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It’s the first day of early voting in Texas, and here in Austin, five City Council seats are being contested. That includes the District 9 seat covering downtown and the UT campus, where four challengers are vying against incumbent Zohaib “Zo” Qadri.
Austinites will also have their say on a number of propositions, including one that would require the city undergo an independent audit every five years. Austin already employs a company to audit city departments, but with passage, Proposition I would make the process much more permanent.
We’re going to hear about the preparations that have gone into this election season, from the folks in Travis County putting them on, to the League of Women Voters who’ve been prepping for years.
The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:08] It is the first day of early voting in Texas, and here in Austin, there are five city council seats that are being contested. That includes the District 9 seat covering downtown and the UT campus. Four challengers are vying against the current incumbent. And Austinites will also have their say on a number of propositions, including one that would require the city undergo an independent audit every five years. Austin already employs a company to audit city departments, but with passage, the would make the process much more permanent. We’ve got much more election coverage coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:40] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:45] Plus, we’re going to hear about the preparations that have gone into this election season, from the folks in Travis County putting them on to the League of Women Voters who’ve been prepping for years. Those stories and more up next on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, this is Austin Signal. I’m your host, Jerry Kehannel, glad to be back with you. It is October 19th, and it’s the first day of early voting. We’ve got a very special elections-focused show for you today on this brisk 70-something degree Monday afternoon. Thank you so much for being with us. One of the things that has Austin voters talking is Proposition I. You may have seen the dueling signage around town, but what exactly is it, and how did it end up the ballot this November. Joining us to talk more about Prop I and the other props on the ballot is KUT’s Gabriel Velasquez-Neda. Gabriel, thank you for being here.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:01:46] Hey, Joey, thank you.
Jerry Quijano [00:01:47] OK I want to read the language from Prop I just because you know some voters might have seen it already might have voted already early this morning but lots more people are going to be checking this out so the official language on the Prop I says shall the city charter be amended to require an independent affordability and efficiency initiative on a regular basis and before any tax rate increase election and requiring the independent contractor to identify annual and multi-year savings that exceed the cost of the contractor service So Gabrielle, we brought you in here to ask. What is that actually saying?
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:02:20] Yeah, so, first of all, the audit would go into the city charters, which is basically like the constitution of the city. And it would force a city that periodically, every couple of years, they have to do an audit. And the person that they hire or the company that they hired to do this audit has to find costs that, as the language mentions, exceeds the amount of the contract. So the city would actually be saving money, theoretically. Does the city already do these kinds of audits? It does, actually. So currently, there is an audit being done. It’s an efficiency assessment by the auditor’s office that the city has a whole department dedicated to. And yeah, they’re going department by department trying to make the city government more efficient.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:01] Okay, so what is the difference between the audits that are currently employed by the City of Austin and what this prop might do?
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:03:07] So there are some requirements that, I guess, differentiates Prop I, but those are kind of niche. The biggest thing, the over 60,000 foot view, is that one is gonna be in the city’s charter, meaning it’s required, if it gets repealed, it has to go back to the voters for it to be repealed. And if the language changes at all, it has go back the voters for the language to be changed. The ordinance, it’s more on the whim of the city council. If city council gets replaced the new city council can take it out basically or after the election they could replace it or to change the wording or tweak it however they like and it’s not as fixed so prop i would make it much more much more stable
Jerry Quijano [00:03:50] Okay, some of the propositions that are offered on ballots tend to be a little contentious either way. What is making this one so contentious?
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:03:57] I think what makes it so contentious is the context for which it comes from, which is kind of like Doge type of behavior, where you have these governmental departments on the federal level that have been stripped and work is fired, and people are worried that that’s going to be happening at the city level in Austin. I think what also makes it controversial is the co-founder of Save Austin Now, which is the political action committee behind the proposition. The guy’s name is Matt Makowiak and he’s the former Travis County GOP chair.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:31] Okay, the people who are in support of Propi, what are they saying? What have you heard from them?
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:04:36] So the supporters, obviously, it would make the government save money, government more efficient, remove some of that bloat that people are worried about and, you know, save taxpayers money.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:49] Which it seems like some of the audits that are already in place are trying to do that, so the people who are against PropEye, what is their reasoning?
