Detailing the ANN KITCHEN RECALL!!!

"It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For a throne is established by righteousness."
Proverbs 16:12

Austin4ALL discussed the origins of the Ann Kitchen recall last night on Fox 7:



Highlights:

• "Austinites are of this special interest, backwards thinking, elitist kind of council members."

• Kitchen's role in passing the anti-Uber regs was the final straw.

• Petition signatures currently being verified.

Babies for STICKLAND!!!

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea."
Mark 9:42

This is GREAT:

Jonathan Stickland is an unwavering, outspoken Pro-Life champion! Texas babies need him back in the Texas House of Representatives!
Posted by Texas Right to Life on Thursday, February 25, 2016

Highlights:

• Unlike certain other "pro-life" organizations that shall remain nameless, Texas Right to Life helped flip Konni Burton's district in 2014.

• "Jonathan Stickland never backs away from a chance to protect life."

• "All of us pro-lifers need Jonathan back in Austin."

Has Greg Casar ever Rented his home out on AirBnB?!?

"Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight."
Proverbs 11:1

Dan Driscoll is the CEO of Austin Startup ReQwip and a buddy of ours from college; following council's anti-AirBnB vote yesterday, he posted something interesting to his twitter page:

Shame on you @GregorioCasar - you've rented your home on @Airbnb and yet you copped to Tovo's bogus #STR phase-out efforts. #LostMySupport.

— Dan Driscoll (@dbdriscoll) February 24, 2016

@dbdriscoll I hear you, & I understand why and where our opinions diverge. However, I've never rented out my house; that was previous owner.

— Gregorio Casar (@GregorioCasar) February 24, 2016

So @GregorioCasar for the record, you have never EVER rented out a home in which you lived, past or present, for a short-term such as SXSW?

— Dan Driscoll (@dbdriscoll) February 24, 2016

Including @GregorioCasar perhaps your housemate listing your shared home under their name not yours ...?

— Dan Driscoll (@dbdriscoll) February 24, 2016

Deafening silence from @GregorioCasar

— Dan Driscoll (@dbdriscoll) February 24, 2016

Still no word from @GregorioCasar; odd because he is usually so quick to reply. Last year he told me that he had rented his home on @Airbnb.

— Dan Driscoll (@dbdriscoll) February 24, 2016

How many lawyers, PR consultants must @GregorioCasar consult before answering simple question: has he or housemate been #STR host? @Airbnb

— Dan Driscoll (@dbdriscoll) February 24, 2016

Who's ACTUALLY Voting in Texas' Republican Primary?!?

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

Derek Ryan of Ryan Data and Research has collected some fascinating data about who's actually turned out thus far through early voting, some highlights:

• In past Republican Primaries, through seven days of early voting, 22.5% of the total votes have typically been cast. Based on that percentage, that would mean total turnout this year would surpass 2.3 million (turnout was 1.4M in 2012 and 2008).

• 22.6% of the votes cast during early voting are from voters who have not voted in a Republican Primary between 2008 and 2014. This voting block is almost the same size as voters who have voted in all four of the last four Republican Primaries (24.3%)

Read the full report (through yesterday) below:

FEB 2k16 Early Voting Analysis Day 7

Matt McCall: Restore Economic Growth!!!

"Consider the work of God;
For who can make straight what He has made crooked?"
Ecclesiastes 7:13

Matt McCall discusses the difference between free enterprise and fascism/socialism:



Highlights:

• "We did not become the greatest country in the world, the greatest economy in the world, by being fascist or socialist."

• Fascism = Government control of the means of production
• Author's Note: Cronyism, or Big Business/Big Government collusion are also commonly used term to describe a fascist economic system.

• Socialism = Government ownership of them means of production.

• Capitalist economy is based on freedom.

• "Envy has never gotten us anywhere except 20 trillion dollars in debt and $200 trillion worth of unfunded mandates."

Bo French discusses state of his race

"Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,"
Acts 4:29

Bo French did an interview with the local NBC affiliate this past weekend:

Watch My interview on The Lonestar Report!
Posted by Bo French on Monday, February 22, 2016

Highlights:

• NW Tarrant County

• Charlie outspending Bo 4 or 5 to 1.

• Charlie doesn't want to talk about his record.

• Taya Kyle stuff: "Attempt by a desperate politician."

• High Turnout = Good.

How will Austin assess the City Manager?!?

"Do they not go astray who devise evil?
But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good."
Proverbs 14:22

City Manager Marc Ott's performance review begins soon.  The City Manager manages the city bureaucracy in the absence of leadership from council.  Former council candidate Ed English raises some very important questions about Ott's review process:

Austin Deserves an Open Review of the City Manager 

1. Hold the Council discussion with the City Manager on his evaluation in public. There is no legal reason Council cannot do that. At a minimum, if there are some truly confidential issues that need to be discussed, the Council can retire to executive session just for that, and return to the public session.

2. Require the City Manager to complete a written performance evaluation and have Council put it's individual and collective evaluation of his performance in writing. Make it available to the public for comment.

3. The citizens of Austin deserve a chance to review the manager of the city, a city in an affordability crisis. A time certain is guaranteed by a public hearing.

4. Performance metrics should be tied to the outcomes laid out in Imagine Austin.

5. A major responsibility of the City Manager is to inform the council on major projects. Have the City Manager explain his performance on projects that have affected Austin's affordability like How has he had the City Council's back on protecting Austin's affordability related to major expenditures on projects like Biomass ($2.3B), Water Treatment Plant #4 ($1B), Waller Creek, Seaholm, and just recently, Pilot Knob $100M and and a host of high tech company recruitment incentives whose high paid employees have driven up housing costs dramatically.

6. The city is a $3B per-year corporation. Most corporations in America, this size or larger, routinely evaluate their chief executive officer with a 360-review. The same can be said for many public institutions including our own UT-Austin and Huston-Tillotson University. The City Manager should be reviewed by those who work under him - anonymously. Allows them to comment on his performance, just like HT and UT students do of their faculty.

7. What does the City Manager do to enhance the city's relationship with other government entities and other civic organizations?

8. Is the City Manager providing information to the council requested of him in a timely manner for making decisions?