[Music].
>> The new form of government
taking shape at City Hall and
every seat up for grabs, Austin
voters elected two new City
Council Members on November 4th
and sent 16 Council candidates
plus two vying for Austin
mayor to run-off elections.
Tonight, Beyond the Rhetoric.
We asked the remaining
candidates what makes them the
right person to lead their
district and our city.
[Music playing].
>> Support for Civic
Summit comes from Google,
a global technology leader
focused on improving the ways
people connect with information
and also by Texas Mutual
Insurance, providing workers'
compensation for Texas
employers.
[Music playing].
>> Hello, and thanks for
joining us for Civic Summit.
City Council run-off
conversation District 10,
a joint production of
KLRU Leadership Austin,
KUT and the Annette Strauss
Institute for Civic Life.
I'm Michael Kanin, publisher
of the Austin Monitor.
Our discussion tonight will
focus on leadership and will be
sort of like a job interview.
We want to know what skills and
qualities each candidate would
bring to Austin City Hall.
For the next 30 minutes, I'll be
speaking with candidates in the
running to represent
District 10.
Mandy Dealey and Sheri Gallo.
If you'd like to join the
conversation on Twitter,
please use #CivicSummitD10.
District 10 is in West Austin,
stretches north to 183 and south
to Lady Bird Lake.
It includes all of the
neighborhoods west of MoPac and
part of Rosedale, east of MoPac.
Most of its western border
is in the county boundaries.
Mandy Dealey is a long-time
community advocate.
She's worked on six
City of Austin Boards,
Commissions and
Tasks -- Task Forces,
and she has chaired or vice
chaired a number of them.
She is also involved with the
board of -- with the board of a
number of community
organizations.
Sheri Gallo is a real estate
broker and small business owner.
She chaired the City of Austin
Housing Authority and has been a
resident of Austin
for over 50 years.
Thanks both of you before
being here tonight.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> First question, which we
shared with both of you before
tonight, what have you learned
about yourself over the last
four months of campaigning and
-- that will help you govern?
Mandy, you go first.
>> Thank you.
Well, first of all, let me just
say thank you for having this
tonight.
I appreciate the opportunity.
At this point in my life, I
think I know myself pretty well.
I've done a lot of introspection
and think I know myself;
but really, what I remembered
about myself is that,
I love community service.
It is absolutely my passion and
the opportunity to get involved
again with the issues that are
so important, talk about them,
explain them to
voters and Austinites,
has really been exciting
and I have loved doing it.
>> Sheri.
>> And thank you, once again,
for allowing us to be here and
-- and giving people an
opportunity to, once again,
look at the candidates and
-- and hear their voices.
It's been an
interesting process.
I've -- I've always thought
of myself as a people person.
I'm in real estate.
My business for the last 35
years has been finding and
helping people get into homes,
and you do that as connecting
with people.
But what I have been amazed with
is, how much I really, really,
really enjoy doing that.
The connection with people and
the ability to be accessible and
let them know that you will
listen to them and talk to them,
I think that is one of the
leadership qualities that's
really important for this
district-type of leadership;
and over and over again, from
going to the football games,
passing out our bubbles,
going to the school carnivals,
just walking neighborhoods, it's
really -- it's really expanding
on that connection that I've --
I've enjoyed so much and really
been proud of myself for.
>> Okay.
>> Thank you.
>> We're going to start
with a hypothetical, here.
There is pressure
on the Council,
as a whole -- as a whole, to
increase the budget for public
safety because of an increase in crime in two of the ten districts.
Your district hasn't
been directly affected,
but you're feeling pressure from
neighborhood groups to lobby for
increased evening patrol.
How will you work with APD to
decide which districts get more
officers?
That means delivering unwanted
news back to your district,
how we communicate that
to your constituents.
Sheri, you first.
>> So I hear two
questions there.
First of all, the public safety
budget is a large portion of the
general fund budget.
I think that you learn by
asking questions of the experts.
So I would want to ask questions
and listen to the people at APD
and understand where they feel
like the resources need to be
and communicate that back to my
-- to my neighborhoods and my
community.
I think it's important, also,
to encourage people to become
responsible for being assistants
with the -- the police
department.
I think they need to be ears and
eyes out in their neighborhoods.
We need to help them
learn how to do that,
be comfortable to do that, but
-- but it's a responsibility
that we as citizens have, too.
We can't just depend on
the police force entirely.
We have to take
responsibility ourselves.
Going back to the neighborhood
with information that perhaps is
what they don't want to hear.