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:04:57] So their reasoning is like you just mentioned, there’s already an audit. Also, the fact that the company or the auditor would have to find costs that exceed the amount of the contract, they feel like it’s kind of like a conflict of interest where they’re gonna cut more than what’s necessary in order to, I guess, increase how much they can charge the city. The fact that it’s gonna be in the charter means that I guess people that are against Prop I so that the city is not going to have much leverage. Since they’re forced to do the audit, yes or yes.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:31] Okay, Prop I is just one of eight propositions that is going to be on the ballot for Austin voters, so tell us a little bit about some of the other props.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:05:38] Yeah, so the first two propositions, Prop A and Prop B, are actually bonds. And it basically, it would allow the city to raise money to fund parks and libraries. It’ll also increase property taxes. There’s another one that would allow the city council to hire and fire the city attorney. Currently, that position is under the city manager. So having, I guess, a direct connection between city council and city attorney, that’s another proposition there. And Yeah, also city council meets once a week, they want to remove that.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:13] They want to remove the requirement that city council meets once a week.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:06:16] Yeah, so they would remove the requirement to meet once a week, they’d currently meet every Thursday, and then they would make the scheduled meetings for them more flexible.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:25] Okay well we’ve been talking a little bit about Proposition I and some of the other propositions that are going to be on your ballot and we’ve been speaking with KUT’s Gabriel Velasquez-Neda who has more about the propositions on the KUT app and online at KUT.org. Gabriel thank you for your time. Thank you Jerry. Voters in Austin’s District 9 will choose a city council member this November. District 9 stretches across the heart of the city, and it includes downtown and the UT Austin campus, as well as central Austin neighborhoods like Cherrywood and Hyde Park. Key UT’s Olivia Aldridge spoke with incumbent Zoe Quadri and his challengers about why they want to represent the district.
Olivia Aldridge [00:07:11] Like other City Council races in Austin this fall, the candidates for District 9 are focused on housing affordability. That includes Zoe Kadri, the district’s current City Council member. Kadri says he’s proud of progress the city has made since he was elected in 2022, including passing the home ordinance that allowed for denser development on city lots. But there’s still more he wants to do.
Zo Qadri [00:07:35] We have a land development code that hasn’t fully updated since 1984. So we need to continue to work on housing and parking reforms and honestly, mobility reforms.
Olivia Aldridge [00:07:43] But to have a shot at a second term, Kadri will have to defeat four challengers at the polls, Rich Heyman, Katie Kam, Kai Huang, and current UT student Dave Tadani, who did not respond to requests for an interview with KUT. Candidate Katie Kam is a civil engineer and former Austin ISD science teacher.
Katie Kam [00:08:02] All my career choices have all been about how can I be of service to Austin.
Olivia Aldridge [00:08:07] For Cam, improving affordability comes down to three factors. One is fostering affordable housing policies, including an expansion of a home ownership program that already exists in the Mueller neighborhood. But she also says expanding transportation options and cost-efficient government are part of the puzzle. Another challenger, former UT Urban Studies Professor, Rich Hayman, says he wants to prioritize more subsidized housing for low-income residents. He also wants to curb tax incentives for large corporations. And has a plan for what he’d do instead.
Rich Heyman [00:08:40] Use that money to have a very robust economic development policy that was targeted at small and local businesses that agree to treat their employees well by paying them a living wage.
Olivia Aldridge [00:08:56] Kai Huang works in cryptocurrency. He’s run a quiet campaign, not participating in public forums or reporting any campaign contributions. He says he would focus on increasing housing supply and streamlining Austin’s permitting process for development. He also wants to focus on the issue of homelessness.
Kai Huang [00:09:14] I don’t think they’re doing enough in terms of solving capacity as well as doing the root cause of the issue.
Olivia Aldridge [00:09:21] Wong wants to work with downtown developers to offer incentives to add shelter beds in other parts of the city. Kadri and Heyman say Austin has made positive strides in funding more shelter beds and permanent supportive housing, though both say there’s more to be done. Two of the candidates differed on the sweeps of encampments led by Austin police. Kadri is opposed.
Zo Qadri [00:09:42] At the end of the day, people are just losing their possessions and they’re just extremely inhumane.
Olivia Aldridge [00:09:47] But Cam says she sees a place for the sweeps, though she acknowledges criticisms of the practice.
