IN MY ADVICE TO YOU ALL IS TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THIS GROUP, THE FINANCE COMMITTEE IS, IS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO DO WHAT YOU NEED FROM THEM, WHAT YOU WANT FOR THEM, WHETHER YOU ARE COMFORTABLE THEM JUST DISSOLVING ONCE THEY'VE ANSWERED A CERTAIN QUESTION, AND IF THEY ARE, THEN I THINK YOU CAN, THEY CAN, THEY DO, THEY ARE NOT REQUIRED PROBABLY TO, UH, TO COMPLY WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SAY THAT.
SO I CAN ONLY GIVE YOU THAT ADVICE AND LET YOU ALL MAKE THE DECISION OF, OF, OF WHAT YOU FEEL LIKE THEIR MISSION IS.
I DON'T KNOW IF I'VE GOTTEN TOO PERSONALLY, UH, LEADING THIS COMMITTEE ON, ON WHAT THE DECISION SHOULD BE, UH, SHAREPOINT AS I'M, EXCUSE ME, IF THIS IS OUT OF ORDER OR NOT PROPER PROCESS, BUT MAYBE OPENING IT TO THE THOUGHTS OF OTHER COMMISSIONERS I'M STUCK BETWEEN THE PERMANENT, UM, THE FINANCE COMMITTEE IS SUPPORTING WHAT TRACKING OUR BUDGET.
SO IT'S A LONGER PROJECT, AND LET'S SAY THE PUBLIC HEARINGS WORKING GROUP, WHICH HAS A MISSION OF IDENTIFYING VENUES AND DATES.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S DIFFICULT TO, UM, ADHERE TO LIKE A 72 HOUR AGENDA, KIND OF LIKE WHAT WE DO WITH OUR CURRENT COMMISSION.
AND IT'S, IT REALLY HAS HINDERED SOME OF OUR WORK.
AND AS CAROLINE STATED, THIS IS WRITTEN INTO THE CITY CODE, BUT WE ARE AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION.
UM, SO I'M A LITTLE BIT, IF YOU WANT TO PLAY IT SAFE, WE CAN ALWAYS CREATE WORKING GROUPS.
IT CAN JUST BE EMOTION EACH TIME, IF THERE IS A DIFFERENT ITEM THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON, AND THERE'S A CLOSURE TO LIKE, OKAY, THIS WORKING GROUP HAS FINISHED THIS PROJECT, IT'S GOING TO DISSOLVE.
NOW WE WILL CREATE A NEW FINANCE WORKING GROUP.
IF, IF THAT'S, I THINK THAT THAT MIGHT JUST BE THE SOLUTION AROUND THIS ISSUE.
ONE THING, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
AGAIN, I WANTED TO JUST MENTION, JUST TO BE SURE THAT YOUR WORKING GROUP, AND I THINK YOU ARE ALL AWARE OF THIS AND IT'S IN COMPLIANCE, BUT IT HAS TO HAVE OF COURSE, LESS THAN A QUORUM OF THE ICR MEMBERSHIP ON IT.
SO I JUST WANTED, I W YOU'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THAT.
I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT I HAD MEANT TO MENTION THAT BEFORE.
SO YEAH, ACTUALLY A WHILE BACK WHEN WE CREATED THESE WORKING GROUPS AND SUBCOMMITTEES, UH, I BELIEVE THAT THE MOTION WAS TO CAP IT AT FIVE INDIVIDUALS PER GROUP.
[02:40:05]
YEAH, JUST REAL QUICK.I THINK WHAT'S MAKING IT DIFFICULT IS WE LOOK AT THE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE ICRC FROM 2013.
THEY CREATED A NUMBER OF IS, BUT WHEN I'M LOOKING THROUGH THE, UM, THE, THEIR WEBPAGE FOR THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, I DON'T SEE AGENDAS POSTED FOR THOSE SUBCU MEETINGS, SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS.
TO ME THAT SAYS TO ME THAT SAID THOSE WERE NOT SUBJECT TO THE TEXAS MEETINGS ACT.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S KIND OF WHERE SOME OF THE, UM, UH, YEAH, I THINK THAT'S JUST KIND OF WHERE SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES ARE.
AND I'M SORRY, CAROLINE, AGAIN, UH, TO, TO FOLLOW A NON WHAT MATT JUST SAID.
UM, IF WE DON'T APPLY CHAPTER TWO, ONE OF THE CITY CODE, WHICH I WILL SAY TECHNICALLY DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU ALL, IT CAN GIVE US JUST SOME, SOME SORT OF GUIDANCE, BUT UNDER THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT ITSELF UNDER STATE LAW.
IF THERE IS LESS THAN A QUORUM OF THE ICR MEETING, THEN AS LONG AS THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY BEING VERY CAREFUL NOT TO SOMEHOW COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS OUT OF THAT GROUP AND CREATE ACCIDENTALLY A WALKING FORUM, UM, THEN TECHNICALLY TOMA DOESN'T DOESN'T DOESN'T REQUIRE MEETINGS.
