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NO, IT'S JUST YOU AND SENATOR FOR NOW.
[Austin 10-Day Census Countdown Virtual Press Conference]
MORNING, EVERYBODY.I'M GLORIA CHIN AND I WILL BE THE MODERATOR FOR TODAY'S MEDIA AVAILABILITY, JUST IN CASE SPANISH INTERPRETATION OF THIS MEDIA AVAILABILITY IS AVAILABLE ON ATX N THREE.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
MAYOR ADLER WHEN YOU'RE READY.
OKAY, GREAT, GLORIA, THANK YOU A MEDIA.
YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS AS IF, UH, EVERY OTHER DAY THERE'S A NOTHER NEWS STORY THAT SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER DWARFS, ALL THE STORIES THAT WERE OTHERWISE BENDING, THAT ALL SEEMED MOMENTOUS.
UH, SO I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
THIS CENSUS STORY IN THE LAST 10 DAYS, UH, IS AS IMPORTANT AS ANY OF THEM.
SO THE REASON WE'RE HAVING THE CONFERENCE HERE TODAY, THE REASON THAT THE, UH, SENATOR AND I ARE WITH YOU, UH, IS BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO GET MEDIA ATTENTION AND COVERAGE, UH, LAUNCHING THIS, UH, 10 DAYS CENSUS COUNTDOWN, UH, AS WE CLOSE OUT THE CENSUS PROJECT, IT IS VITAL THAT EVERY SINGLE HOUSEHOLD COMPLETES IT.
IT ONLY TAKES 10 MINUTES TO COMPLETE THE CENSUS.
UH, BUT WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE COMMUNITIES IN OUR, IN OUR CITIES, SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE OUR NUMBERS, OUR RESPONSE RATE, UH, ARE, ARE, ARE A BIT LOWER, UH, THAN IN THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO BEAT EVERYBODY, BUT ESPECIALLY THOSE COMMUNITIES WHERE THE NUMBERS ARE LOWER, IT'S GOT TO TAKE A CONCERTED EFFORT, UH, COORDINATED BY ALL OF US TO GET THE MOST ACCURATE COUNT DONE BY WITH THE GREATEST LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION.
SO WE'RE ASKING EACH OF YOU TODAY, UH, WILL YOU COMMIT TO SHARING CENSUS MESSAGING ONCE A DAY FOR THE NEXT 10 DAYS? AND THAT'S WHAT WE NEED PEOPLE TO DO.
WE NEED, WE NEED MEDIA TO DO IT.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING FOR HELP SPREAD THE WORD, UH, TELLING ANYONE AND EVERYONE THAT WE CAN, WE, WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK.
THIS IS CRUNCH TIME WITH THE CENSUS.
YOU KNOW, IF ONE PERSON TAKES 10 MINUTES TO FILL OUT THE CENSUS AND THEN TAKES ANOTHER TWO MINUTES TO TELL SOMEBODY ELSE ABOUT IT, THAT TO SPREAD THE WORD, TO GET MORE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT IT, IT CAN MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE TO US IN, IN PASTA.
UM, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE MANY WAYS THAT EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS CITY CAN TAKE PART IN CREATING CHANGE FOR, FOR, FOR YEARS TO COME.
UH, AS PART OF THIS COUNTDOWN EVERY DAY OVER THE NEXT 10 DAYS IS GONNA FOLLOW A DIFFERENT THEME.
EACH OF THOSE THEMES ARE CENTERED AROUND WHY FILLING OUT THE CENSUS IS SO IMPORTANT.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A DAY ON HEALTHCARE, AND COVID-19 ON EDUCATION ON HOUSING, ON, ON FOOD ASSISTANCE, 10 TOPICS THAT ARE SO IMPACTED BY THIS, YOU KNOW, THUS FAR ONLY 66% OF HOUSEHOLDS IN AUSTIN HAVE BEEN COUNTED.
IF THE CENSUS WERE TO END TODAY, HOW THAT WOULD TRANSLATE TO A LOSS IN FUNDING FOR, UH, AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY OF OVER $350 MILLION LOST FUNDING EVERY YEAR, THAT'S $350 MILLION IN LOST FUNDING EVERY YEAR.