You know, I think it goes
back to communicating,
and I think if you built a
relationship with your district
and with the people in
the communities and the
neighborhoods in that district,
and they know you're honest and
they know you're thoughtful
and that you listen to their
concerns.
It's like being a parent
that delivers bad news,
you have to do it and it's
your responsibility to do it,
but if there is a trusting
relationship that goes with
that, I think it makes
it much easier to do.
>> Okay.
Mandy?
>> Much along the same lines.
I think that it's --
well, first of all,
I have a really good
relationship with public safety
entities.
But it really is almost a matter
of working with the city manager
to direct the police in public
safety entities to -- to do
their work.
It's not so much
a Council matter.
So the important thing would be
to work with the city manager to
make sure that APD is doing its
job and is putting patrolmen and
officers where they need to be.
District 10 has been fortunate
in that we don't have the kind
of really major crimes that
a lot of the districts do,
but we have seen a huge increase
in property crimes and making
sure that there are patrols that
will help watch out for that,
encouraging community policing,
and for neighbors to watch out
for each other is really
going to be important,
especially if the resources
have to go to another district.
Working with the district to
make sure that they understand
the responsibility and the power
that they have to address those
problems is going to
be very important.
>> Okay.
District 10 has arguably held
sway -- portions of -- of the
new district sway of 10 has argu
-- arguably held a lot of sway
over the City Council
for a long time.
Many in West Austin
voted against the move to
single-member districts, as
I'm sure you guys are aware.
What have you heard on the cam
train -- campaign trail about
that -- about that
general opinion?
But more importantly, how
will that, do you think,
impact the way you reconcile
interest between your district
and the city, as a whole?
I believe, Mandy, you go first.
>> That will be a challenge
because District 10 has
traditionally had more influence
and also has been responsible
for electing a large number
of the City Council Members.
So being sure that -- that the
district needs are addressed and
taken care of is going
to be really important.
But you know, when I
would talk to people,
everybody I talked to was
pretty glad to see that we have
single-member districts now.
In the more central
part of Austin,
they -- I don't think were
as enthusiastic about it,
south of 2222, but when I would
talk to folks north of 2222,
which is the largest group
geographic portion of the
district, everybody seemed
really excited and enthusiastic
and engaged and looking forward
to the opportunity to have a
stronger voice at City Hall.
>> Okay.
Sheri?
>> I think there is a portion
of the district that has been
served, but I think there's a
large portion of the district
that really does feel like they
are un-- underserved and that
would be the north and
the western most section.
So as we walk to neighborhoods
and talked to people and had
events, I mean, I heard a very
clear message that there was a
lot of enthusiasm about this new
process because I think those
areas of District 10 now
felt like that they would be
represented.
The advantage to District 10 and
the people that live in District
10 is you have a very engaged
wonderfully involved community
that is involved in non-profits
and community organizations
whose purpose is to touch
the other areas of Austin.
So it is a population that
is very unselfish in the
willingness to have funds and
spend funds and time to other
parts of the city, and I think
-- I think across the board,
District 10, understands that
it's the city, as a whole,
that's important and they
want to help with that.
>> Okay.
You each have of -- obviously,
you ran for office and you've
run for office before, Sheri.
Mandy you've served on a number
of boards and commissions as we
noted at the top.
You've each formed, obviously,
your own political opinions,
ideologies.
Under what circumstances would
you be willing to compromise
some of those as you lead the
city, if you get this position?
Sheri, we start with you.
>> Well, I think
leadership is compromise.
I think that when we see
problems in government,
it's because the parties aren't
agreeing to compromise and
aren't willing to
listen to other people.
Just because we disagree doesn't
mean we're not -- we're not good
people and we don't
have good intentions;
and I think this particular
process where we have 11 Council
Members, 10 members that are
from vastly different areas of
town and have different needs,
they -- they represent people in
different economic
and social interests.
It's going to be really
important for the leaders that
are on the Council to understand
that we have to work together;
and building that consensus
and working together,
I think is going to be very
key to the Council in this new
single-member district
plan to be successful.
>> Okay.
Mandy.
>> Well, I'm absolutely
committed to collaboration and
making sure that all the
stakeholders are at the table
with a voice and that
everybody is listened to.
In Austin, we sometimes
listen to constituents,
acknowledge them, but then make
decisions that don't include
them.
So I think that being able
to make people understand how
important their input is and to
make sure that they understand
that they really are being
listened to and that their
positions and interests are
being taken into consideration
is going to be really important.
Fortunately, having served on as
many boards and commissions as I
have, and as many non-profits
that serve a number of different
areas of town, I have a pretty
good sense of where the problems
are in Austin and what
some of the needs are.