AND LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THAT AND CITY COUNCIL, UH, IN CITY COUNCIL, WE HAVE REGULARLY SUB FORUMS, AND THAT MEANS OBVIOUSLY LESS THAN A QUORUM OF COUNCIL MEMBERS AND CAN, AND DO DISCUSS AGENDA ITEMS THAT ONE OR MORE OF THOSE COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE SPONSORING.
UM, AND SO THEY ARE ALLOWED UNDER THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT TO MEET, UH, AS A, UM, AS A GROUP, AS A SUB QUORUM, UH, WITHOUT VIOLATING THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S REALLY AT THIS POINT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, THERE'S THE LAW, AND THEN THERE'S THE POLICY AND THE POLICY IS UP TO YOU ALL.
IF I'M UNDERSTANDING YOU CORRECTLY, THEN WE CAN JUST KEEP THE FINANCE GROUP AS A SUBCOMMITTEE AND THEY CAN PROCEED WITH THEIR WORK WITHOUT POSTING 72 HOURS IN ADVANCE OR HOLDING AN OPEN MEETING UNDER THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
AS LONG AS, AS YOU MENTIONED, IT'S KEPT, UH, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN A QUORUM.
IF, IF THERE'S NO OPPOSITION TO THIS, I'M GOING TO SAY WE KEEP THE FINANCE GROUP AS A SUBCOMMITTEE THEN IN THAT CASE, IS THAT ALL RIGHT WITH EVERYONE COMMISSIONER BLINK? I THINK THAT'S BASICALLY FINE.
I JUST, WHAT I'M HEARING THOUGH, IS THAT THIS IS SORT OF AMBIGUOUS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS, WE'RE SORT OF, WE'RE HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF A DEBATE HERE BETWEEN EFFICIENCY VERSUS PRESUMABLY TRANSPARENCY, BUT THE IDEA, I THINK BEHIND ESTABLISHING THIS AS A COMMITTEE TO BEGIN WITH, OR A SUBCOMMITTEE WAS BECAUSE WE'RE DEALING WITH FINANCES.
WE WANT TO BE AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE.
I'M WONDERING IF SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, I THINK AS WE WERE, AS IN, YOU KNOW, RESPECT FOR THE PROCESS EVERY TIME TRYING TO GET THINGS DONE, I WONDER IF WE WOULDN'T BENEFIT FROM HAVING THIS CONVERTED TO A WORKING GROUP SO THAT WE DO LAY OUT CLEARLY DEFINED TASKS AND EXPECTATIONS.
I THINK BOTH FOR OURSELVES AS A COMMISSION, BUT ALSO FOR THE, THE SUB COMMITTEE MEMBERS OR MAYBE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS WHO HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING THEM TO DO EACH WEEK.
BUT I'D ALSO SAY THAT THE EXERCISE EARLIER ABOUT VALUES AND NORMS, IT SEEMS SHE COULD GUIDE THAT WORK IN GROUP TOWARDS WHEN, AS A WORKING GROUP, THEY NEED TO HAVE A PUBLIC MEETING TO RUN THROUGH WHAT WE'VE SPENT, HOW HER OPERATING OR THAT KIND OF THING.
MAYBE THAT'S WHAT GUIDES THIS.
I WOULD JUST BE WORRIED ABOUT GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
AND THEN WE, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE SAYS AT THE END, WELL, YOUR FINANCE COMMITTEE NEVER FOLLOWED THE OPEN MEETINGS, YOU KNOW, RULES, AND NOW WE HAVE PROBLEM WITH, YOU KNOW, YOUR PROCESS.
UM, AND SO, I MEAN, I WOULD BE MORE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I'M, I'M PERFECTLY WILLING TO, YOU KNOW, SEE TO THE WILL THE BODY, IF THE, IF THE PREFERENCE IS TO KEEP THIS AS A, AS A SUBCOMMITTEE, BUT IT SEEMS THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO CALL IT A SUB COMMITTEE, WE'RE CALLING IT THAT FOR SPECIFIC REASONS THAT WE'RE NOW TRYING NOT TO APPLY TO THE SUBCOMMITTEE.
IF WE THINK THAT'S AMBIGUOUS, THEN I THINK WE SHOULD MOVE IT TO A WORKING GROUP.
BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, JUST A COUNTER POSITION HERE.
I DON'T SEE ON OUR AGENDA THAT WE, UM, LISTED, WE WOULD VOTE ON THIS OR YOU HAVE ANY ACTION, MAYBE CAROLINE, CAN YOU TELL US IF THAT IS SOMETHING WITHIN THE BALANCE? WELL, AND I'M NOT PUSHING FOR AN EMOTION EITHER.
IT, IT MAY BE NEXT MEETING, BUT SORRY, YOU'RE MUTED, CAROLINE, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, UM, YOU'RE MUTED.
UH, THIS IS CAROLINE WITH THE LAW DIVISION.
UM, YEAH, I, I DON'T THINK YOU CAN TAKE A VOTE ON THAT AT THIS POINT.