Katie Kam [00:09:52] There have been concerns raised about perhaps there haven’t been good resources provided to those that are having to leave the camp. And, of course, that’s just something that we improve upon.
Olivia Aldridge [00:10:05] Another point where the candidates diverge is transit. Kadri is an enthusiastic supporter of Project Connect, the light rail focused transit project voters approved in 2020. Hayman says he voted for the project, but he’s disappointed in how it’s been scaled back over the years and is open to discussing different options moving forward. Kam says she didn’t vote for Project Connect and supports alternative transit solutions like monorail. Huang has a different perspective.
Kai Huang [00:10:33] I encourage the city to spend money elsewhere, like AI infrastructure, building smarter cameras to redirect traffic here and there, depending on the traffic flows.
Olivia Aldridge [00:10:49] Voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on several specific local issues this fall. There’s a $260 million park bond and a $35 million library bond on the ballot. Kadri and Heyman support those. While Kam says she’s still deciding, Wong wasn’t familiar with the bonds. Also on the ballet is Proposition I, which would require the city to undergo an independent financial audit every five years. Kam supports that, saying it will encourage transparency. So does Wong. Picadry says the city has already approved an independent audit process on its own, and Prop I is being put forth in bad faith by conservative city critics. Heyman also opposes Prop I. He says the proposal would put pressure on the city to make cuts that may not be in Austin’s best interest.
Rich Hayman [00:11:37] I don’t think that’s a good situation to get ourselves in.
Olivia Aldridge [00:11:41] Early voting runs from October 19th to the 30th. Election day is on November 3rd. I’m Olivia Aldridge in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:55] All right, we are marking the first day of early voting in the midterms by bringing you a bunch of stories focused on elections here in Austin, in Travis County, and we have voter guides for Travis, Hayes, and Williamson Counties over at kut.org and on the KUT app. And we’re gonna keep bringing you more today and throughout the election season. But first, we gotta take a very short break. After that, we have more Austin Signal coming your way. This is Austin Signal, welcome back. As I have mentioned a few times, it’s the first day of early voting for the midterm elections. And for many people here in Travis County, this might be the first that you’ve thought about your plan for heading to the polls. No worries, but election workers at the Travis County Clerk’s Office, well they have been planning since March and probably a little bit before that too. KUT’s Katie McAfee visited the Clerk’s office late last week and has this behind the scenes look. At what goes into pulling off an election.
Katy McAfee [00:13:03] Days out from the start of early voting, the Travis County Clerk’s Office was buzzing. About a dozen staffers wearing headsets are fielding questions from voters in a fluorescent-lit call center.
Carol Eckelkamp [00:13:14] Oh you’re doing ballot by mail though. Okay, hold on. We’ll be able to figure this out.
Katy McAfee [00:13:19] The phones are already ringing off the hook, but this team is just getting started. The team here is expecting to answer around 25,000 calls in the next two weeks. Meanwhile, staffers down the hall are facing an equally daunting task, processing the first batches of mail-in ballots that have already been delivered. Travis County expects 27,000 mail-in ballots to come in over the next two weeks. Just outside the office, a different team is loading trucks with everything needed at each early voting site.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:13:52] Now
Katy McAfee [00:13:55] That includes ballots, tables, electrical supply boxes, privacy shields and vote here signs. Another team is checking to see if each polling site is accessible for voters with disabilities. If there’s been damage to the sidewalk leading to the voting place or if the threshold to enter the building is uneven, they need to go out and fix it. Travis County Clerk Diana Lamone Mercado says they have to do that no matter what.
Dyana Limon-Mercado [00:14:19] There might be a flood in the building on Sunday night. It is still a full place on Monday morning. So this team will activate to help with any remediation so that we can make sure that the full place is still accessible. First thing, Monday morning
Katy McAfee [00:14:31] There are more polling locations open this year than ever before, 45 during early voting and 201 on election day. The polls are open from 7 a.m. To 7 p.m every day this year, even over the weekend. Limón Mercado is trying to get more young people to the polls, and she’s luring them in with something a little sweeter than an I Voted sticker. We have
Dyana Limon-Mercado [00:14:51] worked with our high schools and school districts to recruit student election workers so you can get special permission and get paid to be an election worker for Election Day.
