Thursday on
The Chad Hasty Show, Travis County Republican Party Chairman Matt Mackowiak joined guest host Carl Tepper to discuss the homeless camping crisis in Austin, the ineffectiveness of camping bans in many other cities, the resulting increase in crime, and much more.
Mackowiak said,
You care about Lubbock and I care about Austin, and everyone cares about where they live, they care about their community. And I don t think it s too much to ask that our elected officials put public safety first. Public safety is the highest responsibility of anyone in public office.And what s happened in Austin.is, our city s never been less safe, and I ve lived here since 1984. We re going to double our all time homicide record this year to probably between 95 and 100.We re going to double our all time homeless fire record this year.Our homeless population has doubled since July 01, 2019, from 2,500 to what I estimate is 5,000.
God Don t Like Ugly: Austin Faith Leaders Unite to Smite Prop B
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Austin voters are now getting their say at the ballot box on the city s controversial policies on homeless camping.
Proposition B takes center stage in Saturday s city election, giving residents the voice they did not have two years ago when the Austin City Council made it lawful to camp in most public spaces by canceling a 23-year-old ordinance that had prohibited it.
If approved, Proposition B could eliminate the growing number of tent encampments in high-traffic areas by reinstating criminal penalties and forcing the unsheltered residents to find somewhere else to stay. The city and partnering organizations have initiated short-term and long-term plans to increase the inventory of available shelter and housing options for people experiencing homelessness. For now, however, they do not have nearly enough to offer one to everyone in need.
The debate over Austin’s camping policies for people experiencing homelessness has erupted into a biblical battle.
In the runup to the election, local Democrats among them Austin City Council member Natasha Harper-Madison and recent congressional candidate Julie Oliver have attempted to frame Matt Mackowiak, the local Republican leader pushing to reinstate the camping ban, as a hypocrite, suggesting he is ignoring passages in the Bible they say underscore the need to protect the indigent.
Mackowiak, who is Catholic, calls that suggestion a phony line of attack and says he hopes reinstating the ban will push Austin s leaders to take swifter action to increase the city’s housing options for homeless people.
Reform Doesn’t Come Cheap
Austinites for Progressive Reform, the political action committee supporting
Propositions D through
H, announced it had raised $271,000 and spent $293,000 on the campaign s successful community engagement process and petition drive to get its proposals, including strong mayor (Prop F) and Democracy Dollars (Prop H) on the ballot, and on the electioneering since then. Its 30-day-out campaign finance report, filed April 1 to cover transactions between January 1 and March 22, shows $100,000 raised and $51,000 spent, with $92,000 in outstanding loans from 2020 and $69,600 cash on hand.
APR says its median contribution was around $100; many donors have been vocal supporters of APR or members of its leadership committee, such as
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