November 2024 Election
Oct. 21st, 2024 06:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebThis year there are a few races I'm pretty excited to be voting in.
Strong Endorsements
US Representative - I get to vote for Lloyd Doggett (District 37) again. I love how often he votes very reasonably, even when no one else is (Patriot Act).
City Council Member - I'm pretty happy to keep Chito Vela in office (District 4).
President - I'm very excited to vote against Donald Trump and enjoyed the beginning of the campaign for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, though I've heard Harris has gone quite negative during the time I've been without a computer.
US Senator - I'm also happy to be able to vote against Ted Cruz. I haven't heard much about Colin Allred but it's been basically good.
Other Thoughts
Mayor - I was really hoping the Chronicle would help me decide how to vote for mayor, so I was disappointed when I saw they had no endorsement. But they gave Robin and I enough information to make a decision. I recommend scrolling down their endorsement list to get information to decide for yourself. I know who three people are voting for, and we are all picking someone different!
Judges - In these and other partisan races I'm going with the Democrat, though what little I've been able to find makes it sound like Republican Daniel Betts might make a decent District Attorney. Mostly I feel the Republican focus on being tough on crime is pretty over-the-top in our current atmosphere, especially with the way white collar crime is basically ignored and the way private prisons lobby to maximize profits.
ACC Board of Trustees For Place 7, only Cole Wilson responded to the League of Women Voters, so that's who gets my vote. For Place 9, Joe Sefton seems very tech focused, whereas Julie Ann Nitsch seems more well-rounded, so I'm going with the latter.
AISD At-Large Position 8 - After reading the Chronicle's endorsement I narrowed it down to Lindsey Stringer versus Fernando Lucas de Urioste. After reading Community Impact's Get to know the Austin ISD school board candidates, I decided Stringer seems more focused on learning whereas de Urioste seems more focused on retention, so I'm voting for the former. But check it out for yourself.
Edited to add: I've already voted, but later in the Chronicle a long list of endorsers, and most making endorsements for this position chose de Urioste. I'm sure they know more than I do and if I were voting today, I would choose him.
Travis County Proposition A - Childcare Subsidies - I think this is one of those situations where investing in giving people a leg up helps the whole culture.
For more details on what it would actually do and what it would cost in property taxes, see the Austin Monitor's Ballot measure asks taxpayers to help fund access to affordable child care.
Austin ISD Proposition A to support public schools - Things are so bad, that many agree that despite a majority of the money going to other school districts due to the Robin Hood law, the amount we'd get to keep would make a big difference. See KUT for a story-based style or AISD for a more direct style. I'm voting for this one.
As usual, for most of these races, I feel like the blind leading the blind, so if you have opinions, let me know!
Strong Endorsements
US Representative - I get to vote for Lloyd Doggett (District 37) again. I love how often he votes very reasonably, even when no one else is (Patriot Act).
City Council Member - I'm pretty happy to keep Chito Vela in office (District 4).
President - I'm very excited to vote against Donald Trump and enjoyed the beginning of the campaign for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, though I've heard Harris has gone quite negative during the time I've been without a computer.
US Senator - I'm also happy to be able to vote against Ted Cruz. I haven't heard much about Colin Allred but it's been basically good.
Other Thoughts
Mayor - I was really hoping the Chronicle would help me decide how to vote for mayor, so I was disappointed when I saw they had no endorsement. But they gave Robin and I enough information to make a decision. I recommend scrolling down their endorsement list to get information to decide for yourself. I know who three people are voting for, and we are all picking someone different!
Judges - In these and other partisan races I'm going with the Democrat, though what little I've been able to find makes it sound like Republican Daniel Betts might make a decent District Attorney. Mostly I feel the Republican focus on being tough on crime is pretty over-the-top in our current atmosphere, especially with the way white collar crime is basically ignored and the way private prisons lobby to maximize profits.
ACC Board of Trustees For Place 7, only Cole Wilson responded to the League of Women Voters, so that's who gets my vote. For Place 9, Joe Sefton seems very tech focused, whereas Julie Ann Nitsch seems more well-rounded, so I'm going with the latter.
AISD At-Large Position 8 - After reading the Chronicle's endorsement I narrowed it down to Lindsey Stringer versus Fernando Lucas de Urioste. After reading Community Impact's Get to know the Austin ISD school board candidates, I decided Stringer seems more focused on learning whereas de Urioste seems more focused on retention, so I'm voting for the former. But check it out for yourself.
Edited to add: I've already voted, but later in the Chronicle a long list of endorsers, and most making endorsements for this position chose de Urioste. I'm sure they know more than I do and if I were voting today, I would choose him.
Travis County Proposition A - Childcare Subsidies - I think this is one of those situations where investing in giving people a leg up helps the whole culture.
For more details on what it would actually do and what it would cost in property taxes, see the Austin Monitor's Ballot measure asks taxpayers to help fund access to affordable child care.
Austin ISD Proposition A to support public schools - Things are so bad, that many agree that despite a majority of the money going to other school districts due to the Robin Hood law, the amount we'd get to keep would make a big difference. See KUT for a story-based style or AISD for a more direct style. I'm voting for this one.
As usual, for most of these races, I feel like the blind leading the blind, so if you have opinions, let me know!
Anonymous Democrat Friend's Thoughts
on 2024-10-22 12:51 am (UTC)These are listed in ballot order, as close as I can manage. There's a lot, so I did my best. There's not as much commentary on candidates because I spend that energy on the Primaries. By this point in the election cycle, I'm running on fumes.