[02:45:01]
IS, IS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE UPDATE THAT WAS GIVEN.I AGREE THAT I DON'T THINK YOU CAN TAKE A VOTE IF THE AGENDA WASN'T POSTED FOR A POSSIBLE ACTION.
UH, THEN, THEN YOU CAN'T PROBABLY TAKE A VOTE ON THAT RIGHT NOW.
THE DISCUSSION ITSELF IS WITHIN THE PURVIEW THOUGH.
IT DOES SAY DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
SO WOULD YOU READ THAT ENTIRE RE READ THAT? YES.
THREE G SAYS UPDATE FROM FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO RECLASSIFY THE FINANCE COMMITTEE TO A WORKING GROUP.
WELL, IF THAT'S HOW IT'S POSTED, THEN YOU, YOU COULD TAKE A VOTE ON THAT IF YOU WISH THAT WOULD BE UNDER THE PURVIEW OF THAT ITEM AS POSTED.
WHAT IS IN THAT CASE? I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, ON A DECISION LIKE THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM MEMBERS OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND I WOULD SEE TO WHATEVER THEIR PREFERENCE IS GIVEN THAT THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON THESE ISSUES.
I, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE HAS ACTUALLY NOT MET FORMALLY AS A GROUP.
UM, AND SO I DON'T KNOW YOU, I'M GOING TO LET YOU MAKE THE CALL ON THAT.
YOU HAVE BEEN SPEARHEADING THAT GROUP.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT BEFORE THAT'S OKAY.
UM, MY MICHAEL, AND, UM, SO I JUST WANT TO KIND OF MAYBE, UM, NOT ANSWER, BUT TALK ON TOP OF COMMISSIONER BLANKS STATEMENT.
HE-MAN I THINK THERE IS A NEED TO KEEP TRANSPARENCY WITH THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, LISTENING TO CAROLINE FROM THE CITY, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE WE'RE ACTUALLY IN VIOLATION OF ANY REGULATION AT NIGHT.
UNDERSTAND THIS COULD BE CONFUSING FOR A LOT OF US BECAUSE THIS IS FAIRLY NEW, BUT I DON'T THINK WE'RE NECESSARILY, UM, CREATING AN OFFENSE OR VIOLATING AN ACT.
SO I FEEL LIKE WE COULD TAKE NO ACTION AT SOMETIMES DO NOTHING IS A GREAT OPTION AND KEEP THINGS AS IS, AND KEEP MOVING ALONG UNTIL WE HAVE NEW EVIDENCE OR NEW DATA TO SUGGEST THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE AN ACTION.
I FEEL LIKE WE CAN CONTINUE WITH THE CURRENT COURSE OF ACTION AND LET THE FINANCE COMMITTEE DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT TO DO ONCE THEY'VE MET AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION.
AND WE COULD ADD THIS TO A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM TO VOTE OR MAKE A DECISION.
I BELIEVE WE MAY NEED TO DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THIS IS BECOMING AN ISSUE OF SEMANTICS.
SO, UM, WHY DON'T WE GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
UM, VICE-CHAIR CONSOLE IS YES.
SHAREPOINT IS, AND COMMISSIONER LEE IS ON THE FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE, BUT AGAIN, CORRECT.
WE HAVE NOT MET OFFICIALLY AS A BODY RIGHT NOW.
I WOULD AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER KANAAN AND COMMISSIONER APPRENTICE WITH KEEPING THIS AS A SUBCOMMITTEE WITH THE UNDERSTANDING AND THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPARENCY, ALL OF OUR DOCUMENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE.
UM, SHOULD IT COME TO THAT? AN OPEN RECORDS REQUEST, UM, AND IT SEEMS ENOUGH CAROLINE COULD JUST CLOSE ON THIS POINT THAT AS A SUBCOMMITTEE, WE CAN CONTINUE WORK AS A COMMITTEE, BUT POTENTIALLY MEET, LIKE IF WE EVER HAD TO HAVE A MEETING FOLLOW THAT 72 HOUR NOTICE.
SO, CAROLINE, MY QUESTION TO YOU, LAST QUESTION TO YOU IS CAN A SUBCOMMITTEE CONTINUE WORK? LET'S SAY AS, AS FIVE COMMISSIONERS, WHETHER THAT'S VIA EMAIL OR, YOU KNOW, DO WORK ELECTRONICALLY VERSUS ACTUALLY MEETING S I'M SORRY FOR THAT.
THE DEFINITION OF MEETING UNDER THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT IS YOU SHOULD THINK OF IT MORE AS A, UH, THIS IS NOT THE EXACT DEFINITION, BUT IT MAY HELP YOU TO, TO ENVISION VISUALIZE IT AS MORE OF A MEETING OF THE MINDS.
AND SO JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT PHYSICALLY IN GOOD, BE IN ONE PLACE TOGETHER, IF YOU ARE ALL EMAILING EACH OTHER AND DISCUSSING SOMETHING, OR YOU'RE ALL ON A CONFERENCE CALL THAT IS A MEETING UNDER THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT, WHETHER YOU'RE ALL PHYSICALLY TOGETHER OR NOT.
