BG Reads | News You Need to Know (October 27, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
Early voting in Travis County runs through Friday, October 30 (Monday-Saturday, 7:00 AM-7:00 PM, Sunday 12-6 PM). Find early voting locations here (Travis County only).
***NEW*** BG Podcast Episode 111: Discussing COVID-19's Impact on Austin's Tech Scene with Amber Gunst, CEO, Austin Technology Council (SHOW LINK)
On this episode we speak with Amber Gunst, CEO, Austin Technology Council (ATC). She and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss COVID-19’s impact on the Austin tech scene, as well as major state and local policy priorities/concerns going into 2021.
Next week for Episode 112 we speak with Perla Cavazos, Deputy Administrator at Central Health.
[AUSTIN METRO]
In the home stretch, candidates report on fundraising (Austin Monitor)
With only one week to go until Election Day, candidates for City Council were busy Monday filing their eight-day reports. Some candidates are looking at Nov. 3 as the end of the campaign trail, while others have to consider the possibility that they will be in a runoff and might need to conserve some cash for that eventuality.
That’s certainly a possibility in the District 10 race, where the incumbent, Alison Alter, reported that she had raised $12,636 over the most recent reporting period. She has spent more than $109,000 and maintained contributions of more than $63,000 in the bank. She received contributions from 123 contributors.
Alter’s opponents include Pooja Sethi, who received $6,125 in contributions from 105 people during the past month. Sethi reported she had spent about $16,000 recently and still had nearly $68,000 in the bank.
Robert Thomas, who is hoping to usher Alter out the door, reported 146 contributors over the past month had given him nearly $39,000. He spent just a little less than $79,000 and maintained about $32,000 in the bank as of Oct. 24.
Jennifer Virden reported raising nearly $38,000 over the past month, spending about $54,000 and hanging on to more than $64,000 as of Oct. 24. She has loaned her campaign $50,000 and received contributions from 233 supporters.
Ben Easton reported that he had raised no money and spent no money on the race. There was no report on the city clerk’s website from the final candidate in District 10, Belinda Greene.
There are only two candidates in District 7, incumbent Leslie Pool and challenger Morgan Witt. During this reporting period, Pool raised about $10,600 from 63 contributors and has spent more than $50,000 on her campaign. She reported still having more than $16,000 in the bank. Witt reported receiving 46 contributions totaling about $2,200. She still had $12,644 in the bank as of Oct. 24.
In District 2, David Chincanchan reported he had raised a little over $12,000 from 53 contributors. He spent a little less than $40,000 and still has more than $59,000 in the bank to continue the race if he is in a runoff.
The other candidates in this race are Vanessa Fuentes, Casey Ramos and Alex Strenger. Strenger’s name will appear on the ballot even though he has stopped campaigning and has endorsed Ramos. His report showed no contributions. The city clerk’s website did not have reports from Fuentes or Ramos Monday night.
Council Member Jimmy Flannigan reported raising about $36,000 for his District 6 race. He spent more than $40,000 and still had about $58,000 in the bank, according to his report. Flannigan had 155 contributors during the last reporting period, including Mayor Steve Adler, whose name appears first on the list.
Flannigan’s opponents include Jennifer Mushtaler, Mackenzie Kelly and Dee Harrison. There was no report from Harrison on the city clerk’s website last night. Mushtaler reported raising just $7,380 and she had a little less than $4,300 left. However, she had some notable contributors, including Kirk Mitchell, a longtime contributor to the Save Our Springs Alliance, as well as Ann Denkler, who serves on the Zoning and Platting Commission, and her husband, Jett Hanna. Kelly reported raising about $14,700 and had about $7,000 left in the bank after spending more than $47,000… (LINK TO STORY)
More than half of all Travis County voters have cast their ballots, exceeding early voting turnout percentage in 2016 (Community Impact)
Travis County hit the 50% threshold of voter turnout on Oct. 26, the end of the second full week of early voting. There are four days left in the early voting period before it closes Oct. 30, then voters will have another chance to cast their ballots on Election Day Nov. 3.
The total number of votes cast in Travis County so far is 448,419, 52.4% of all registered voters. That exceeds the county's total early voting numbers from the November 2018 gubernatorial election (47.74%) and the 2016 presidential election (51.8%)… (LINK TO STORY)
Travis appraiser says new option may solve sales data problem (Austin American-Statesman)
Travis County Chief Appraiser Marya Crigler says she thinks she’s found a solution to get the sales data she needs to reappraise home values next year.
If the new data source works out, it would end Crigler’s quest to get the sales information she says she needs to do her job under state law.
Earlier this year, Crigler said she lacked sufficient sales data to update values for most residential properties in Travis County for the 2020 tax year.
Crigler has said a May 2019 cease-and-desist letter from the Austin Board of Realtors had a “chilling effect” on the various sources she previously has used to obtain sales data to value residential properties. That included what the Realtors’ board has said was proprietary sales data from its Multiple Listing Service database, which Crigler’s office had been paying vendor CoreLogic to supply.
Texas is one of about a dozen states that doesn’t require property sales to be made public. However, state law does not prevent appraisal districts from acquiring sales data.
The non-disclosure of sales data has presented a challenge for appraisal districts around the state tasked with annually appraising property at market value, Crigler said Friday at a board meeting of the Travis Central Appraisal District.
