Flap And Doodle
The subterranean Austin city council runoff for the Place Four seat being vacated by Betty Dunkerly poked its head up this week when Laura Morrison, who led the voting in round one, criticized city leaders for awarding a contract to retool the Green Water Treatment Plant without sufficient public input. The decision is being rushed through the council, she charged.
Morrison’s opponent, Cid Galindo, immediately accused her of trying to stand in the way of progress and said, “delay is not the way we’re going to get things fixed in this city.”
Both candidates may have a point. The water treatment plant project is one of several issues racing through the normally glacial city bureaucracy in an apparent attempt to provide lame duck Dunkerly with a legacy to stand on — not always the best reason to rush through public policies that could be in place for decades to come. On the other hand, “Just Say No” long ago failed to be an inadequate strategy for stopping Austin’s growth.
This week’s warring over waste nevertheless served to highlight the differences between the two candidates. If anyone was paying attention, that is.
Posted on May 21, 2008 – 11:55 am by APR
13 Responses to “Flap And Doodle”
Is it just me, or does Laura Morrison strike everyone as the latest in a long line of indecisive downtown Austin liberals that have served ineptly on the Austin City Council? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
By Pol Pot on May 21, 2008
Galindo is no prize either. The fact is that both of these candidates should get out more often instead of riding their bicylces around downtown all the time. There is a whole other town out here. But like the rest of the council they do not have any interest in representing us.
By Willis on May 21, 2008
Laura Morrison is a hypocrite. She lives in a McMansion but doesn’t want me to add on to my house. She should move to Houston if she wants the neighborhood associations to run things.
By austindownthedrain on May 21, 2008
Paco no like El Cid. El Cid is big phoney Republican like George Bush. George Bush smarter than Cid Galindo though. Laura more real and blonde like Toby Futrell! Paco think we need more blonde and less name calling. Miss Laura may be women liberal but she seems to have lot of energy and wants to help peoples like Paco. Paco would run for City Council but job is not as much fun as current job at chicken processing plant in Bastrop.
By Paco Ximenez on May 21, 2008
Paco ought to lose the unfunny racist banter or at least take it back to one of his rightwing blogs.
By El Jefe on May 21, 2008
Excuse me, but who is this Galindo? An “urban planner?” Just what urbs has he planned? Check his web site, google around on the padding in his so-called resume. Read his “plan.” If he indeed authored what is on his web site, he seems a much better fit for Houston than here in River City.
We’re talking sprawl on steroids and with a hand reaching deep into public coffers to pay for it. Just another rich boy trying to get into office based on his daddy’s wealth and influence. Haven’t we seen this bad movie before? Thanks, but no thanks.
By Big Uncle on May 21, 2008
Galindo’s campaign started off very fresh and positive but then kind of petered out. I don’t know what happened. His main advantage is probably that Laura Morrison is even more boring.
By Sound and Fury on May 22, 2008
Big Uncle, it’s Morrison’s ‘plan’ that better matches Houston - sprawl sprawl sprawl. And she’s got her share of Old Money behind her - including noxious trogoldytes like Skagfs.
Galindo wants high-density in a few places besides downtown to prevent sprawl, and actually has a pretty good way to get there.
He also served for a few years on the Planning Commission. “planner”, “planning”. Huh.
By M1EK on May 22, 2008
With apologies to Tommy Smothers:
“I see by your outfit that you’re an urban planner.”
“You buy an outfit, you can be an urban planner, too.”
By Big Uncle on May 22, 2008
Curb thy tongue, knave.
By Willis on May 22, 2008
Right, Laura Morrison lives in a McMansion. Never mind the home is 100 years old and doesn’t even have air conditioning.
By citizen on Jun 13, 2008
citizen, that’s the whole point. The thing I wanted to build on my property wouldn’t have been a McMansion either, but her ordinance sure as hell made it illegal.
By M1EK on Jun 13, 2008
M1EK why do you hate austin’s neighborhoods so much?
By m dahmus on Jun 14, 2008