AND SO IT, IT IS, SO WHAT THE CHARTER SAYS IS IT SAYS, ASSESS THE COMMISSION SHALL COMPLY WITH ALL STATE AND CITY REQUIREMENTS FOR OPEN MEETINGS.
AND THAT'S NOT, THAT'S A, A LOT OF, UNFORTUNATELY WHAT WE HAVE IN THE CHARTER CAN BE A LITTLE OPAQUE AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARD TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANS.
THAT'S WHY I WAS KIND OF BRINGING UP CHAPTER TWO, ONE OF THE CITY CODE, UM, THAT CAN GIVE US, IT'S NOT CLEAR THAT YOU ARE UNDER CHAPTER TWO, ONE OF THE CITY CODE AND IT'S, CAUSE YOU'RE NOT CHAPTER TWO, ONE DEALS WITH THE CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
UM, BUT YOU'RE CREATED UNDER THE CITY CHARTER.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE THAT CHAPTER TWO, ONE APPLIES TO YOU ALL, BUT WHAT CHAPTER TWO,
[02:50:01]
ONE OF THE CITY CODE DOES IS IT PUTS ALL OF THE CITY'S KIND OF REGULAR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS UNDER THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT.AND IT, IT SAYS UNDER CHAPTER TWO, ONE, IT SAYS COMMITTEES, UH, WHICH ARE AT A CERTAIN WAY, HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT AND WORKING GROUPS DO NOT.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY KIND OF, AND I, SOMEONE SAID A MOMENT AGO, IT'S ALMOST LIKE YOU'RE GETTING DOWN TO SOME CRITICS.
AND I, AND I AGREE WITH THAT IN THE SENSE THAT I FEEL LIKE YOU ALL DO NEED TO DEFINE WHAT THIS GROUP IS DOING, BECAUSE IF WE'RE GOING TO APPLY CHAPTER TWO, ONE OF THE CITY CODE AND, AND IT IT'S A LITTLE BIT UNCLEAR WHETHER YOU SHOULD OR NOT, BUT IF YOU'RE, IF WE'RE GOING TO APPLY IT, THEN IF THIS IS WHAT WOULD BE
AND THAT, THAT, THAT INCLUDES PHONE CONVERSATIONS.
AND IT INCLUDES EMAILS WHERE EVERYONE IS INVOLVED IN DISCUSSING.
UM, IF INSTEAD, AS I MENTIONED, IT'S A WORKING GROUP THAT HAS A VERY DEFINED ISSUE THAT IS CREATED TO MAKE A REPORT TO THE ICRC AS A WHOLE, AND THEN DISSOLVES THAT'S A WORKING GROUP AND THEY ARE NOT REQUIRED TO APPLY WITH THE OLD MEANS ZACK.
SO, SO THAT'S WHY IT IS, UH, I WOULD ADVISE THAT YOU ALL THINK ABOUT WHAT EXACTLY YOU WANT THIS GROUP TO DO.
UM, YEAH, TO ME, IT'S, TO ME, I WILL SAY THIS, IT IS NOT CLEAR THAT YOU'RE PROVIDING THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T THINK THAT IS A CLEAR CASE.
I THINK IT'S JUST, IT'S MORE ABOUT, I WOULD LIKE, I THINK EVERYONE WANTS US TO BE AS TRANSPARENT AS TRENT, AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE, ET CETERA.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THE MISSION OF GETTING THINGS DONE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, THE CLOCK IS TICKING.
YOU KNOW? SO AGAIN, I JUST THINK YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT HOW YOU'RE GOING TO CHARACTERIZE IT THIS GROUP.
AND, UM, AND WE CAN TAKE GUIDANCE AFTER TWO ONE, EVEN IF IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY TECHNICALLY APPLY, YOU CAN TAKE GUIDANCE FROM IT.
SO, SO THAT'S ONE KIND OF REITERATING THAT I WOULD BE CAUTIOUS BEFORE YOU MAKE THE DECISION ABOUT WHAT THIS GROUP'S MISSION IS.
I WOULD BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT HAVING A WHOLE LOT OF EMAIL DISCUSSIONS AND TELEPHONE DISCUSSIONS, OR WHAT HAVE YOU, BECAUSE THOSE WOULD BE DEFINED AS MEETINGS UNDER THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT AS LONG AS IT'S DIFFICULT, BECAUSE YOU'RE STILL NOT HAVING A QUORUM OF THE ICRC MEETING.
SO IT IS, IT IS DIFFICULT TO CHARACTERIZE EXACTLY WHAT THIS GROUP IS, BUT, BUT, BUT IF IT'S CONSIDERED A COMMITTEE, THEN, THEN IT, IT SHOULD BE FOLLOWING THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT AT LEAST ACCORDING TO CITY CODE VICE-CHAIR GONZALEZ, CAROLINE.
UM, APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE LEARNING AFTER THAT.