IF WE CAN IMPROVE UPON THE RESPONSE RATE FOR THE CENSUS, FOR EVERY PERSON THAT'S COUNTED IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, IT'S AN IMPACT OF ABOUT $1,500 PER PERSON LOSS PER YEAR.
FOR THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, I CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE SHOWS THAT IF 50,000 HOUSEHOLDS ARE 25,000 RESIDENTS IN TOTAL, I WERE TO FILL OUT THE CENSUS BEFORE THE DEADLINE, IT WOULD NEED AN EXTRA $185 MILLION PER YEAR TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT ADDS UP TO $1.8 BILLION OVER THE NEXT NEXT 10 YEARS.
SO SMALL ACTIONS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
WE'RE ASKING FOR SMALL ACTIONS, WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE TO KEEP WEARING THEIR MASKS, PEOPLE TO SOCIAL DISTANCE, PEOPLE, TO VOTE, HAVE PEOPLE TO COMPLETE THEIR SENTENCES.
THOSE ARE THE FOUR MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE CAN BE DOING TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITIES.
THEY HELP ONE ANOTHER TO KEEP ONE ANOTHER SAFE.
SO WE'RE ASKING EVERYBODY TO GO TO VISIT.
UH, WE'RE ASKING EVERYBODY TO VISIT 2020 CENSUS.GOV, 2020 CENSUS.GOV.
YOU CAN FILL OUT THE CENSUS FORM RIGHT THERE, PLEASE TEXT OR CALL A FRIEND AND TELL THEM TO DO THE SAME, PLEASE.
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFLUENCE IN THE MEDIA OR ORGANIZATIONS
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OR GROUPS, PLEASE REACH OUT TO YOUR BOARDS, TO YOUR MEMBERS, TO YOUR AUDIENCES, TO YOUR VIEWERS, INTO YOUR LISTENERS.THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IT'S TIME, IT'S CRUNCH TIME.
AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE ALL OF US DOING THIS TOGETHER.
AND NOW LET ME TURN THIS OVER TO, UH, MY, UH, MY COLLEAGUE AND FRIEND, UH, WHO IS NOW OUR POLITICAL LEADER HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, SENATOR MAYOR.
AND I DEEPLY DEEPLY APPRECIATE THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY ON THE CENSUS.
UM, WE ARE IN CRUNCH TIME, AS THE MAYOR HAS SAID, A LOT IS ON THE LINE FOR US LOCALLY WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, HOW THE CENSUS IMPACTS FUNDING AND SUPPORTING CRITICAL, CRITICAL COMMUNITY NEEDS.
CENTRAL TEXAS IS A COMMUNITY OF GREAT DIVERSITY.
AND SOMETIMES SOME OF US ARE INVISIBLE IN THIS COMMUNITY.
THE CENSUS IS ONE WAY FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE INVISIBLE.
THE CENSUS IT'S TAKEN EVERY 10 YEARS.
UM, AND IT'S HOW WE UNDERSTAND OURSELVES, HOW WE TRACK OUR GROWTH, HOW WE ACKNOWLEDGED THE CHALLENGES FROM THAT GROWTH AND HOW WE PLAN FOR THE FUTURE.
HE'S IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SOME INCREDIBLE, COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEES WORKING DAY IN AND DAY OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS COUNTED.
UH, THE LOCAL COMMUNITY CCCS OF TRAVIS COUNTY INCLUDE THE HISPANIC, LATINO, THE ASIAN AMERICAN, THE BLACK AFRICAN AMERICAN, THE LGBTQ PLUS, AND SO MANY OTHERS.
SO I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THEIR EFFORTS RIGHT NOW, CAUSE IT'S REALLY BEEN INCREDIBLE TO WATCH AND TO BE A PART OF.
AND WE'RE ASKING YOU TODAY TO BE A PART OF THESE CCCS COMPLETE CAP COMMITTEES IN YOUR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, TO THE GREATEST EXTENT YOU CAN THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF SEPTEMBER.
SO ONE I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT TRAVIS COUNTY, CONSTABLE GEORGE MIRALIS, WHO ALONG WITH A LOT OF OTHER CONSTABLES AND A LOT OF OTHER VOLUNTEERS DID SPANISH SPEAKING PHONE BANKING INTO THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNEW THAT THEY COUNTED ALSO AND SLATING CENSUS MATERIALS INTO VARIOUS LANGUAGES TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE COUNTED ALSO MAKE BLACK COUNT ATX TEAM.
