Austinites! Jason Meeker is running against Lee Leftingwell for Place 1 on Austin City Council. Jason does wonderful PR work for Responsible Growth For Northcross and has been an integral part of the organization opposing the ill-fated Wal-Mart on Anderson Lane. I know the guy personally and I like him. His heart is in it and he is pro-neighborhood and smart development. I don't know if you're ever spoken to or emailed Lee Leftingwell, but the guy is gruff and standoff-ish, not to mention swayed by forces that do not have Austin citizen's well-being in mind. He doesn't stand up to developers and is a pretty weak future mayoral candidate. I'd like to see a fresh face on City Council personally. Here's Jason's website and here's some info from him you might find interesting:

"Guess who wrote a check for $600 and gave it to Lee Leffingwell? J. Bruce Scrafford. (Who's that, you ask?) He's the lead attorney for Lincoln Property -- the company that's trying to force a two-story Big Box store into the Northcross area against the wishes of no less than five neighborhood associations, and thousands of Austin citizens. As you may have heard, we battled him in court recently. J. Bruce Scrafford wrote his check, because he knows what kind of city government he wants. And that's just one of the insiders backing Lee Leffingwell."

I had personally emailed Leftingwell regarding the proposed Wal-Mart development and received a very nasty reply, so he's hardly my favorite city official.

Labels: austin city council, jason meeker, lee leftingwell, politics