I'M STILL IN AGREEMENT WITH COMMISSIONER KANAAN AND COMMISSIONER POINT, DOES THAT NO ACTION BE TAKEN RIGHT NOW? I THINK WE STILL HAVE SOME WORK TO DO AS A COMMITTEE, AS A COMMISSION TO LAY OUT THE CHARGE.
I'M WILLING TO LEAVE IT AS IS ALL RIGHT, WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS, THREE H UPDATES FROM THE CITY REGARDING THE EMPLOYEE CONTRACT TEMPLATE AND ICRC DROPBOX, AND MATT.
HEY, CAROLYN, DO YOU WANT TO, UM, TAKE THOSE TWO ITEMS? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
THANK YOU AGAIN, CAROLINE WEBSTER WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN SLOT DEPARTMENT.
UH, SO, UH, SO FOR BOTH THOSE LETTERS FOR THE, FOR THE CONTRACT, UM, I BELIEVE THAT THERE'S, I KNOW THAT EFFORTS MADE TO FIND YOU ALL KIND OF A CONTRACT TEMPLATE AS FAR AS YOUR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT IS CONCERNED.
UM, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HR CAN SUPPLY TO YOU ALL.
I THINK YOU COULD USE A PRETTY STANDARD, UH, CONTRACT TEMPLATE FOR THAT AND A PRETTY STANDARD PROCESS WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU, AS YOU, YOU HAD YOUR INTERVIEW AND YOU ALL HAVE SOME SCORING AND YOU MAKE SOME DECISIONS ON, ON WHO YOU WANT AND WHO YOU DON'T WANT AND HAVE SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT.
AND SO ESSENTIALLY ONCE YOU'VE CHOSEN YOUR INDIVIDUAL, THE WAY THE NORMAL PROCESS WORKS IS YOU THEN BASICALLY GO THROUGH YOUR SORT OF HR DEPARTMENT IF YOU'RE WITH THE CITY.
AND, AND THEN THAT PERSON HAS OFFERED A CONTRACT.
UM, AND SO I THINK THERE'S A STANDARD TEMPLATE FOR THAT.
I DON'T HAVE ONE TO PRESENT TO YOU RIGHT NOW.
AGAIN, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING EITHER YOUR, THE AUDITOR'S HR DEPARTMENT OR, OR THE, THE CITY'S MAIN HR DEPARTMENT CAN GIVE YOU KIND OF A STANDARD AGREEMENT, UH, THAT CAN WORK WITH THAT.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT BECAUSE IF THESE FOLKS ARE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, WHICH I BELIEVE WE DISCUSSED LAST TIME, THAT THEY, THEY ARE, UH, THERE MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT SORT OF PROCEDURE THERE.
AND, AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT AS FAR AS THE ATTORNEY IS CONCERNED, UH, WHENEVER AN ATTORNEY IS HIRED, UM, THAT CONTRACT WILL STILL COME THROUGH THE LAW DEPARTMENT.
THAT ATTORNEY WILL BE SEPARATE
[02:55:01]
FROM THE LORE DEPARTMENT IN THE SENSE THAT IN THE SENSE THAT THEY WILL NOT BE IN ANY WAY SUPERVISED BY THE LAW DEPARTMENT, WE WILL NOT BE, YOU KNOW, CHECKING TO SEE IF THERE ARE CONFIRMING, YOU KNOW, FULFILLING THEIR CONTRACTUAL ROLE, ET CETERA.THE LAW DEPARTMENT DOES NOT HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER THAT ATTORNEY, UH, BECAUSE THEY ARE THERE TO ADVISE YOU ALL SEPARATE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST THE I, AND YOUR NAME IS INDEPENDENT AND YOU ARE INDEPENDENT.
AND SO YOUR ATTORNEY IS YOUR ATTORNEY LAW DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY DOES NOT CONTROL THAT INDIVIDUAL.
WE JUST KIND OF SHEPHERD THEM THROUGH TO MAKE SURE THAT IT MEETS ALL THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS.
UM, SO, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT ONCE YOU ALL HAVE DECIDED, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, THE LAW DEPARTMENT WILL ASSIST WITH SHEPHERDING THAT CONTACT THROUGH CONTRACT THROUGH, I SHOULD SAY, TO MAKE SURE THAT IT JUST IS SIGNED AND MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE IS ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PERSON IS PAID.
YOU KNOW, SO THERE'S, THERE'S A PROCESS THAT IS INVOLVED THERE THAT THE LAW DEPARTMENT HAS A, A ROLE IN, AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE HAS A ROLE IN AS FAR AS BUDGET AND SUCH AS CONCERNED BECAUSE OF COURSE, YOU GUYS DO HAVE A BUDGET BEFORE THAT YOU BY CITY COUNCIL, ET CETERA.
UM, SO LAW DEPARTMENT WILL HANDLE THAT CONTRACT, BUT AGAIN, WON'T HAVE CONTROL OVER THAT INDIVIDUAL.
THAT INDIVIDUAL IS YES, CAROLINE.
I THINK WE JUST NEED TO KNOW WHEN WE CAN GET THESE CONTRACTS, BECAUSE WE HAVE RECEIVED CONFIRMATION FROM THE, UM, BOTH CANDIDATES THAT WE MADE OFFERS TO.