If you share, please do not credit me directly. I'm still out of spoons when it comes to arguing for or against individual candidates. What I DO argue for is that voting is worthwhile. I linked some of the campaign sites for ease-of-use, but I'm out of ADHD meds and can't make myself finish it. Sorry. It's pretty easy to google campaign sites, if you want to look them up.
Early voting runs from October 21 to November 1. Polling hours may vary, so check before you go. I strongly encourage early voting!
Election Day is November 5, 2024. Polls are open from 7AM to 7PM. Expect lines, so if you're tight for time, PLEASE VOTE EARLY.
Fair warning, this is a lengthy message. Not everyone will be on your ballot. I can't cover all of them, so if you have specific questions about particular races, let me know. There are a bunch of folks running unopposed, but chuck 'em a vote anyway. Running for office is hard, so be kind.
Thank you for participating in "little d" democracy.
[Her e-mail has links; let me know if there are any that you particularly hope I can let you know. I'm not up for painstakingly sticking them all in this message.]
Resources:
Travis County Elections Division for sample ballots, polling locations, wait times & hours, voter registration checks, and election results afterwards.
(PDF) the actual Travis County "Bedsheet" Ballot.
League of Women Voters Austin Voters Guide where you can explore different language variations. Not everyone responded, so there is some further digging needed.
Austin American-Statesman doesn't seem to be releasing endorsements at all this round.
Austin Chronicle endorsements (different pages for federal/municipal, etc).
If you just like looking at maps with districts, The District Viewer is a fun plaything. It's not terribly intuitive, but you can really zero in on your house and see where else is included in your district (US House, TX House, TX Senate, State Board of Education)
Federal Races:
President: Kamala Harris/Tim Walz This ticket has been a whirlwind, but I'm genuinely excited to vote for Kamala and Tim. It's not just that the alternative is so bad, but these two are really, really good.
US Senate: Colin Allred. He's been solid in the US House, with a track record of getting things done. Might not be as exciting, but he's amply competent and better than what we currently have.
US House 10: Theresa Boisseau.
US House 17: Mark Lorenzen.
US House 21: Kristin Hook.
US House 35: Greg Casar.
US House 73: Lloyd Doggett. This has become a begrudging endorsement for me. I'm not happy that Lloyd was the first Representative to call for Biden to leave the race for reelection. I feel like he's unaware that he's the pot calling the kettle black, and I'm now officially ready for someone else to sit here after this term. He gets this one, but probably the last time I'll endorse him. Yes, it'll hurt to lose his seniority in the ranks, but we have better champions to develop.
Statewide Races:
Railroad Commission: Katherine Culbert.
Supreme Court of TX Place 2: DaSean Jones.
Supreme Court of TX Place 4: Christine Vinh Weems.
Supreme Court of TX Place 6: Bonnie Lee Goldstein. She's currently on the 5th Court of Appeals.
Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals: Holly Taylor.
Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7: Nancy Mulder.
Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8: Chika Anyiam.
State Board of Education District 10: Raquel Saenz Ortiz.
Texas Senate:
SD-14: Sarah Eckhardt.
SD-25: Merrie Fox.
Texas House:
HD-19: Dwain Handley.
HD-20: Stephen F. Wyman.
HD-46: Sheryl Cole.
HD-47: Vikki Goodwin.
HD-48: Donna Howard.
HD-49: Gina Hinojosa.
HD-50: James Talarico.
HD-51: Lulu Flores.
HD-52: Jennie Birkholz.
HD-136: John Bucy III.
State Judges:
3rd Court of Appeals Place 2: Maggie Ellis.
3rd Court of Appeals Place 3: Chari Kelly.
3rd Court of Appeals Place 5: Karin Crump.
3rd Court of Appeals Place 6: Gisela Triana.
District Judges & District Attorney:
53rd: Maria Cantu Hexsel.
98th: Sandra Avila Ramirez.
126th: Aurora Martinez Jones.
167th: Dayna Blazey.
200th: Jessica Mangrum.
345th: Jan Soifer.
353rd: Sherine Thomas.
390th: Julie Kocurek.
427th: Tamara Needles.
450th: Brad Urrutia.
460th: Selena Alvarenga.
District Attorney: Jose Garza.
County offices:
County Court at Law 8: Carlos Barrera.
County Court at Law 9: Kim Williams.
Probate 2: Nick Chu.
County Attorney: Delia Garza.
Sheriff: Sally Hernandez.
Tax Assessor: Celia Israel.
County Comm 1: Jeff Travillion.
County Comm 3: Ann Howard.
Justice of the Peace 5: Tanisa Jeffers.
Constable 1: Tonya Nixon.
Constable 2: Adan Ballesteros.
Constable 3: Stacy Suits.
Constable 4: George Morales.
Constable 5: Carlos Lopez.
Travis County Prop A: For
Austin City Council:
Mayor: Kathy Tovo, but Kirk is fine. Just a little tired of seeing him in the Mayor's seat.
District 2: Vanessa Fuentes
District 4: Chito Vela
District 6: Krista Laine
District 7: Mike Siegel
District 10: Ashika Ganguly
City of Austin Prop P: Someone wants to disassociate with Austin. I think it's not on most of the ballots.
Austin Community College District Board of Trustees
ACC Trustee place 7:
ACC Trustee place 8: Stephanie Gharakhanian'
Support for Pulido for Mayor
on 2024-10-26 05:00 pm (UTC)