BG Reads | News You Need to Know (August 25, 2023)
[BG PODCAST]
Welcome to BG Podcast Episode 212! Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia CEO A.J. Bingham review the week (of 8.14.2023) in Austin politics and more. This week we focus Austin Council's passage of the FY 2024 city budget.
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Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
[AUSTIN METRO]
Tesla's push into Kyle signifies suburb's 'rising economy,' mayor says (Austin business journal)
When Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell talks about his goal of transforming the city's reputation from that of a bedroom community into a thriving suburb, he often returns to the same anecdote. About six years ago, when he was running for his first term as mayor, the residents he met while campaigning would list their hometowns as Austin on Facebook.
"It always bothered me because people identified as living, residing and having community away from their own town," Mitchell said during his Aug. 22 State of the City address. "My goal from the very beginning is when I am done, I want to have more of the people in this community saying that they live in the city of Kyle on Facebook."
The reputational shift has been the goal of Mitchell, City Council members and city staffers in the last couple of years, as Kyle emerged as one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. They've attracted new employers, revamped their downtown, made infrastructure improvements like new roads and are building the 80-mile Vybe walking, carting and biking path as a quality of life amenity… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Accountability at Austin Energy? Historic documents reveal potential for independent board (KXAN)
Historically and currently, the elected members of the Austin City Council oversee the budget, rate and policy decisions for Austin Energy. The city manager selects the general manager of Austin Energy, who then hires the utility’s executive team, but citizens can communicate their concerns about the utility directly to their elected city leadership.
Some other municipally-owned utilities operate differently, reporting to an independent board of directors focused solely on the utility’s operations. A KXAN analysis showed the majority of the 10 largest municipally-owned utilities in the country report to appointed or elected boards of governance.
According to city documents and media coverage dating back decades, Austin’s leadership considered creating this kind of independent board several different times… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Private Companies based locally Ranked by Total revenue 2022 (Austin Business Journal)
The Austin Business Journal 2023 list of privately held companies represents some of the region's most successful business with local headquarters.
To be eligible, companies must have headquarters in the Austin area.
The list, ranked by total revenue, also tracks employee counts and local executives. Collectively the top 50 listmakers reported $12.8 billion in revenue for 2022. Locally, these companies employ about 12,000 people… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Weigh in on the future of Palm Park at two upcoming community events (Community Impact)
Waterloo Greenway officials are seeking community input for the third and final phase of restoring green spaces and creating a 1.5-mile trail network throughout downtown. The third phase—called Palm Park and the Refuge—will transform Palm Park and restore trails from Third Street to 11th Street. The third phase is in the design process and is expected to break ground in 2026… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Pressure mounts on Texas senators ahead of Ken Paxton impeachment trial (Texas tribune)
Political pressure is intensifying around Republican state senators who will serve as the jurors in the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Paxton’s allies are singling out a half dozen senators for lobbying. A mysterious entity is airing TV ads targeting certain senators. And an influential establishment group, as well as former Gov. Rick Perry, are urging senators to oppose efforts to effectively stop the trial before it starts.
“Anyone that votes against Ken Paxton in this impeachment is risking their entire political career and we will make sure that is the case,” Jonathan Stickland, who runs the pro-Paxton Defend Texas Liberty PAC, said Thursday in a media appearance… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Greg Abbott raised an astonishing $15.6 million in 23 days (Texas monthly)
Governor Greg Abbott isn’t up for reelection for another three years, but that didn’t stop him from posting one of his most impressive fundraising quarters in recent memory: $15.6 million over the course of roughly three weeks from June 20 to July 13, according to his filings with the Texas Ethics Commission.
The haul will likely provide a big advantage if someone—say, an upstart on his right flank or a quixotic Democratic challenger—dares to come for him in 2026. Legislators and statewide officeholders can’t solicit or receive campaign cash during a regular legislative session, but the same laws prohibiting this fundraising remain mute about such activity during a special session of the Legislature—and these periods are always a bounty. (The Lege has held two special sessions this summer, the first ran May 29 to June 27, and the second June 27 to July 13.
A third is expected in October.) Abbott is known for his fundraising prowess, but even by his standards, his latest cash grab after the moratorium lifted on June 19 was eye-popping. During a comparable period in 2019, according to his campaign team, he raised $12.1 million. Over a somewhat similar timeline in 2015, he raised more than $8.2 million… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
March on Washington turns 60 with miles to go (The hill)
On Aug. 28, 1963, more than a quarter million people walked in the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom — the same march that saw the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. give his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Now, 60 years later, the march is being recreated as advocates highlight the fight still ahead for equality.
The 1963 march helped lead to a host of new laws, including the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The landmark legislation banned segregation in public places and prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin… (LINK TO FULL STORY)