Central Texas is facing extreme weather more frequently. Let’s ensure that our infrastructure is climate-ready, from the backup systems that support our running water and electrical utility, to the interdependence of city departments and agencies who collaborate with community organizations to anticipate, prepare, and respond to flooding, heat, freezes, and other shocks and stressors to our city

1. PRESERVE by expanding tax incentives, negotiating more investments in anti-displacement, and leveraging outside funding sources. Preserve over 5,000 units of existing affordable housing within a few years, ensuring that we keep what we can’t rebuild, and we re-hab housing to be safe and climate-ready

2. PROTECT by expanding protections for renters and the public to engage in land use. We will reduce harmful policies that worsen the rent gap, and create solutions that keep us from losing affordable units or protections for tenants.

3. PRODUCE by scaling Community Land Trusts and supporting our community developers to create more deeply affordable and mixed-income developments with authentic community engagement.

Austin has been a reliably cheap date for new company headquarters and developments on our public lands. We have given billions of dollars in entitlements away to large investors while working and middle-class households have been priced out with rising rents and taxes. It’s time we ensured that we get our fair share from these deals: More affordable housing units, more parkland dedication (not just concrete walkways!), investments in our drainage and other critical infrastructure, and innovative partnerships and investments that support the economic growth of our local businesses and budding entrepreneurs.

1. We can’t afford any more no-strings giveaways, subsidies to corporate investors, or real estate deals with our friends. Our municipal dollars are precious and can be re-invested to create solutions and ensure that we have what we need. Austinites are tired of getting taxed out without seeing the improvements we’ve asked for decade after decade.

2. Opportunities are on the way! The federal government is offering hundreds of millions of dollars to cities to update their infrastructure, housing, and green spaces! Now is the time to leverage community knowledge, dust off unimplemented city plans, and get our coffers ready to match our efforts with a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity.

Our most nuanced and difficult challenges—addressing public safety from root cause issues to response times and police oversight, for example—can be addressed with community expertise. This includes the input of frontline personnel and directly impacted community members. On almost every critical issue in Austin, you can find task forces, recommendations, and plans that have gone unimplemented. The information and leadership is here. We need a mayor and council who empower staff and community to take action on our most important priorities.