SO WE HAVE OUR ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER IN PLACE.
WE HAVE OUR LEGAL COUNSEL IN PLACE.
WE NEED THE CONTRACTS ASAP, I WOULD SAY BY THIS FRIDAY.
WELL, I'M, I'M AN ATTORNEY, SO I DON'T HANDLE HR.
SO WHO DO I THINK THE QUESTION IS THEN WHO DO WE NEED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH? BECAUSE WE'VE KIND OF BEEN, BEEN GETTING A RUN AROUND ON THAT? UH, I WOULD, I CAN, I MEAN, AS FAR AS THE ATTORNEY IS CONCERNED, I THINK THAT, UH, IF YOU ALL HAVE MADE A DECISION ON SOMEONE THAT I CAN GET WITH, WITH MY SUPERIORS IN THE LAW DEPARTMENT AND MAKE SURE WE, WE CAN GET THAT CONTRACT GOING AS FAR AS YOUR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, UH, I WOULD THINK THAT EITHER THAT WOULD BE, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S THE, WHICH HR DEPARTMENT THAT IS.
I KNOW THAT EACH CITY DEPARTMENT HAS THEIR OWN KIND OF WHAT WE CALL A SPOCK WHO DEALS WITH HR.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD BE, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WOULD BE SOMEONE IN THE LAW DEPARTMENT.
I THINK IT WOULD BE SOMEONE MAYBE IN THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, BUT I WILL HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK ON THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF MATT HAS ANY INPUT ON THAT OR NOT SO THAT I'M NOT SURE THAT I'M NOT SURE OF THE ANSWER TO, BUT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, I CAN WORK WITH MATT AND WE CAN GET AN ANSWER ON THAT.
WELL, I APOLOGIZE IF THE QUESTION WAS MISDIRECTED TO YOU.
I, YOU GUYS, I'M SURE THERE IS MORE OF A PROCEDURAL THAN A LEGAL QUESTION, BUT YOU GUYS NEED AN ANSWER.
SO WE'LL MAKE, I GOT AN ANSWER THAT CAN DO, CAN YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION ABOUT HR? YEAH, I CAN.
I CAN CHECK WITH THE CITY'S HR DEPARTMENT TO SEE IF THEY HAVE A CONTRACT TEMPLATE.
UM, UH, AND THEN I'LL SPEAK CURSING IF THERE, IF THERE'S ONE, YOUR HONOR, FOR THE LEGAL COUNSEL, COULD WE ALSO JUST USE THAT FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER? UM, BUT, UH, CAROLINA AND I CAN TALK OFFLINE AND FIGURE THAT OUT OUT BECAUSE THE, YEAH, WE'LL HAVE TO TALK OFFLINE ABOUT THAT.
CAUSE I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE IF THEY WOULD BE THE SAME, IF THE CONTRACT TURNS WOULD BE THE SAME AND THEY MIGHT BE, BUT WE'LL HAVE TO TALK.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE MISSIONARY, SORRY.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A STATEMENT BASED ON, UM, THE CITY ATTORNEY'S STATEMENT THAT THE, THE LAW CONTRACTS WILL GO THROUGH THE LAW DEPARTMENT, BUT THE OTHER TWO WILL NOT.
I SEE THAT AS A SMALL, SLIGHT CONCERN, AND I DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW IF I UNDERSTAND WHY THE LAW CONTRACT WOULD BE DIFFERENT THAN THE, UH, MAPPING CONSULTANT OR THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL SUPPOSED TO BE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS.
AND I AM A LITTLE CONCERNED THAT THE LAWYERS THAT WE'RE HIRING AS AN INDEPENDENT COMMITTEE IS RUNNING THROUGH THE CITY'S LAW DEPARTMENT.
WELL, WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE ANY OVERSIGHT.
AND I THINK THIS IS A CLEAR CASE OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST, AND I WANT TO STATE THAT, AND I WOULD PREFER THAT THAT NOT RUN THROUGH THE CITY'S LAW DEPARTMENT, BUT THAT RUN DIRECTLY AS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACT DIRECTLY TO THE COMMITTEE.
I'M NOT GOING TO ADDRESS THAT AT THIS TIME.
I DON'T KNOW IF, IF CAROLINE WEBSTER OR MATT HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD BEFORE WE MOVE ON.
UH, THE ONLY THING I WILL SAY ABOUT THAT IS, IS I UNDERSTAND THAT QUESTION AND CONCERN, AND I CAN JUST ASK ABOUT THAT PROCESS AND COME BACK TO YOU ALL WITH SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.
AND I KNOW TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.
SO I CAN, I CAN ASK THAT QUESTION OF, OF MY SUPERIORS AS WELL.
SO COMMISSIONER, KANAAN SORRY.