So I'm hoping that will give
me an advantage as we start
collaborating and talking about
how we're going to resolve
things.
>> Okay.
If you could put three people in
a car -- and we all know about
cars, and traffic -- and have
them drive from North Austin to
South Austin at peak rush
hour, who would it be?
Mandy, you go first.
>> Oh gee, I have three really
good friends I would love to put
in the car.
>> Okay.
>> Sarah Bird and Sandra
Kirk and Sharon Coleman,
and it would be an absolute joy
to be able to spend time with
these really bright women,
talking about things that are
important and things
that are not important,
but being able to just
spend time with friends.
It's something I have
missed in this campaign.
I miss my friends.
>> Okay.
Sheri?
>> You know, that's
-- that's easy.
There's so many fascinating
people that it would be la -- it
would be wonderful to be
locked in with, but you know,
I have to say those of us that
are -- that are engaged in the
community and busy doing
volunteer work and busy with our
businesses, a lot of times it's
our families that are neglected.
Certainly, during this campaign,
I would -- I would put my
husband in that car.
Normally, we spend a
lot of time together,
but it would be fun to
just reconnect there.
But absolutely, I would put both
of my grandchildren in the car.
I mean, my days -- my -- my
memories when they were young
and we had car pool and they
were captured in the car and we
had to have discussions or I
was able to hear what they were
talking about, those are
wonderful days and they're great
kids and just, you know, I --
I miss having the time and them
having the time to
be able to talk.
>> Okay.
Okay.
As -- as we know, some of the
incoming Council Members are
going to draw the short straw
and have to run again in two
years.
What will each of you do if you
draw a two-year Council term?
How will that change
the way that you govern?
Sheri, you first?
>> If we draw the two-year term?
>> Yeah.
>> You know, that's really a
short period of time and I think
a lot of it is that so many of
the Council Members have not
served before, which
is a good thing.
I mean, I think we're all ready
for change and we're ready for
new faces and new voices, but
there's going to be a little bit
of a learning curve there and
so part of the time early on is
going to be spent getting up to
speed and I think there are a
lot of projects and reviews that
all of us have talked about on
the campaign trail that have
been some of the decisions that
have been made recently on the
Council that we really want to
take a look at.
So it's just -- it's going to be
kind of a high speed philosophy
and thought process
that goes along.
There's just not going to be a
lot of time to get things done
so I think, you know, full speed
ahead and a lot of attention to
-- to really good ideas
and that communication,
building that up very quickly,
but -- but we've been working
hard and fast in this campaign
and certainly during this
period.
So I think we'll -- we'll be
ramped up to go pretty quickly.
>> Okay.
Saw a lot of nodding
there, Mandy.
>> Well, actually, I don't
think much would change.
>> Okay.
>> I would want to do in two
years what I would do in four,
which is try and
build consensus,
make sure that there's
transparency at City Hall,
include stakeholders
in decisions;
and so whether I would do that
for two years and then run for
reelection or do it for four,
I don't really think it'll make
much difference.
>> Okay.
>> So I'm not
worried about that.
>> Okay.
This isn't the first
time you've been here.
Certainly, not the first time
you've been in a forum with me,
in front of these folks.
What have you learned
from your opponent?
What?
What?
>> Sheri has a lot of good
ideas that I have learned from.
We are very different in
our approaches, and I think,
in the way we would
manage and make decisions,
but I appreciate the -- the
thought that she gives to her
decision making.
I have -- I'm interested in
learning about her real estate
company.
I don't really know very
much about real estate.
I've been spending most of my
time on boards and commissions
and -- and non-profit boards and
haven't really spent much time
getting to know the sorts
of things that Sheri's been
involved in.
So I look forward
to doing that more.
>> Okay.
Sheri?
>> You know, we were so
fortunate in District 10 and I
know other districts
have said the same thing,
but we had an amazing
group of candidates.
Articulate, thoughtful,
intelligent,
and we spent a lot of
time together at forums.
You know, it seems like it was
30 plus that we were there,
and as you -- as you make the
decision to run for office,
and you build your area of
expertise and your knowledge,
you know, there is so much that
you have to learn to be a viable
candidate and be a
knowledgeable candidate;
and every forum I would sit in,
I would hear new information and
new ideas and new solutions from
each of the other candidates,
and -- and there was just so
much that was learned from all
of them and it's been a
wonderful process and I count
them as friends and hope that we
will stay connected because it
was just a -- a really good
-- great group of people.
>> Okay.
You hear it again and again.
A tale of two Austins.
