Lee Leffingwell
535-0032
www.austinleadership.com

Bio: Born in Austin, Leffingwell has an engineering degree from the University of Texas. He is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, including active duty in Vietnam, and retired with the rank of Commander. He was a Delta Air Lines commercial pilot for 31 years. Leffingwell served on the city’s environmental board for about five years and was chair of that board. He was elected to Place 1 on the city council in 2005 and re-elected in 2008. He has lived in west central Austin since 2005 and before that lived in the Wilshire Wood neighborhood east of IH 35.

Issues: Focus on the basics of city government. Support local small businesses to create jobs and invigorate the economy. Address traffic infrastructure through a possible bond election in 2010 dedicated to roads, sidewalks, biking and mass transit. Oppose budget cuts that affect delivery of public safety programs and social services. Continue his proven track record on environmental protection and support of veterans. Maintain the unique things about Austin through historic preservation.

Brewster McCracken
919-4485
www.brewstermccracken.com

Bio: McCracken earned a master’s in public affairs from the LBJ School and a law degree from the UT School of Law. McCracken worked as a prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and is serving his second term on the Austin City Council, Place 5. McCracken chairs the Council’s Emerging Technologies Committee and the Land Use-Transportation Committee.

Issues: Prepare the city for the 21st century economy by preserving jobs and creating jobs and leadership in biotech, health care, clean energy and the creative sectors, including film and digital media. Build upon the city’s position as a clean-energy leader by meeting power needs, protect our environment and set an example of innovation for the rest of the country. Restore the promise of Austin as a community accessible to everyone, including the less fortunate. Renew focus on improving the livability of Austin neighborhoods by focusing the scheduled 2012 bond election on quality of life investments.

Carole Keeton Strayhorn
981-8683
www.caroleforaustin.com

Bio: Strayhorn is a former Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and former Austin mayor from 1977-1983. She was the first woman president of the Austin School Board and the first woman president of the ACC Board of Trustees.

Issues: Limit spending and appoint a task force of local professionals to advise the mayor on budgeting. Address financial crisis when it arises, and begin pay cuts at the top. Require higher standards and lower costs for transportation projects. Provide multiple modes of transportation to alleviate traffic in order to attract more companies like Dell, which is a step toward economic growth. Focus local economy on new media industry, biotechnology and renewable energy. Create a city-sponsored “innovation incentive” program to encourage small business growth.

David A. Buttross
617-1617
www.davidbuttross.com
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Bio: Buttross holds an MBA from Texas State University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Texas. He started Buttross Properties and David Anthony, Inc. and has served on the Board of Directors for various not-for-profit organizations.

Issues: Focus on scrubbing unnecessary budget items, making the necessary cuts and ensuring that Austin lives within its revenue. Provide good quality basic services like good roads, maintaining public buildings and spaces and ensuring that our fire and police department have the best training and equipment available to provide for our public safety. Monitor incentives that result in unfair advantages for new businesses over existing businesses that have already been contributing to the Austin tax base. Continue to work to provide for the future transportation needs of Austin while reining in the spending of Capital Metro, which has laid out an ambitious future for the city.

Josiah Ingalls
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Bio: Ingalls received high school diploma through a home school program in 2008 and works at Hilton Austin as a housekeeper.

Issues: Fight against cuts in emergency service funding such as police, fire and EMS. Propose a four-year ban restricting city incentives for corporations. Draft an ordinance that would mandate record keeping in order to make each city branch transparent, by posting purchase details on the city website to allow citizens to view every cent spent. Distribute a portion of property taxes equally to all schools so that a lack of funding is not depriving students of quality education. Fund schools based on enrollment rather than allowing certain zones to maintain the tax revenues. Oppose single-member districts, which will enable government manipulation. Disagree with not allowing citizens to vote for candidates running for other districts.

Perla Cavazos
772-3732
www.voteperla.com

Bio: Cavazos has a master’s degree from the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, has lived in Austin for 11 years and has served on the city’s planning commission for two-and-a-half years.

Issues: Mitigate the effects of the national recession on Austinites, specifically laid-off individuals and small businesses. Make Austin a more affordable place to live through increased affordable housing stock and better access to health care. Accelerate the development of Austin’s comprehensive plan and ensure that citizens have a proper amount of input.

Chris Riley
850-9607
www.chrisforaustin.com

Bio: Born in Austin and educated in Boston, Riley earned his law degree from the University of Texas. He was the first president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association and served on the city’s planning and downtown commissions.

Issues: Create green jobs in areas like energy efficiency and technology. Improve transportation with the goal of having good roads, in addition to other modes of travel. “Preserve Austin’s character” by maintaining public safety, affordable housing, cultural arts and historic preservation.

Mike Martinez
Incumbent, elected 2006
974-2264
www.martinezforaustin.com

Bio: Martinez is a former Austin firefighter who has attended classes at Temple College, Austin Community College and the University of Texas.

Issues: Take advantage of the current economic downturn by working on less-costly projects such as the city website. Call for a road bond in 2010 to repair roads, sidewalks and create more bike lanes. Pursue various modes of transportation as viable travel options for Austin residents to enable the city to be prepared for next wave of economic and population growth. Continue to be a strong supporter of geographic representation on city council.

Jose Quintero
293-5022
www.joequintero.com
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Bio: Jose “Joe Q” Quintero is a native east Austin resident who graduated from Johnston High School and obtained his Texas Real Estate license.

Issues: Advocate for all neighborhoods and ensure representation to meet the needs of the largest growing workforce and demographic group in Austin — Hispanics. Represent all neighborhoods in the city because many know what it’s like not to have representation. Implement programs to stop the gentrification of east Austin and the loss of lands by native and long-time residents and business owners.

Sheryl Cole
Incumbent, elected 2006
542-9744
www.keepsherylcole.com

Bio: A graduate of the UT School of Law, Cole is the first African-American woman elected to the Austin City Council and an Austin resident for more than 25 years.

Issues: Plan a sustainable future for Austin including land use strategies, energy conservation and transportation for all residents including the minority community. Develop a world-class parks system with public and private partnerships to help with the operation and maintenance of some urban parks, perhaps even a future Waller Creek park.

Samuel Osemene
554-7897
www.osemenesam.com
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Bio: Osemene received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas and a master’s in political science from Texas State University. He is an investigator with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

Issues: Call for a specific and well-defined comprehensive zoning plan that will create consistency throughout districts across the city. Address the $80 million Capital Metro receives in government subsidies are not well spent. Stand against city-granted tax incentives that draw in large corporations.