Runoff to Determine Austin’s Next Mayor — Ballotpedia News
Welcome to Wednesday, December 7th, a drink.
By: David Lux
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
— Runoff to determine who will be the next mayor of Austin
— Two citizens’ initiatives have been approved by the state legislature in Maine
— A campaign to repeal the California Fast Food Wage Act and Labor Regulation Act has provided more than 1 million signatures
Runoff to determine who will be the next mayor of Austin
With the US Senate runoff in Georgia in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at the other runoffs that are set for next week. Celia Israel and Kirk Watson are running in the nonpartisan general runoff election Dec. 13 for mayor of Austin, Texas. Israel and Watson, who served in the state legislature as Democrats, were the top two vote-getters in the Nov. 8 general election. Israel received 40% of the vote and Watson received 35% of the vote. To win, the candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote.
Incumbent Stephen Adler did not run for re-election.
Israel has represented District 50 in the Texas House of Representatives since 2014, while Watson has represented District 14 in the Texas Senate between 2007 and 2020. Watson previously served as mayor of Austin between 1997 and 2001.
according to Texas Tribune”While they both acknowledge the scale of the crisis and diagnose similar problems, they approach it with different philosophies: Israel looks to enact sweeping reforms to alleviate Austin’s housing shortage, and Watson tries to balance the need for more housing with neighborhood interests.”
Israel says it will provide financial assistance to tenants while reducing parking requirements and increasing densities to encourage development. Watson says he supports amending the development review process to encourage new projects, temporarily halving development-related fees, and giving individual city councilors the power to propose housing plans for their districts.
Israel and Watson disagree over how to spend the $250 million housing bond approved by voters on November 2, 2022. Israel said the city should “partner with a nonprofit that will work to get our homes off the streets first and put them in a respectable place.” Watson said, “So one of my priorities will be to work with private industry, private developers as they develop their projects, bring in public funds, so that together we can buy these units.”
The winner of the 2022 election will serve a two-year term instead of the usual four. In 2021, Austin voters approved Proposition D, a measure that balances mayoral elections with presidential election years. After the 2024 election, he will serve the mayor for a four-year term.
Austin has a Democratic mayor. As of December 2022, 62 mayors in the 100 largest cities by population are Democratic, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, four are independent, seven identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, one mayor’s affiliation is unknown, and one office is vacant.
The City of Austin uses a council manager system. In this form of municipal government, the elected city council — which includes the mayor and serves as the city’s main legislative body — appoints a chief executive called the city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement council policy and legislative initiatives.
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Two citizens’ initiatives have been approved by the state legislature in Maine
On November 30, Maine Secretary of State Sheena Bellows (D) confirmed that two Citizens Initiative campaigns — Protect Maine’s Elections and Our Power — submitted enough signatures on both initiatives to be approved by the state legislature. Both will have a chance to be approved by the state legislature or appear on the November 2023 ballot.
The Protect Me election campaign had submitted 67,550 signatures, valid on November 1, 2022. The initiative would ban campaign spending by foreign governments, including entities with partial ownership or control of a foreign government. “Our initiative bars foreign governments from spending in Maine elections, places new public disclosure requirements on foreign entities that engage in case advertising, and requires media companies to disclose illegal spending by foreign powers,” the campaign said.
The other campaign, Our Power Maine, provided 69,735 valid signatures on October 31, 2022. The initiative will create a municipally-owned electric transmission and distribution utility called Pine Tree Power Company, which will replace Central Maine Power and Versant. Our Power Maine states, “The company’s purposes are to provide reliable and affordable electric transmission and distribution services to its customers in this state and to help the state achieve its climate, energy, and connectivity goals in the fastest and most affordable way possible.” The initiative will lead to higher electricity bills. The coalition said, “A scheme to take over Maine’s electrical grid through eminent domain would create a government-controlled utility — and we’d all be on the hook for the cost.”
Both initiations are indirect initiations, the only type allowed in Maine. Unlike standard citizens’ initiatives, which are approved on the ballot after a campaign has submitted enough valid signatures, an indirect initiative goes to the state legislature first. If the legislature passes the initiative, it becomes law. The initiative goes to the ballot only if the legislature rejects the initiative or takes no action by the end of the session.
If the state legislature rejects or takes no action on either of the two initiatives put forward, they will go to Maine voters in the election on November 7, 2023.
There were no polling actions in Maine last November. The last indirect initiative to appear on the ballot was in 2021 when voters approved an initiative to ban the construction of electric transmission lines in the upper Kennebec area.
Other initiative petitions in Maine are still circulating. The deadline for submitting signatures to the Secretary of State is January 26, 2023.
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A campaign to repeal the California Fast Food Wage Act and Labor Regulation Act has provided more than 1 million signatures
On December 5, Save Local Restaurants submitted more than 1 million signatures to the California Secretary of State to veto a referendum on the 2024 ballot that would overturn Assembly Bill 257 (AB 257). AB 257 will create a fast food board empowered to increase the minimum wage for workers in the fast food industry to $22 an hour in 2023 and to define the hours and conditions of work for workers in the fast food business. California’s minimum wage is set to increase to $15.50 on January 1, 2023.
The Senate approved AB 257 by a vote of 21–12 with seven absent, and the State House approved by a vote of 47–19 with 14 absent. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the bill into law Sept. 5.
Save Local Restaurants submitted the survey on September 6th and had until December 5th to submit 623,212 valid signatures. According to the latest campaign finance filings filed on November 23, Save Local Restaurants reported contributions of over $13.7 million. Major donors to the committee included Chipotle Mexican Grill ($2 million), In-N-Out Burgers ($2 million), Starbucks ($2 million), and Yum! Brands ($1 million), and Wingstop ($500,000). It has also endorsed the International Franchise Commission, the National Restaurant Association, and the American Chamber of Commerce.
Save Local Restaurants said in a statement, “The FAST Act will have an enormous impact on Californians, and it is clear that voters want a say in whether it should remain in place. This action will create an unelected council to control labor policy in the restaurant industry.” anti-service, increasing food prices by as much as 20% during a period of decades-high inflation, harming thousands of small families, minority, and women-owned businesses across the state.”
The California State Board of SEIU supports the law. Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, said, “Ten years after 200 fast food workers quit their jobs in New York City and spurred an international movement of workers demanding $15 an hour and union rights, the passage of AB 257 is the most significant advance in the struggle of workers from For justice on the job in a generation. Workers from coast to coast are advancing in their power, and will take their fight to any company in any industry. It’s time for companies like McDonald’s, Amazon, Starbucks and Delta to sit down at the national negotiating table to raise standards across their industries and ensure that every worker is respected, protected, and paid My living.
In 1912, Californians voted for the first time on a statewide veto referendum. The most recent veto referendum on the ballot was in 2022, and voters decided to support the law. Californians voted in 50 veto referendums, upheld laws 21 times (42%) and repealed laws 29 times (58%).