AN INCREDIBLE TEAM OF FOLKS WHO BEFORE COVID-19 WAS GOING DOOR TO DOOR WITH A FAMILIAR, UH, COMMUNITY FEEL TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNEW THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT AND SAFE TO FILL OUT OUR CENSUS FORMS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ARE COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEES HAVE JUST BEEN TREMENDOUS.
LET'S DO WHAT WE CAN, UH, UH, ALONG WITH OUR NEIGHBORS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY COUNTS.
YES, WE COUNT AND WE KNOW HOW TO DO IT.
SO WE START THIS 10 DAY COUNTDOWN PREPARING A DIGITAL TOOL.
WE HAVE NOT YET FILLED OUT THE PAPERWORK FOR THE CENSUS.
WE REALLY NEED TO COMPLETE THE COUNT, UH, IN THIS FINAL PUSH.
SO GET COUNTED TODAY, PUT THE CENSUS AT THE TOP OF YOUR, TO DO LIST.
IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT ALREADY, PLEASE DO IT.
THEN THE REST OF SEPTEMBER ASKING EVERYONE YOU MEET, IF THEY HAVE TO AND HELPING THEM GET COUNTED, GO TO OUR TOOLKIT, HELP FOLKS GET COUNTED, SIGN UP WITH ONE OF OUR CCCS AND LET'S MAKE THESE FINAL DAYS IN SEPTEMBER.
NOW WE'RE GOING TO OPEN THIS UP FOR Q AND A AND OUR FULL REPORT, A THIS FROM KSAN ALYSSA, WHEN YOU'RE READY.
GOOD MORNING CENTER AT HEART AND MAYOR ADLER.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
I WANT TO START OFF WITH A QUESTION FROM CAT SAM, ACCORDING TO THE GRADUATE CENTER AT CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, 80 WEEKLY ANALYSIS OF CENSUS RESPONSE, WHERE THEY'RE SHOWING THAT THE LOWEST RESPONSE RATE AT A CENSUS TRACT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS THE TRACK JUST WEST OF THE UT AUSTIN CAMPUS WITH A 27.8% RESPONSE RATE IS THIS GAP ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE ESTIMATED MORE THAN HALF OF UT STUDENT BODY WHO OPTED NOT TO COME BACK TO AUSTIN THIS SEMESTER AND WHAT CAN BE DONE AND WHAT IS BEING DONE TO ADDRESS THIS LOW RESPONSE RATE AND ATTRACTS WHERE SO MANY STUDENTS LIVE MAYOR, I THINK YOU'RE MUTED.
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I WAS GOING TO SAY GLORIA, YOU MAY KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.I DON'T, I KNEW KNOW THAT OUR WEST CAMPUS IS A PRETTY TRANSIENT, UH, AREA, UH, AND THE STUDENTS HAVE JUST COME BACK AND ALSO THEY HAVEN'T BEEN HERE WHILE WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH THE CENSUS, UH, BUILDUP, UH, THUS FAR.
UH, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER.
WE COULD PROBABLY GET THAT ANSWER.
YES, I'LL BE IN TOUCH WITH YOU AFTERWARDS FOR THAT.
WE CAN PUT YOU IN TOUCH WITH THE COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEE THAT WAS SPECIFIC TO THE STUDENT BODY, TO THE CAMPUS AREA.
NEXT, WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM UNIVERSITY ON, WE ARE OFFICIALLY 10 DAYS AWAY FROM THE DEADLINE TO COMPLETE THE SENTENCE.
ARE THERE ANY PARTICULAR GROUPS THAT ARE OF CONCERN YOU GUYS, AND WHAT TACTICS ARE YOU IMPLEMENTING TO ENSURE THAT THOSE PEOPLE DISSIPATE IN THE ACCOUNT? THE TOOL KIT IS GOING TO BE REALLY IMPORTANT TO US.
WE REALLY JUST NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK AT THIS POINT.
UM, OUR COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEES HAVE BEEN TREMENDOUS AT REACHING OUT TO COMMUNITIES THAT WE PREDICTED WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO REACH.
