In 2015, I wrote this letter to the Austin Chronicle, it appeared in their January 16th, 2015 issue, hence posting today. In just 4-days, we should have the next Presidential inauguration on January 20th, 2015. Let’s hope so.
YOU GET WHAT YOU VOTE FOR
Dear Editor,
So, our “Rail or Fail” Mayor Leffingwell reminds us that there are some 860,000 people in Austin, and it’s hard to remember that when confronted by 200 loud voices in the chamber [“Quote of the Week,” News, Jan. 9].
Perhaps if he’d been more of a leader, less confrontational, and paid more attention to the issues of those various 200 people, he’d have been elected in 2012 by more than a paltry 10% of Austin voters.
Voter apathy in Austin is legend, and you get what you vote for.
Mark Cathcart
In local politics, you get what you vote for(mostly). Novice candidates offer what they don’t know is hard to deliver. Entrenched staff organizations are hard to move. But generally, you get what you vote for.
Back in 2014, then Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell launched his “rail or fail” campaign, he failed [1]https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-02-25/leffingwell-announces-rail-or-fail/.
While some look on his tenure as a success, most of the successes actually belonged to Texas rather than Leffingwell. His rail plan was doomed from the start as it was based on what the real estate lobby wanted for the future rather than addressing what was already needed.
Leffingwell would blame outspoken activists for his failure, and in a weird turn of fate, he was right. Weird? Yes, because the activists were actual rail enthusiasts that wanted and knew there was a right way to do commuter rail in Austin and a wrong way.
As I write this now, 10-years later, on September 12th, 2024 – Austin still doesn’t have a commuter rail system, more is the shame.
You can read more in this post, I’m happy to have funded many of the “NO TO PROP 1” adverts that appeared in the Austin American Statesman and the Austin Chronicle.
Let’s hope post January 20th, 2025 we are on the way to having at least some form of commuter rail here in northern Colorado, if not, blame who you voted for.
References