I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE IF WE COULD PUT DATES AND TIMES AND OWNERS FOR THESE ITEMS, BECAUSE WE ARE RUNNING REALLY LATE AND WE'VE HEARD FROM MULTIPLE PEOPLE THAT WE
[03:00:01]
DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THE CITY'S TRYING TO HELP US, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF WE CAN GET CLEAR DATES AND OWNERS AND TURN AROUND TIMES FOR ONE WEEK AND HEAR ABOUT IT.BECAUSE IF NOT, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET WHAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH IN ANY AMOUNT OF TIME.
AND, UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO SET THESE DATES, UM, AND DEADLINES OUTSIDE OF THESE MEETINGS.
UM, I, I AM SAYING THAT WE NEED THIS BY FRIDAY BECAUSE WE NEED OUR STAFF ON BOARD STARTING NEXT WEEK, GIVEN THAT WE HAVE OUR FIRST PUBLIC HEARING NEXT WEEK AND WE HAVE TO GET OUR STAFF ONBOARDED.
SO, UH, IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM, I'M GOING TO GO TO THE FINAL ORDER OF BUSINESS.
THIS IS AGENDA ITEMS. UM, AND FOR THIS ONE, I WILL SAY, UM, MR. KORBEL HA OUR LEGAL COUNSEL, UM, HE HAS REQUESTED THE, UH, SHAPE FILE.
IS THAT WHAT I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT'S CALLED.
UM, AND HE WANTS TO CREATE MAPS THAT WE CAN PRESENT AT THE FIRST PUBLIC HEARING.
SO THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT WE MIGHT BE LOOKING AT MAPS AS SOON AS THIS WEDNESDAY COMMISSIONER BLANK MAPS OF, UH, WHAT OF THE CITY AND PROPOSED DISTRICTS IS, BUT I'M NOT SURE I NEEDED TO CLARIFY THAT WITH HIM.
I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT ON THE RECORD FOR A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM THAT WE MIGHT BE DISCUSSING MAPS AS SOON AS THIS WEDNESDAY, BUT FOR THE, BUT FOR THE FIRST PUBLIC HEARING OF THE, OF THE 10 PLUS ONE HEARINGS, THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING RIGHT NOW.
OR JUST TO BE, LET ME JUST BE CLEAR.
THERE ARE NO PROPOSED MAPS CAUSE WE HAVE NO DATA, SO THERE'S NO WAY HE CAN MAKE PROPOSED MAPS FOR THE FIRST MEETING.
SO, I MEAN, CURRENTLY THE ONLY MAPS WE HAVE ARE THE MAPS THAT EXIST OF THE CURRENT COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
I WOULD WONDER IF HE WANTS TO UPDATE THEM WITH THE MOST RECENT CENSUS DATA.
I MEAN, ANYWAY, JUST, JUST CLARIFICATION ON THAT AS WE GO FORWARD.
UM, OPEN-ENDED AT THE MOMENT I NEED TO GET MORE INFORMATION, BUT JUST SO THAT WE HAVE IT FOR A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, THE POTENTIAL TO VIEW A FEW MAPS NEXT WEDNESDAY, NO VOTES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
THAT IS MY ONE ITEM THAT I WANTED TO PUT ON.
UM, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. THE FLOOR IS OPEN FOR EVERYONE ELSE.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER BUSINESS SINCE THERE'S NO FURTHER BUSINESS? OH, I'M SO SORRY.
UH, COMMISSIONER FALCON, UH, I JUST WAS FOLLOWING THE AGENDA AND I FELT THERE WAS ONE LAST AGENDA ITEM THAT WE DIDN'T GET TO.
SO I JUST WANTED TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT NOW, I'M LOOKING, UM, WE DID NOT DISCUSS THE ICRC DROPBOX.
UH, MATT, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN ANSWER AS TO WHETHER WE CAN HAVE THAT SUBSCRIPTION? CAROLYN CAROUSEL? YEAH.
UH, SORRY, I DIDN'T WANT TO INTERRUPT YOU AND THEN, AND, AND, UH, SANDY THING, BUT, BUT YEAH, SO AS FAR AS THE DROPBOX IS CONCERNED, AND SO MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU ALL ARE WANTING HERE IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN ALL VIEW DOCUMENTS THAT ARE, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS OR RESUMES YOU'RE RECEIVING OR WHATEVER IT IS.
UM, AND, AND SO THE WAY IT WORKS UNDER THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT, AND AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF LIKE, WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IS, IS, YOU KNOW, THE WAY A MEETING IS DEFINED IS KIND OF A MEETING OF THE MINDS.
AND SO YOU CANNOT HAVE A DROPBOX OR AURA, A DATABASE OF DOCUMENTS, OR WHAT HAVE YOU, THAT YOU CAN THEN EDIT AND DISCUSS OUTSIDE OF THE MEETING, AT LEAST NOT WITH A QUORUM OR MORE OF PEOPLE.
SO IT IS, IT IS FINE TO HAVE A LOCATION WHERE YOU HAVE DOCUMENTS THAT ARE STORED, THAT YOU CAN VIEW.
WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND IS THAT THEY NOT BE EDITABLE.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, SAVED IN A PDF FORMAT AS OPPOSED TO MAYBE A WORD FORMAT SO THAT SOMEONE CAN'T GO IN AND MAKE CHANGES TO IT.