UH, AND WE HAVE A VERY TARGETED RESPONSE.
UM, AS YOU'RE WELL AWARE, THERE WERE A LOT OF EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT REALLY PUT A DENT IN A LOT OF OUR PLANNING, UH, FOR OUTREACH.
UM, COVID-19 WAS NOT THE, UH, IN, IN PUTTING TOOLS IN INDIVIDUAL'S HANDS WERE REACHED BY A FAMILIAR VOICE, UM, YOUR NEIGHBOR.
SO WE REALLY, REALLY NEED FOLKS TO REACH OUT THROUGH FACEBOOK, THROUGH PHONE CALLS, UH, UM, TO ASK EVERYONE THEY COME IN CONTACT FOR THE REMAINDER OF SEPTEMBER, IF THEY'VE BEEN COUNTED.
OUR NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM OSTEOPENIA.
WHAT IMPACT HAS THE RESPONSE DEADLINE CHANGE FROM OCTOBER 31ST TO SEPTEMBER 30TH HAD ON LOCAL OUTREACH EFFORTS? ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT THAT CHANGE WILL RESULT IN LOWER RESPONSE RATES? OVERALL? THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS I THINK THAT ARE GIVING RISE TO CONCERNS ABOUT RESPONSE RATES.
AND ONE OF THEM IS THE FACT THAT THE 30 DAYS WERE TAKEN OFF.
WE KNOW WE TALKED EARLIER THAT WE HAVE ABOUT A 66% PARTICIPATION RATE RIGHT NOW.
UH, THE PARTICIPATION RATE, UH, IN 2010, 10 YEARS AGO WAS ABOUT 75% JUST FOR PEOPLE SOUTH, UM, UH, REPORTING, UH, WITHOUT THE, THE REACH.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE BEHIND WHERE WE WERE BEFORE.
UH, IT IS GOOD TO SEE THAT THE STATE JUST GAVE, UH, SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, UH, DIRECTED TOWARD THIS EFFORT, UH, INDICATING THE IMPORTANCE FOR STATEWIDE FUNDING, UH, DISAPPOINTED THAT THAT MONEY WASN'T LARGER AND DIDN'T COME, UH, EIGHT MONTHS AGO.
AND AS THE SENATOR MENTIONED, UH, WITH THE PANDEMIC AND NOT BEING ABLE TO GET OUT DOOR TO DOOR IN THE SAME KIND OF WAYS THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST, WHERE BE ABLE TO REACH WHERE, WHERE WERE GROUPS GATHER, UH, SINCE GROUPS ARE NOT GATHERING IN THE SAME WAY.
UH, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS A CHALLENGE RIGHT NOW, UH, IS THAT 30 DAYS THAT WE WERE ANTICIPATING WE WOULD HAVE AT THE BACK END HERE IN OCTOBER, ARE NO LONGER WITH US THAT MAKES THE NEXT 10 DAYS THAT MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.
NEXT, WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM CBS, AUSTIN, HOW WILL THIS YEAR'S CENSUS COUNT DIRECTLY IMPACT TWO OF AUSTIN'S GREATEST CHALLENGES, PORTABLE HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION.
UM, MOST OF, UH, OUR FUNDING, WELL, I WON'T SAY MOST A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF OUR FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND FOR TRANSPORTATION IS FUNNELED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE CENSUS IS THE BASELINE DOCUMENT FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF THOSE FEDERAL FUNDS.
UM, SO I'LL KICK IT OVER TO THE MAYOR TO RECAP ON THAT.
NO, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE POINT.
MOST OF THE, UH, THE FEDERAL GRANTS, THE LOW INTEREST LOANS, THE HUD MONEY, THE CBDG BLOCK GRANTS ARE ALL DISTRIBUTED, UH, IN, IN PART BASED ON, ON, ON POPULATION ISSUES, UH, MONEY THAT COMES INTO THE METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION, UH, MONEY THAT COMES TO THE STATE, UH, IS DRIVEN BY THOSE FORMULA.
AND THEN BEYOND THAT, UH, THE MORE PEOPLE WE HAVE COUNTED, THE MORE VOTES GET IN CONGRESS.