Katy McAfee [00:15:02] County pays above the state minimum, up to $25 an hour, depending on the role. It’s open to all registered voters in the county, but Limón Mercado says getting young people to fill those jobs helps them build good habits early on.
Dyana Limon-Mercado [00:15:14] There’s research that shows the earlier somebody votes, the closer to 18 they are when they cast that first ballot, the more likely they are to become a lifelong voter. And that is something that we want to encourage here in Travis County.
Katy McAfee [00:15:27] Limon Mercado is expecting the voters of Travis County, lifelong or not, to break some records this election. Nearly 30% of the county’s registered voters cast a ballot during the primaries. That might seem unimpressive, but that turned out surpassed even some presidential primaries, if that momentum continues to the next two weeks, it can mean backups at the polls. But knowing who you’re voting for in advance and checking polling place wait times could get you in and out faster. You can find more information to help you make a plan to vote at KUT.org. I’m Katie McAfee in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:09] Alright, we have already heard some stories of lines at polling sites on day one of early voting, so if you’ve already cast your ballot, nicely done. And if you haven’t, no worries, but heads up, before you head to the polls this election season, just know that there are plenty of ways to get informed about what you’re going to see on your ballot. One organization that has been working to advance voter engagement for more than a century is the League of Women Voters, and joining us now from the Austin area Chapter of the Organization as Spokesperson Carol Eckelkamp And Claudia Torres-Yanez, Vice President of Voter Services. Carol, Claudia, thank you for joining us.
Claudia Torres-Yanez [00:16:44] So we’re happy to be here. Thank you for having us.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:47] So let’s talk about what kind of work the League of Women Voters does prior to and during an election.
Carol Eckelkamp [00:16:53] I think one of the main things that we look at is the publication of the voters guide to get all that ready and chasing the candidates and getting all their answers because we want to make sure that the Austin voters have a, or Travis County voters I should say, have a nonpartisan guide. And then on top of that, we get ready for the candidate forums with the city of Austin and we then have all of the get out the vote initiatives. So we do a lot of education along with that and go out in the community. So it involves those prongs. And just the fun we have doing it. It’s a lot of work, but we’re all volunteers and we do it passionately.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:27] Claudio, can I ask you, what is some of the outreach that the League of Women Voters does to reach out to a variety of voters?
Claudia Torres-Yanez [00:17:33] Well, of course, we are always welcoming requests from community organizations and groups that may want us to come out to speak about participating in elections, voting, the registration process, and even having voter registrars available to help people register. We partner a lot with different community organizations in and around Austin. You know, local Spanish media stations will partner with us and invite us out to, you know co-table with them in a non-partisan fashion at different community events and make sure that information is accessible to community members in their own language. That is often, you now, Espanol, Spanish, but other languages as well. We partner with different organizations like in the Vietnamese community as well, and we’re very proud to offer translated. Voters guides, our goal is to make the information as accessible in the language that people need to be empowered and active participants in our democracy.
Jerry Quijano [00:18:37] There are lots of things to consider before going to the poll. You want to know what’s on your ballot, what you can or can’t wear, what kind of identification you might need. Carol, what is one thing that you think people really must know before they head to the polls this season?
Carol Eckelkamp [00:18:50] I think they have to know what’s down on the ballot, and that’s where your school boards, and that where your bonds and your propositions. And we ask people to not just think about the items that are getting the most news, it’s to think about items that affect their electricity rates and their schools, and all of these things that touch everyday people in their everyday lives. And I have a saying that I’ve been using, I want people to vote like their wifi depends on it. And It makes people kind of think. And I think that when those down ballots are in there, we need information and you have to write it down and you to have either a ballot worksheet that we have available on our website or they have to go through any kind of a voters guide and market because that’s one of the things that people don’t understand that move to Texas or our students, we register our 18 year olds and all through the high schools and through ACC that they can’t take their devices. All of us depend on our devices. But they’re not allowed inside a polling place. You can do it online, you can do while you’re in line. You can use a device, but to have a device inside with all your answers, it’s not possible. So it’s a paper and a pencil, and that down ballot is really important, and a lot of people don’t get to the end of that ballot.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:08] Well, today is the first day of early voting, and election day will be the first Tuesday in November. There’s always the back and forth of whether you should go vote early or you’d like to vote on election day and enjoy the pomp and circumstance. Do y’all have a preference? I’ll start with you, Claudia.
