Recently in politics Category

Some parts of this community is going to grow and we have got to keep up with mobility and we've got to keep up with road building. And I wish that I could miraculously say, everybody take public transportation. If I asked you to take public transportation, y'all wouldn't be here today because it doesn't get out there.

[Gerald Daugherty] formed ROAD (Reclaim our Allocated Dollars), an organization that was the major force in successfully defeating the multi-million dollar light rail referendum in 2000. As a member of several transportation groups, he continues to help shape the future of transportation projects for our area.

Yesterday, Rep. Dennis Kucinich introduced Articles of Impeachment against President Bush.

Lamar Smith, our representative, sits on the House Judiciary Committee. That's the committee that will decide whether to hold hearings.

Help Lamar understand that his constituents feel these Articles deserve a hearing. You can contact him here.

Envision Central Texas is collecting input from the locals. Why don't you head on over, fill out the survey, and contribute to steering a greener course for the future of the Hill Country?

Commissioner Gerald Daugherty has been politer than I deserved, and he recently tangibly improved bicycle safety on Hamilton Pool Road. Thanks, Commish.

But out here on The Road, we're still voting for Karen Huber. We need proactive protection for Hamilton Pool, and safeguards in place to protect creeks and their wildlife, before the county builds the roads that bring the development that, unrestricted, destroys our natural resources. And our way of life.

And Gerald is all about roads and development.

Oh: Did I mention Karen's running? I endorsed her weeks ago.

From: Karen Huber To: Karen Huber Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007 6:06 PM Subject: Travis County Commissioner - Precinct 3 race

Hi!
Just thought I'd let you know it is official -- I've filed for the Democratic Primary.
Thanks for the encouragement. We're going to WIN this one!

More later!

Cheers,
Karen

In response to my apology, Gerald Daugherty invited me to breakfast last Wednesday morning. We met at a coffee shop at 360 and Bee Caves Road. You have to get up pretty early in the morning to meet the Commissioner.

We had a good discussion for an hour, covering a wide range of topics, including Hammett's Crossing, Reimers-Peacock Road, that crazy map showing a highway connecting South Mopac to 2222 and 620 (!), land use planning, cycling safety, and baseball. Visions of My Dinner with Andre.

(If you haven't seen My Dinner with Andre in a while, do so. I saw it again on TV last night. And I get it a lot more deeply than I did 25 years ago. Here's 5 minutes that will remind you why you need to see it.)

I appreciate his taking the time to discuss these topics with me, a simple constituent, not a power broker.

Nobody changed any minds on any topic. But there are areas it was easy to agree on.

I had started to give a full report of our conversation on this blog. But I changed my mind. You ought to be able to have a conversation with me and not see it on the Internet the next day, even if you are a politician. I'm not a reporter.

I will, however, mention a couple of policy promises he made.

1. He said the county can't really expect to do another bond issue before 2010. At that time, should a bond issue for improving Reimers Peacock Road be on the ballot, he would support it being in its own line item. That way, opponents can campaign against it without sinking other bonds. This seems a small concession to the neighborhood, but it's one we can hold him to.

2. He's going to look into signage along Hamilton Pool Road, to increase awareness of cyclists. I'll post later about my suggestions. He prefers shoulders and a turn lane -- yes, even west of RR-12 -- and I can't change his mind; but my suggestion costs negligible money, so is hard to resist.

[Updated to repair links]

Dear Commissioner Daugherty,

I apologize for interrupting your speech Tuesday night at the meeting about Hammett's Crossing. I'm glad nobody else at the event behaved as I did, and that we otherwise had an informative meeting. Most of all, I'm sorry to have prevented your expressing your opinions on the proposed bridge.

I lost my temper, and went out of bounds, when you dilated on supposedly unreasonable cycling advocates, rather than discussing our bridge. It seemed you were trying to unite your listeners around a common bogeyman, those cyclists always getting in our way. I was frustrated during your speech because this meeting was not the time to spin off into a cycling discussion.

I live on Hamilton Pool Road, and I ride my bike several times a week throughout western Travis, northern Hays, and eastern Blanco counties. I wish you had instead described how you had made Hamilton Pool Road safer for cyclists.

But that's no excuse for disrupting a public meeting. Sorry.

Regards,

Hugh Winkler

Sal Costello, in a comment yesterday, reminds us that Gerald Daugherty is up for re-election next March. And we really need a candidate to replace him!

It's kind of amazing how large an area Precinct 3 covers: Hamilton Pool Road, Spicewood, Bee Cave, Lakeway, and also Lago Vista and Jonestown! Not to mention West Austin and West Lake Hills.

Democrats have done poorly in this precinct, but we could beat him in the Republican primary. The most viable opponent would be a Republican who favors planned growth and conservation of the Hill Country, and opposes toll roads. There are lots of Republican voters madder than hell about toll roads, and Gerald has put himself in a spot of bother.

I know we have several sympathetic Republicans along HPR here -- are any of you mad enough, and energetic enough, to take on this burden? You will get tons of help, says Sal:

Our Political Action Committee has a campaign strategy that works, but we need funded viable opponents to contact me at sal at austintollparty.com ASAP. Most deadlines to run for office are at the first of the year. Most viable opponents announce from September to November. A viable opponent is someone who already has a base of supporters and can raise large sums of money to support a full campaign office, an experienced campaign manager and equally important - the money to put forward a political advertising campaign to communicate with voters.