UH, SO IT, IT IMPACTS THE, THE POWER AND INFLUENCE THAT WE HAVE IN WASHINGTON DC WHEN THOSE FUNDING FORMULAS ARE, ARE, ARE BEING SET
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UP.SO ON SO MANY LEVELS ON THE THINGS THAT CONCERNED US MOST, THEY USED TO LIKE TRANSPORTATION AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING PARTICIPATION IN THE CENSUS IS KEY.
AND NEXT, WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM LATINO ONE OH 2.710 7.1 FOR THE LATINO COMMUNITY.
WE'VE HEARD THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF THE CENSUS INTO RUMORS IN THE PAST INVOLVING THE CITIZENS.
HOW CAN WE REMIND PEOPLE THAT THIS INFORMATION IS NOT SHARED WITH IMMIGRATION LINE? WE NEED TO SAY THAT AS MANY TIMES AS, AND AS EMPHATICALLY AS WE POSSIBLY GET, UH, THIS INFORMATION IS NOT SHARED OUTSIDE OF THE CENSUS.
THERE IS NO CITIZENSHIP QUESTION ON THE CENSUS.
UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT OUR CONSTITUTION REQUIRES THAT EVERYONE WHO LIVES IN OUR COMMUNITIES, UH, GET COUNTED.
UH, AND, AND THAT'S HOW THIS SYSTEM SET UP.
THEY NEED TO HEAR IT FROM PEOPLE THAT THEY TRUST.
UH, AND, AND HEARING THAT, I THINK FROM THE, FROM THE MEDIA, FROM THE TRUSTED VOICES, UH, MEDIA IS JUST CRITICALLY, UH, IMPORTANT OF THE SENATOR.
AND I BOTH HAD OUR VOICES TO THAT AS WELL, TO ASSURE A COMMUNITY, UH, THAT, THAT IT IS A SAFE THING TO PARTICIPATE IN.
AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS OF THE MEDIA OUTLETS.
WHO'VE BEEN PUSHING THAT MESSAGE.
IT IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE, AND I DON'T WANT IT TO, TO GO ON ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE HAVE BEEN INSTITUTIONAL EFFORTS TO SILENCE OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY.
THERE HAVE BEEN INSTITUTIONAL EFFORTS TO FORCE OUR, UH, FOREIGN BORN COMMUNITY INTO INVISIBILITY.
UM, SO I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, BUT I CANNOT SAY IN FATIMA EARLY ENOUGH, ALONG WITH THE MAYOR AND ALONG WITH MANY OF OUR NEWS OUTLETS WHO ARE DEEPLY APPRECIATE THAT THE CENSUS IT'S SAFE TO TAKE THE CENSUS, THESE NUMBERS, AND THIS INFORMATION WILL NOT BE USED FOR IMMIGRATION PURPOSES.
UM, BUT I ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TREMENDOUS BRAVERY OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE FOREIGN BORN IN THE FOREIGN BORN COMMUNITY IN STANDING UP AND BEING COUNTED.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADER.
THIS NEXT QUESTION IS FROM KVU AND IT'S SAME KIND OF A SIMILAR VEIN.
WHAT, IF ANYTHING, IS BEING DONE TO ENCOURAGE AND HELP IMMIGRANT IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS IN AUSTIN, FILL OUT THE CENSUS HERE LOCALLY.
SO WE HAVE THE, THE CAMPAIGN, UH, COMMITTEE WITH, UH, WITH THE CENSUS THAT, UH, BROKE INTO GROUPS IN ORDER BE ABLE TO REALLY BE ABLE TO REACH TO THOSE POPULATIONS THAT HISTORICALLY HAVE HAD THE LOWER NUMBER OF RESPONSE RATES AS THE SENATOR SAID, MATERIALS BEING PREPARED IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES, UH, TRYING TO WORK WITH THE TRUSTED VOICES, UH, THE, THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, THE NONPROFITS THAT ARE, UH, ALREADY, UH, WORKING IN THOSE COMMUNITIES SO THAT THEY'RE FAMILIAR AND TRUSTED VOICES.
