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SO TODAY IS THE, UH, FIRST DAY OF EARLY VOTING IN THE CITY MAYOR AND THE, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, RACES.
UH, THIS, UH, EARLY DAY VOTING BEGINS TODAY.
IT RUNS THROUGH THE NINTH, AND I'M HERE TODAY TO URGE EVERYONE TO VOTE.
ARE YOU GUYS PICKING UP THE SOUND YOU NEED? DO WHAT? AND ARE WE DOING OKAY? YEAH.
TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF EARLY VOTING.
IT'S THE FIRST EARLY VOTING'S GONNA GO FROM THE FIRST TO THE NINTH, AND I WANT TO URGE EVERYBODY TO, UH, GET OUT AND VOTE.
UH, EACH OF THE RACES ON THIS BALLOT, UH, UH, COULD BE VERY, VERY CLOSE.
AND I'M HERE TO TELL EVERYBODY THAT EVERY VOTE IS GOING TO COUNT, AND EVERY VOTE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN THESE RACES.
YOU KNOW, AND OUR HISTORY VOTER TURNOUT DURING RUNOFF ELECTIONS HAS BEEN VERY, VERY SMALL.
AND TOO FEW PEOPLE DECIDE THE OUTCOME OF THESE RUNOFF ELECTIONS.
SO IT'S REAL IMPORTANT THAT EVERYBODY, UH, EVERYBODY PARTICIPATES.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN OUR CITY'S HISTORY, UH, AND EACH OF US SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT OUR VOICES ARE HEARD.
I SAW, BY THE WAY, UH, THE PRESS CONFERENCE THAT WAS HERE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, UH, ABOUT SOME, UM, UH, PETITION HUCKSTERS, UH, THAT ARE OUT TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO SIGN, UH, PETITIONS, UH, REPRESENTING THEMSELVES TO BE SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THEY ARE.
I HOPE PEOPLE ARE, ARE SMART ENOUGH AND AWARE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT, UH, GATHERING PETITIONS ON POLICE OVERSIGHT ARE TRYING TO OVERTURN THE, THE ACTION THAT THE COMMUNITY TOOK EARLIER.
UH, AND, UH, UH, I'M HOPING THAT, UH, FOLKS DO NOT SIGN THOSE, UH, PETITIONS, AND I'M HOPING THAT THEY ARE NOT, UH, MISLED.
SO I THOUGHT I'D GIVE, UH, YOU MY THOUGHTS ON, ON THE ELECTION AND, AND THE VOTING THAT'S ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE HERE.
UH, I AM IN, UH, DISTRICT, UH, NINE, UH, SO I'M GOING TO BE VOTING IN THE RUNOFF ELECTION TODAY FOR, UH, COUNCIL.
UH, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO SEE ZOE HERE TODAY.
UH, UH, HERE WE'RE GONNA VOTE TOGETHER.
UH, AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I AM VOTING FOR ZOE.
I'M VOTING FOR ZOE BECAUSE I THINK HE IS SMART, HE IS KNOWLEDGEABLE, AND HE IS FOCUSED ON THE ISSUES THAT I THINK ARE MOST IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW, AND THAT'S HOUSING COSTS AND, AND, AND EQUITY.
HE UNDERSTANDS THAT MEETING OUR HOUSING CRISIS BEGINS WITH LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REFORM.
HE SPEAKS ABOUT PERMANENT SOLUTIONS TO HOMELESSNESS AND DOES NOT PANDER WITH PROMISES OF QUICK FIXES.
AND WHEN ADDRESSING OUR TRANSPORTATION FUTURE, HE LEADS WITH THE NEED FOR MOBILITY OPTIONS RATHER THAN OUR HISTORICAL FOCUS ON, ON HIGHWAYS AND STREETS AND CARS.
AND WHEN HE SPEAKS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY, HE ADDRESSES NEEDED POLICING REFORM.
HE DOESN'T CREATE, HE DOESN'T TRADE ON CREATING, UH, FEAR AND PROMOTING THE FICTION THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS NOT SAFE.
I BELIEVE THAT HAVING A DIVERSE AND EMPATHETIC VOICE ON COUNCIL IS CRITICAL TO US MEETING OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES.
AND ZOE IS ALL OF THESE THINGS.
AND I AM EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO CAST A VOTE TODAY FOR ZOE IN THE DISTRICT NINE RUNOFF.
BY THE WAY, I CAN'T VOTE IN DISTRICT THREE.