BECAUSE IF SOMEONE GOES IN AND MAKES CHANGES, THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY COMMUNICATING TO THE REST OF THE FOLKS WHO HAVE SEEN THAT.
I THINK WE SHOULD CHANGE THIS TO BE THIS WAY.
AND THEN SOMEONE ELSE WHO GOES IN AND MAKES ANOTHER CHANGE IS BASICALLY SAYING, NO, I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE IT SAY THIS.
SO THAT'S A MEETING, THAT'S A DISCUSSION.
SO, SO YOU WANT, YOU CAN HAVE A REPOSITORY OF DOCUMENTS AGAIN,
[03:05:01]
I WOULD RECOMMEND THEY BE IN A PDF FORMAT OR SOMETHING THAT'S NOT EDITABLE, BUT FOR YOU ALL TO LOOK AT AND VIEW AND SEE WHAT'S COMING UP, UM, THAT IS ACCEPTABLE.AS LONG AS YOU ARE NOT EDITING THEM, YOU'RE NOT DISGUSTING THEM.
SO YOU'RE NOT SENDING AN EMAIL OUT TO THE GROUP, UH, THAT SAYS, I THINK WE SHOULD, YOU KNOW, DO SOMETHING TO THIS, THIS POLICY OR THIS WHATEVER.
AND THEN OTHER PEOPLE ARE CHIMING IN.
SO THAT MEANS THAT IN THOSE CONDITIONS THAT YOU WERE DESCRIBING WHERE DOCUMENTS ARE IN A PDF OR NON-EDITABLE FILE, WE CAN GET THE GREEN LIGHT ON A DROPBOX FOR OUR COMMISSION.
BECAUSE YOU CAN LOOK AT IT AS IT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU ALL TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION, TO DO YOUR WORK.
BUT AGAIN, AS LONG AS THERE'S NO DISCUSSION, OKAY.
SHAREPOINT IS, I HAVE A QUESTION COMMISSIONER, YOU, SO, UH, JUST, UH, I'M JUST THINKING A LITTLE BIT HERE NOW.
WHAT IF THE DOCUMENTS ARE EDITABLE, IF YOU CAN, IF YOU DOWNLOAD THEM FROM THE DROPBOX, UM, BUT ONLY CERTAIN PEOPLE CAN UPLOAD THE MASTER FILE.
SO, YOU KNOW, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THESE WORKING GROUPS, SOMETIMES WE ARE INDIVIDUALLY, UM, UH, AS INDIVIDUAL PARTIES, WE'RE CONTRIBUTING OUR OWN WORK, SUCH AS IN THE HIRING WORKING GROUP, WE HAVE, UM, CREATED A TEMPLATE ON WHICH TO SCORE THIS STAFF CANDIDATES.
UM, IF THERE IS A MASTER TEMPLATE WITH WHICH WE CAN SCORE THE CANDIDATES THAT, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE OTHER WORKING GROUP MEMBERS SO THAT THEY ALL DOWNLOAD THE SAME TEMPLATE, BUT NO ONE CAN EDIT THE MASTER TEMPLATE.
WOULD THAT BE ALL RIGHT? I THINK THAT WOULD BE.
AND THE KEY TO ME IN YOUR QUESTION IS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A WORKING GROUP YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THAN A QUORUM, RIGHT? AND SO IF YOU ARE WORKING TOGETHER ON SOMETHING AS, AS A SUB QUORUM, AS A WORKING GROUP, THAT'S ACCEPTABLE TO, TO, TO VIEW THOSE DOCUMENTS, ET CETERA, IT'S IT'S, AND THIS IS PARTLY WHERE YOU ALL HAVE TO BE RESPONSIBLE YOURSELVES, RIGHT? SO AS AN INDIVIDUAL COMMISSION MEMBER, YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL THAT YOU ARE NOT DOING THINGS THAT YOU ARE SHARING TO OTHER COMMISSION MEMBERS WHO CAN THEN COME BACK WITH YOU AND MAKE A BUNCH OF COMMENTS ON IT.
THAT'S ONCE YOU REACH A QUORUM LEVEL, THAT'S WHERE TOMA KICKS IN.
RIGHT? AND SO THAT'S WHERE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY KICKS IN TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER YOU'RE COMMUNICATING IS WITH A, UH, LESS THAN A QUORUM IT'S FOR THE PURPOSE MAYBE OF, OF, OF, YOU KNOW, A DISCUSSION ABOUT A GIVEN ITEM THAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
I MEAN, YES, YOU CAN HAVE DISCUSSION.
YOU CAN TALK, YOU CAN HAVE A TEMPLATE YOU'RE WORKING FROM AND LOAD IT BACK UP, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE YOURSELVES RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THAT YOU ARE NOT KNOWINGLY ENGAGING IN A CONVERSATION BASICALLY WITH A QUORUM OR MORE OF OTHER OF OTHER MEMBERS WHEN I THINK THAT'S CLEAR.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER BUSINESS SINCE THERE IS NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED.
THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TONIGHT.