UH, AND, AND PRETTY MUCH EVERY WAY WE CAN, WE CAN THINK OF THE NEXT QUESTION IS FROM FOX SEVEN, BASED ON THE PRELIMINARY DATA THAT YOU'VE SEEN IS THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN NOW OUTNUMBERING THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN.
AND IF SO, BY HOW MUCH I THINK THAT THOSE, THOSE ARE THAT'S A STRAIGHT NUMBERS, UH, ACCOUNTING, UM, YEAH, SORRY, ASIAN COMMUNITY IS INCREASING.
AND OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS IS DECREASING.
UH, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT TRAVIS COUNTY AS A WHOLE, UM, YOU DO SEE A, UM, A, A MOVEMENT IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, BUT WE HAVE A VERY, VERY STRONG COMMUNITY HERE.
UM, LOOKS LIKE WE'VE LOST THE JUDGE, THE SENATOR, UM, AS THE SENATOR WAS SAYING, UH, ARE YOUR SENATORS BACK NOW, GO AHEAD AND TAKE IT MAYOR.
I WOULD SAY THAT, THAT I THINK THAT THERE WAS A MEDIA STORY OUT THIS MORNING.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE CENSUS EVERY 10 YEARS AND THEN THERE'S EVERY YEAR KIND OF AN UPDATE ON THE CENSUS AS BEST THEY CAN.
THE MOST RECENT NUMBERS APPARENTLY HAVE JUST COME OUT AND INDICATE THAT, UH, THE, THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY NOW HAS MOVED.
UH, I HAD IN TERMS OF NUMBERS WITHIN THE CITY ITSELF, UM, UH, I THINK THAT THE NUMBERS OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN OUR AREA
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OR METROPOLITAN AREA, UH, CONTINUES TO RISE.UH, BUT YOU KNOW, THAT COMMUNITY HAS WITH ALL COMMUNITIES ARE DEALING WITH THE SAME KINDS OF AFFORDABILITY ISSUES.
IT'S GETTING HARDER FOR ANYBODY, UH, TO BE ABLE TO, TO, TO LIVE IN OUR CITY, UH, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING NOW TO MAKE SURE WE GET ALL THE FEDERAL FUNDING.
IT'S WHY WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH, WITH COMMUNITY PROJECTS LIKE PROJECT CONNECT.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S THE WORK THAT THE COUNTY AND THE CITY ARE BOTH DOING NOW FOCUSED ON, ON, ON EQUITY ISSUES, UH, BECAUSE WE REALLY ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
ANOTHER QUESTION FOR YOU FROM CAC AND WHAT EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR THE 2020 CENSUS TO COUNT PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN THE AUSTIN AREA, AND TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE, HOW SUCCESSFUL HAVE THOSE EFFORTS BEEN SO FAR? I KNOW THAT PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN THE COMMUNITY ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT TO COUNT AS ANYBODY ELSE, UH, THAT THAT IS LIVING, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO IT'S, IT'S WHOEVER HAD WHEREVER, UH, LIVING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SPECIFIC OUTREACH, UH, TO THE FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, BOTH IN OUR SHELTERS AND WHERE PEOPLE ARE CAMPED IN ORDER TO HAVE THEM COUNTED.
UH, BUT I DON'T KNOW THE PARTICULARS OF THE NUMBERS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU DO SENATOR, IF NOT, UH, THEN THIS WOULD BE INFORMATION THAT GLORIA CAN GET TO YOU THROUGH THE CONFERENCES OVER.
I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS AT MY FINGERTIPS, BUT I WILL SAY ANECDOTALLY, THIS IS A CURIOUS FACT, BUT ANECDOTALLY, UM, COVID-19 HAS INADVERTENTLY, PERHAPS ASSISTED US, UM, IN THE HOMELESS COUNTS, UM, THROUGH THE SHELTERS AND THROUGH, UH, THE TREMENDOUS EFFORTS OF OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND REACHING OUT TO FOLKS WHO WERE UNSHELTERED.
AND WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM CVS, AUSTIN, CBS AUSTIN ASKED WHAT CHALLENGES ARE CENSUS WORKERS IN CENTRAL TEXAS FACING THIS YEAR, SPECIFICALLY DUE TO COVID-19.
OH, MY, MY APOLOGIES, UH, CBS AUSTIN ASKED WHAT CHALLENGES ARE CENSUS WORKERS HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS FACING THIS YEAR, SPECIFICALLY DUE TO COVID-19.