I DON'T LIVE THERE, BUT, BUT IF I LIVED IN DISTRICT THREE, THEN I WOULD BE VOTING FOR JOSE, UM, VELASQUEZ, UH, BECAUSE OF HIS HISTORY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN THAT DISTRICT, AND AGAIN, HIS RECOGNITION THAT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WAYS TO DEAL WITH RISING HOME PRICES IN OUR CITY IS THROUGH LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REFORM.
I'M ALSO GONNA BE VOTING IN THE MAYOR'S RACE AND IN THE RUNOFF.
AND OUR CITY IS FORTUNATE TO HAVE TWO CANDIDATES IN THE RUNOFF, BOTH OF
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WHOM HAVE THE EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO DO THIS JOB.I'VE KNOWN BOTH CANDIDATES FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
THEY ARE BOTH FRIENDS OF MINE, AND I BELIEVE EACH IS MOTIVATED BY A TRUE CALLING TO PUBLIC SERVICE.
AND EACH OF THEM HAS THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CITY IN THEIR HEART.
THEY EACH KNOW THE ISSUES THAT ARE FACING THE CITY, AND THEY EACH HAVE EXTENSIVE NETWORKS THAT WOULD HELP ENABLE EACH OF THEM TO BE EFFECTIVE IN THE ROLE AS MAYOR.
YOU KNOW, KIRK WATSON AND I BEGAN TOGETHER AS BABY LAWYERS AT THE SAME TIME IN OUR CITY.
IN FACT, WE WENT AGAINST EACH OTHER IN WHAT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST CASES THAT EACH OF US INDIVIDUALLY HANDLED.
WE'VE WORKED TOGETHER WHILE HE WAS SENATOR.
I KNOW KIRK WATSON, AND HE IS READY TO BE MAYOR.
AMONG THE MANY BOARDS THAT CELIA ISRAEL HAS BEEN ON, SHE AND I SERVED TOGETHER ON THE SAME NONPROFIT BOARD 20 YEARS AGO.
UH, JEN AUSTIN, THE GIRLS' EMPOWERMENT NETWORK THAT WORKS WITH PRIMARILY YOUNG WOMEN IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL.
WE'VE WORKED TOGETHER WHILE SHE WAS A STATE REPRESENTATIVE.
I KNOW CELIA ISRAEL, AND SHE IS READY TO BE MAYOR OF OUR CITY.
I WILL SAY THAT I HAVE SEEN THE ATTACK ADS THAT ARE DIRECTED AT SELIA ISRAEL THAT ARE COMING FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND IS A PRIMARILY REPUBLICAN FUNDED PACK, QUESTIONING HER COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THOSE MOST IN NEED OF IT, AS WELL AS HER DEDICATION TO HELPING VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE.
THEY TAKE THINGS OUTTA CONTEXT.
THEY'RE CHEAP AND THEY'RE INAPPROPRIATE IN AN AUSTIN ELECTION, AND I HOPE THAT THEY STOP.
IMPORTANTLY, THESE ADS DO NOT COME FROM KIRK WATSON.
HE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM, AND HE CANNOT BE BLAMED FOR THEM.
I BELIEVE I AM IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO BE ABLE TO VOUCH FOR THE COMPETENCE AND READINESS OF EACH OF THESE TWO CANDIDATES.
I WILL SAY PARENTHETICALLY, THAT NO ONE CAN REALLY BE READY FOR THIS JOB UNTIL THEY ACTUALLY GET ELECTED AND SERVE IN THIS POSITION.
IT'S GOING TO BE A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR EITHER AND FOR EACH OF THEM, AND THEY WOULD EACH NEED TO GROW IN THIS OFFICE.
THERE ARE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CANDIDATES, DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, DIFFERENT LIVED EXPERIENCES, DIFFERENT CAREERS, AND I BELIEVE THE CANDIDATES ARE DOING A GOOD JOB OF PRESENTING THESE DIFFERENCES TO THE VOTERS.
AND I TRUST EACH AUSTIN VOTER TO MAKE A CHOICE BASED ON THEIR EVALUATION OF THOSE DIFFERENCES, WHICH I BELIEVE ARE APPARENT.
I AM NOT GOING TO ENDORSE A CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR.
I AM JUST GOING TO STAND UP TO SAY I KNOW THEM BOTH AND BOTH OF THEM ARE READY TO BE ELECTED TO THIS POSITION.
AND I AM GOING TO URGE EVERYONE TO VOTE.
THIS IS GOING TO BE AN EXCEPTIONALLY CLOSE ELECTION, AND I HOPE THAT EVERYBODY STEPS FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR VOICES ARE HEARD.
SO YOU WANNA GO VOTE DIANE, READY TO VOTE.
THE GENTLEMAN SAYS THAT YOU LOOK PRETTY.