Claudia Torres-Yanez [00:20:24] Absolutely. I learned the hard way, one election cycle, and before I was volunteering so heavily with the League, I waited till election day and I almost got stuck at work and missed the 7 p.m. Deadline on election day to be in line. So ever since then and ever since everything I’ve learned as a volunteer with the league, I make it a point to go vote early. Um, originally my goal was day one, but, um, I, I’d rather be fully prepared with my sample ballot and know exactly what I’m going to vote for and be informed. So anytime in that first week of early voting is, is typically my goal and what I, um encourage everyone in my family to do as well.
Carol Eckelkamp [00:21:03] How about you, Carol? I’m a Travis County election judge and an alternate judge and I usually wait until election day because I’m working and I just like to do it right then.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:13] What else about your efforts to get folks to the polls that I haven’t asked you about? What else is on your mind this particular election season?
Carol Eckelkamp [00:21:21] I think what’s on my mind is that in 2022, when we last had our, we last elected a governor, that of the eligible voters, 58% did not show up to vote. And my concern is that our vote is our voice. And if we’re not using our voice at the polls, it’s really hard to have a say when people are unhappy or policies don’t go the way that one thinks they should go. So, if I look at that statistic, that means 50. 58% of the people stayed at home in the two weeks of early voting and on election day. And that’s very discouraging to me. So I’d like people to use their voice and get out and vote.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:01] Given how much discussion there’s been about the governor race here in Texas, and particularly the Senate race, do you anticipate that number will be that high this go-round?
Carol Eckelkamp [00:22:10] Unfortunately, I think it will be high. My hope in my heart is that it won’t be that high because we’re seeing I think a lot more excitement about this and people understand maybe more because there’s so many, there’s hundreds of community organizations that are doing this. And I think that’s helping the cause is to voice is a vote.
Claudia Torres-Yanez [00:22:31] To add on to Carol’s comments, as someone who volunteers to register voters, I’ve encountered numerous folks who have come up to me and said, you know, I moved to Texas 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and I’ve never voted and I want to register. So I’m encouraged by that enthusiasm to participate. For those that approach me with… You know, some of that apathy or concerns that, you know the electoral college or their vote doesn’t matter. I’m quick to remind them that the electoral college has nothing to do with our local or state elections. And that I’ve seen school board races, for example in my own community that have been decided by a handful of votes. We have state reps in the Travis County area whose races have been by a hand full of votes so every vote matters and it’s important to bring those. Numbers that are not participating down because it can actually have an impact on the leadership.
Carol Eckelkamp [00:23:32] One of the projects we did over the summer, we called it Paws to the Polls, P-A-W-S, Paws. We had Gus and Franklin, a dog and a cat. And we took it into low voter turnout communities. And we were at the Southeast Central Health Southeast Clinic on Montopolis. And that was the first time that I had ever seen fear on the face of two people walking into a fake election polling place. But the fact that their name and that there was a machine there and it looked government official, even though there was dog and a cat on it, and we assured them it was fake, but they were truly afraid of whether it was the process, their legal status, but to have fear and to know that for a hundred years that people do sometimes have fear of an election, but to see it firsthand and then to see the children’s excitement on the other end of we were having eight-year-olds and nine-year olds pick a cat or a dog and vote and get excited about the process. I think that was probably one of the more exciting things that we did this summer to be in the community. And that was a partnership with Travis County Clerk’s Office. They loaded up those machines for us and we took them out in the Community and we still have them. I think on October 27th, we’re gonna be at Highland Mall at the ACC Riverbats. And I think Gus and Franklin are coming with us.
Jerry Quijano [00:24:49] Alright, on this first day of early voting, we’ve been speaking with Carol EchoCamp and Claudia Torres-Yanez from the League of Women Voters. Thank you for your time.
Carol Eckelkamp [00:24:57] Thank you for having us.
Jerry Quijano [00:24:59] And thank you for tuning in on this special election-focused episode of Austin Signal, a reminder that we have an Austin area voter guide as well as guides for Travis Hayes and Williamson Counties on the KUT app and online at kut.org. And there’s more from us at kutt.org slash signal. The signal team is Caroline Feil, Alexandra Hart, Kristen Cabrera, and I’m your host, Jerry Kehono. We’re gonna be back at the same time tomorrow. Talk to you then.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