YOU DON'T HAVE THE SAME ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO GO TO DOOR TO DOOR.
YOU DON'T HAVE THE SAME ABILITY TO GET SOMEONE TO STOP AT A TABLE, UH, AND, AND, AND FILL OUT THE FORM.
UH, CROWDS AND GROUPS ARE NOT GATHERING IN SUPERMARKETS AND, AND AT, UH, LARGE PUBLIC EVENTS, THE WAY THAT THEY HAVE IN THE PAST, UH COVID-19 IS JUST MAKING IT HARDER TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY WITH THE GREATEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE, MAYOR FLORIO.
WE HAVE ABOUT THREE MORE QUESTIONS AND WE'RE AT 10 30.
ARE YOU OKAY TO STAY ON FOR JUST A FEW MORE MINUTES? I AM.
AND I THINK IT'S REAL IMPORTANT TO, IF YOU COULD GET THE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR JOHN WALLER CAMPAIGN AND GET IT OUT TO ALL THE MEDIA THAT ARE PARTICIPATING HERE, HE MIGHT HAVE ALSO SOME, SOME, SOME FOR ANSWERS TO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE BEING ASKED.
HE'S ACTUALLY WATCHING AN ALREADY SENDING ME ANSWERS.
SO HE'S AT THE READY, BUT I'LL MAKE SURE TO GET THAT CONTACT INFORMATION FOR EVERYONE.
I'M SORRY TO HAVE INTERRUPTED, PLEASE CONTINUE.
YES, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS HERE.
THIS IS ANOTHER QUESTION FROM LATINO ONE OH 2.710 7.1.
THE QUESTION IS HOW CAN THOSE WHO'VE ALREADY PARTICIPATED IN THE CENSUS, ENCOURAGE OTHERS WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE PARTICIPATED YET.
I WOULD REALLY ENCOURAGE, AND I'M SORRY.
I KEEP GOING IN AND OUT BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER IS DOING HER SCHOOLING FROM THE KITCHEN TABLE.
SO, UH, I REALLY ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO GET INVOLVED WITH, UH, ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY, UM, UH, COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEE AND THESE LAST 10 DAYS, AND ALSO TO USE THE TOOL KIT THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE.
AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION FROM KVU.
THEY ASKED HOW CRITICAL OF A ROLE DOES THE CENSUS PLAY IN LEGISLATURE? WE, THE CENSUS PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE REDISTRICTING AND THE SETUP OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE, BOTH IN DEFINING THE BOUNDARIES OF, OF HOUSE DISTRICTS, AS WELL AS SENATE DISTRICTS, UH, AS WELL AS THE NUMBER OF, OF, OF REPRESENTATIVES,
[00:25:01]
UH, THAT WE HAVE IN OUR CENTRAL TEXAS DELEGATION.THE MORE PEOPLE WE HAVE, UH, THE MORE VOTING POWER WE'RE ENTITLED TO GAP, UH, THAT'S WHY WE'RE COMPETING AMONG CITIES IN OUR STATE FOR THAT POWER BASE.
AND THEN AS A STATE, WE'RE COMPETING WITH OTHER STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, WE HAVE A SECOND TO LAST QUESTION FROM FOX SEVEN.
THE QUESTION IS, IS THIS CENSUS COUNT PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT DUE TO THE PANDEMIC AND HOW WILL THE ANSWERS ADDRESS ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE IN LOWER INCOME COMMUNITIES, ESPECIALLY HERE IN AUSTIN? THE MAJOR BENEFIT OF THE COUNT WITH REGARD TO THE PANDEMIC IS THE DISTRIBUTION OF ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND TO BUSINESSES.
UH, UM, THE HEALTHCARE ASPECT IS ALSO IMPORTANT, BUT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, UNFORTUNATELY, MOST OF THAT HEALTHCARE IS BEING PROVIDED BY LOCAL PROPERTY TAXES, UM, THROUGH OUR HEALTH CARE DISTRICT.