The appraisal district’s board unanimously approved Crigler’s request to enter into a contract with Carahsoft Technology Corp. for market data that Crigler said should allow her office to reappraise properties in 2021. The contract is for an “enhanced real estate report” produced by Carahsoft’s TransUnion company, a data aggregator.
The product is new and was added to the state contract system this summer. Crigler said the appraisal district has verified the accuracy of sample data.
TransUnion’s data comes from multiple proprietary sources and various partners the company has, Crigler told the appraisal district’s board… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
As Ken Paxton battles scandal, Land Commissioner George P. Bush considering a 2022 run for attorney general (Texas Tribune)
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush will “keep all options open” about a potential bid for attorney general in 2022 as current Attorney General Ken Paxton grapples with a mutiny from his senior staff and the spectre of a criminal investigation, a senior adviser for Bush said Monday.
“Several donors have asked Commissioner Bush to consider running for Attorney General in 2022 in light of the recent allegations about that office,” Ash Wright, a senior political adviser for Bush, said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “Commissioner Bush has always said he will ‘keep all options open’ and that remains his policy. Like many conservative leaders around the state, he is very concerned about the allegations regarding Paxton.”
Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush, is the only member of the well-known Republican family to currently hold office, though a cousin, Pierce Bush, ran unsuccessfully this year for the GOP nomination in Texas’ 22nd Congressional District. He was elected in 2014 to oversee the Texas General Land Office, a statewide position.
Ian Prior, a political spokesman for Paxton, said the attorney general — who has called the aides’ allegations false — “is absolutely planning on running again, is looking forward to winning a third term and is never going to stop fighting for the people of Texas."…(LINK TO STORY)
Trey Martinez Fischer becomes second Democrat to announce run for speaker of the Texas House (Texas Tribune)
State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer announced Monday that he is running for Texas House speaker, becoming the second Democrat in the lower chamber to launch a bid for the gavel.
Martinez Fischer, from San Antonio, joins state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the longest-serving woman and Black person in the history of the Texas Legislature, in the race. Both filings come ahead of a November election in which Democrats are within striking distance of winning control of the Republican-held House for the first time in nearly two decades.
Martinez Fischer would be the first Latino to hold the position, if elected. Thompson would be the first woman and Black person to serve as speaker.
No Republicans have filed paperwork yet with the Texas Ethics Commission to run for the job, which Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen will vacate at the end of his term when he retires from office. More members from both parties are expected to enter the race in the coming days.
Martinez Fischer, chair of the House Business and Industry Committee, was first elected to the lower chamber in 2000. In 2016, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Texas Senate and was reelected to the House in 2018. A former chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, Martinez Fischer has also overseen a political action committee to help elect Democrats to the lower chamber… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas neck-and-neck with California for most COVID-19 cases (The Hill)
Texas is neck-and-neck with California to be the state with the most COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
California maintains a slight lead ahead of the Lone Star state with 912,011 confirmed coronavirus cases this year, while Texas has counted 910,124 cases, according to NBC News numbers Monday night.
NBC News noted the statistics were fluid and California could hold onto the lead but added that Texas’s case count has increased at a rate of 19 percent in the past two weeks, while California’s has risen at a rate of 15 percent.
If either state was a country, it would rank ninth for the most confirmed cases, ahead of the U.K. and Mexico, which have confirmed 897,740 and 891,160 cases, respectively, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The New York Times’ coronavirus case count already puts Texas ahead of California, with the Lone Star state having 916,450 cases and the Golden state confirming 913,583 cases…(LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to Supreme Court, takes Constitutional oath (NPR)
The Senate has voted 52-48 to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, just about a week before Election Day and 30 days after she was nominated by President Trump to fill the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
In a White House ceremony following the vote Monday evening, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the constitutional oath to Coney Barrett.
President Trump spoke at the event, thanking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and calling today a "momentous day" for America, the constitution and the rule of law. He also praised Barrett's intellect and poise during the confirmation process. Several Republican senators were also in attendance.
Barrett must still take the judicial oath.
While Senate Democrats tried to slow down the confirmation process of Trump's third Supreme Court nominee with various procedural maneuvers, the fact that Republicans control the Senate has always meant a Barrett confirmation was all but promised.
"The Senate is doing the right thing. We're moving this nomination forward, and, colleagues, by tomorrow night we'll have a new member of the United States Supreme Court," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Sunday… (LINK TO STORY)
Why Wall Street is banking on a blue wave (Politico)
President Donald Trump loves to say that if Joe Biden wins the White House, stocks will crash, retirement accounts will vanish and an economic depression “the likes of which you’ve never seen” will engulf the nation.
But much of Wall Street is already betting on a Biden win — with a much different take on what the results will mean.
Traders in recent weeks have been piling into bets that a “blue wave” election, in which Democrats also seize the Senate, will produce an economy-juicing blast of fresh fiscal stimulus of $3 trillion or more that carries the U.S. past the coronavirus crisis and into a more normal environment for markets.
Far from panicking at the prospect of a Biden win, Wall Street CEOs, traders and investment managers now mostly say they would be fine with a change in the White House that reduces the Trump noise, lowers the threat of further trade wars and ensures a continuation of the government spending they’ve seen in recent years.
“The market is focusing on an end to the uncertainty around the Trump administration, and that in many respects is what underscores the pricing action around a possible Biden scenario and a blue wave,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at consulting firm RSM US. “Firms and investors crave stable expectations and that is how the Street is interpreting a likely Biden victory.”… (LINK TO STORY)