BG Reads | News You Need to Know (October 12, 2022)
[AUSTIN METRO]
It’s less than 30 days until the election. See how much Austin council candidates raised (KXAN)
Election Day is less than one month away, and new election finance reports show just how much each candidate for Austin City Council raised—and spent—between July and September.
Austin’s Nov. 8 ballot will include races for mayor and five council seats in addition to a $350 million bond proposition for affordable housing. Districts 1, 3, 5, 8 and 9 are all up for grabs this election cycle. There are nearly 30 candidates vying for those seats… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Council facing tough decisions on Austin Energy charges (Austin Monitor)
Facing an increasing deficit in its collections for fuel costs to run Austin Energy, City Council must quickly make a decision about increasing the power supply adjustment that all customers pay.
The matter is on this week’s Council agenda. While some members may wish to put off a decision that will increase customers’ bills, Tuesday’s Council work session discussion made clear that Austin Energy needs to raise more money and that postponing a decision will only make things worse.
Council Member Leslie Pool, who is chair of Council’s Austin Energy oversight committee, and Mayor Steve Adler started the conversation. Pool was attending a transportation conference in Seattle, so she attended Tuesday’s meeting virtually.
She explained that Austin Energy must collect money to pay for its energy supply, including natural gas, as well as other costs imposed by the Public Utility Commission and ERCOT, which operates the statewide electric grid. As Adler noted, the utility does not have any choice about paying those bills… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Why did longtime lawmakers Kirk Watson, Celia Israel set sights on Austin mayor's office? (Austin American-Statesman)
The presence of Watson, a front-runner in the Nov. 8 Austin mayoral race, raises questions about why someone in his position — with money, grandkids and options outside of politics — desires such a demanding job, one with immense scrutiny and yet limited power in a manager-council system of government, where many decisions are made not by the mayor and council but by the city manager.
The same can be asked of another top candidate, Celia Israel, who in running for mayor is voluntarily leaving the Legislature as a state representative — a job she held for four terms and, had she chosen to stay, probably could have held for longer.
Their pursuit of the mayor's office comes at an inflection point in Austin, with the winner to be held accountable by voters for taking on challenging issues such as affordability, housing supply and homelessness… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin City Council District 1 race: Here's where candidates stand on the issues (Austin American-Statesman)
The American-Statesman surveyed the candidates in the upcoming Austin City Council District 1 race to get their positions on some of the key issues facing the city and their district.
Here are the candidates' responses, some of which have been edited for length and clarity… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick launches new attack ad against Democrat Mike Collier (Houston Chronicle)
For the first time since 2014, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is going negative with new attack ads on TV, this time targeting his Democratic opponent Mike Collier, a sign the race is still too close for comfort for the two-term incumbent. In the 30-second ads that started airing Sunday, Patrick runs a video of Collier saying there isn’t a “whole lot of daylight” between President Joe Biden’s policy point of view and his own. “And Mike Collier wants to bring these failed policies to Texas,” the narrator saying Collier is for open borders, and against building a border wall. It ends with the narrator calling Collier “wrong for lieutenant governor, wrong for Texas.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dawn Buckingham and Jay Kleberg vie for open land commissioner seat overseeing the Alamo and disaster relief funds (Texas Tribune)
As the Nov. 8 midterm election nears, most eyes across Texas are on high-profile races such as those for governor, attorney general and the Legislature. But Texas voters will also choose a new land commissioner in the race between state Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, and Democratic conservationist Jay Kleberg.
The land commissioner heads the Texas General Land Office, the oldest public agency in the state. It manages public land across the state and is responsible for preserving its wildlife. The GLO also helps fund public schools in Texas by contributing to and handling the Texas Permanent School Fund, a statewide education endowment worth more than $48 billion, making it the largest in the country… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
CVS counters Texas ‘tampon tax’ with 25% off of menstrual products (Dallas Morning News)
CVS Health will reduce the cost of its branded menstrual products by 25% in Texas to offset a state “tampon tax.” The price reduction will occur in 12 states where the company said it can legally pay on behalf of the consumer. CVS Health will also partner with national organizations working to eliminate taxes on menstrual products in some two dozen other states, the company said. Starting this month, CVS will pay the tax on period products bought online or in-store in Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia. The move isn’t unusual for CVS, which has taken stances on health-related issues in the past, said Jake White, vice president of merchandising and consumer health care. He cited the company’s removal of tobacco products from its stores and altered images from its in-store and online beauty advertisements… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Los Angeles staggers under cascade of scandals (Politico)
Racist backroom plotting. Federal corruption cases. A mayor accused of a coverup.
America’s second-largest city was already mired in scandal and chaos. Now, it is reeling from a surreptitiously released recording of City Council members making racist remarks as they schemed to consolidate power — a revelation that prompted Democratic leaders from President Joe Biden on down to call on them to resign.
One former council member was sentenced to prison and two others are facing trial. The head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power pleaded guilty to bribery. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination to be the Biden administration’s ambassador to India is on hold because of allegations he failed to adequately handle accusations of sexual misconduct by a top aide.
The crush of scandals has tarnished Los Angeles government and eroded public trust as the city begins balloting in one of the most expensive mayor’s races in its history, prompting angry protesters to pack a council meeting Tuesday and clamor for resignations.
“I don’t think there’s been anything like this in city government since the 30s and 40s, the corruption heyday of Los Angeles,” said former County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA. “I think the city governance system is profoundly broken, and I think this latest revelation just shatters what was already broken.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Biden rule would add more gig workers to company payrolls (Wall Street Journal)
The Biden administration is proposing a new rule that could put more gig workers on company payrolls, scrapping a Trump administration rule from 2021 that made it easier for firms to classify workers as independent contractors.
The proposal, released Tuesday, would affect millions of workers across a range of industries, including healthcare, restaurants, construction and ride-share transportation, the Labor Department said.
Most prominently, it could lead to a push to classify drivers for ride-share or food delivery companies such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. or DoorDash Inc. as employees rather than gig workers. The companies have opposed similar efforts in the past.
Shares of Uber closed down 10%, Lyft dropped 12% and DoorDash declined nearly 6% on Tuesday.
The rule would put in place a more stringent test to determine when companies can count workers as contractors rather than employees. Under labor law, employees are eligible for protections such as the minimum wage, medical leave or overtime pay that don’t apply to independent contractors… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
THE WEEK AHEAD:
Tuesday
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 168: Market Talk - Lobbying in Philadelphia with Mustafa Rashed of Bellevue Strategies
Today's episode (168) features a discussion on entrepreneurship and lobbying with Mustafa Rashed, Founder and President, of Philadelphia-based Bellevue Strategies.
He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. also discuss current municipal issues in the Philadelphia market.
Enjoyed this episode? Please like, share, and comment!