UM, IT DOES ABSOLUTELY ASSIST WITH THE DISTRIBUTION OF HEALTHCARE, BUT I THINK THE MAJOR BENEFIT FROM THE PEN FROM A PANDEMIC STANDPOINT IS THE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE IN ECONOMIC RECOVERY FOR INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, AND BUSINESSES.
AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK MUCH FARTHER THAN THE MONEY THAT THE COUNTY RECEIVED TO DISTRIBUTE FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE MONEY THAT THE CITY RECEIVED.
UH, THIS IS MONEY THAT WENT TO, TO RENT RELIEF FOR PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE, IT'S MONEY THAT WENT DIRECTLY AS, AS PAYMENTS TO PEOPLE THAT IT HELPED PAY FOR.
AND IT'S PAYING FOR THE MEALS THAT ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED TO FOLKS THAT ARE OUT OF WORK AT THIS POINT, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE GOT DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO THE ACCOUNT, THAT, THAT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE BELIEVED TO LIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THE LAST THING THAT I WANTED TO CLARIFY MARY, IN YOUR INTRODUCTION, YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE OF NUMBERS, ONE NUMBER THAT YOU MENTIONED WITH 350, AND I KNOW SOMETIMES ON THE AUDIO OF THESE VIRTUAL EVENTS, IT CAN GET HARD TO HEAR THE CONSONANCE WAS THAT BILLION OR 350 MILLION.
THAT'S 350 MILLION WITHIN EM LOST IN FUNDING EVERY YEAR TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TO TRAVIS COUNTY CHURCH.
AND FOR PEOPLE WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH CITY BUDGET NUMBERS, WHAT COULD BE DONE WITH THAT SIZE OF MONEY, AT LEAST FROM A TRAVIS COUNTY PERSPECTIVE, 350 MILLION IS A THIRD OF OUR OVERALL BUDGET.
A THIRD, SAME WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THAT'S OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET, JUST OVER A BILLION DOLLARS.
WELL, SENATOR AT CURRENT MAYOR ADLER, I WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME.
I'M GOING TO TURN THINGS BACK OVER TO GLORIA.
THANKS, ALYSSA, MAY MAYOR SENATOR, BEFORE WE WRAP IT UP TO EITHER OF YOU HAVE ANY CLOSING REMARKS YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE I DON'T, OTHER THAN TO ASK THE MEDIA TO HELP US, IF THEY COULD HELP WITH IT, EACH OF THE MESSAGES, EACH OF THE 10 DAYS, THAT WOULD BE TREMENDOUSLY APPRECIATED AND A TREMENDOUS PUBLIC SERVICE.
AND GLORIA, I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, JOHN LAWLER WHO RUNS THE COMPLETE CAP CAMPAIGN SENT YOU ANY ANSWERS THAT YOU'D WANT TO SAY OUT LOUD FOR, FOR ALL OF THE MEDIA TO, TO HEAR, BUT IF THERE WAS SUCH A THING, YOU SHOULD TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY AS WELL.
I WANT TO THANK THE MEDIA CRUNCHED BY SENATOR.
I THINK THAT REALLY THE BIG PUSH HERE IS INDIVIDUAL ACTION.
THIS IS REALLY A CALL TO ACTION.
IT'S URGENT THAT EVERYONE, WHETHER YOU'VE TA, IF YOU'VE TAKEN THE CENSUS OSS AND GO DO IT RIGHT NOW, AND THEN ASK EVERYONE, YOU COME IN CONTACT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE MONTH, WHETHER THEY'VE TAKEN IT AND WHETHER YOU CAN HELP.
I THINK ALL OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE RECEIVED BEFORE THE PRESS CONFERENCE BEGAN WERE ANSWERED, BUT IF ANYONE IN THE PROCESS, ANY QUESTIONS, EVERYONE KNOWS HOW TO REACH OUT, FOLLOW UP WITH EVERY SINGLE MEDIA OUTLET TODAY TO MEET.
THANK YOU, SENATOR ECKHART, THANK ME OR ADLER AND THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR TUNING IN AND FORGETTING THE WORD OUT
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IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE.SO PLEASE GO COMPLETE YOUR CENSUS AND TAKE TWO MINUTES AFTER YOU'RE DONE AND ASK EVERYONE ELSE TO DO THE SAME, HAVE A GREAT DAY AND HAVE A GREAT WEEK.