Right?
Some Council Members
will represent the haves,
some the have nots, some
districts will be a mix of both.
What can you learn from other
Council Members and their
constituents to help
the city as a whole?
Sheri?
>> Well, I think part of it is,
it goes back to leadership and
what things I have done in the
past that I will bring to the
table as a Council Member and
I think taking those leadership
roles that are in organizations
that cover all of Austin has
given me the knowledge of -- of
what other people need and what
services we can provide
and how to do that best.
I've heard that voice and I've
been involved with every --
every part of Austin.
My career has been
in real estate.
I sell houses and help people
find homes and I go wherever my
client's want me to go; and that
means for the last 35 years,
I have been in every
neighborhood in Austin.
So because of that, I'm familiar
with all of Austin and I think
that expert -- expertise, not
only from being in my district
for so long, being born here
and being here over 50 years,
but having that input and impact
and -- and connection to the
rest of the community
is really important.
>> Okay.
Mandy.
>> Would you repeat the question
just so I can get it clear?
>> Sure.
A tale of two Austins is
what we're --
>> Right.
>> -- looking at here.
Some Council Members are going
to represent the folks who
have --
>> Right.
>> -- some the folks who don't,
and some will be a mix of both.
What will you learn from the --
the other Council Members and
their constituents to
help the city as a whole?
>> We really do have a huge
economic divide in Austin and
I'm hoping that as a Council,
we can look at that and try and
find ways to diminish it.
I have been able to spend time
in lots of different parts of
town, working on
different things.
I was on the Community
Action Network,
which is now the Community
Advocacy Network,
for a number of years, served on
the Community Foundation Board,
have spent a lot of time trying
to make lives better in Austin
all over town; and so I think I
have a pretty good idea of what
some of the problems are and I
really look forward to talking
to the representatives from
the other districts to find out
their perspectives and -- and
how they think that we can
improve the lives
of those folks.
>> Okay.
Let's talk for a minute
about regionalism.
You guys are going to be from a
district that is as far flung as
it gets when we're talking
about these districts.
How are you going to -- what
leadership skills will you use
as you get on regional entities,
Camp O that sort of thing.
Mandy, you're up first.
>> I think the same leadership
skills that I hope to employ at
the Council.
It's a matter of
talking to people,
finding out their points
of view, their needs,
and making sure that
their voices are heard.
And we have got to
collaborate regionally.
It doesn't do any good for
Austin to have wonderful plans
or water conservation or
transportation solutions if we
can't extend those to the
surrounding communities.
They need to buy in to the same
values and goals that we have,
and working with them to make
sure that that happens is going
to be absolutely critical
because Austin can't be
successful if the region
is not successful.
>> Okay.
Sheri?
>> I agree with that and I think
that we need to remember that
we're not the island,
you know, in the state,
that they are -- we are
impacted by all the cities,
all the areas around us
and there does need to be
collaboration and communication
between all of the entities.
Once again, it goes back to,
as Mandy said, listening,
asking the questions,
taking that process,
and going back to the
community to talk about it.
The -- I just think that that's
really important for us to be
able to do and to have impact,
both from Austin out and also
out into Austin, and really
listen -- and learn from others.
You know, we have a tendency to
-- to try to reinvent the wheel,
but we can look at other places
that have experienced the same
issues we have, learned
from their mistakes.
That's one of the advantages
about being a native Austinite
and living here so long is I've
been able to be here long enough
to understand and see the
results of both the good and bad
decisions.
When the Council
makes a decision,
it's often a decade before what
the decision is implemented and
actually serves the population,
and I think the historical view
of that is really important
for thoughtful decision making.
>> You both -- you both touched
on an -- an interesting issue
there.
Mandy talked about plans.
Sheri talked about the time it
takes for Austin to implement
something.
Let's, for a minute, accept the
idea that Austin is a city of a
lot of plans on shelves.
How will you lead to make
some of those plans a reality?
Sheri, you're up first.
>> One of the things
that we heard,
or that I heard as we walked
neighborhoods and talked to
people and had events and
invited and -- and listened at
the forums was, there's
such a frustration, now,
with the length of time and the
amount of time and the amount of
money it takes to get anything
through the city process.
And so I think we have --
need to have some very high
expectation from the city
manager that our departments are
run efficiently and effectively
and -- and always have in mind
being conscious of spending
the tax dollar wisely;
and so there -- there's a lot of
places that I think we need to
work on as far as an
efficiency of departments.
>> Okay.
Mandy?
>> Well, that frustration is
one of the things that -- that
inspired me to run for Council
because I've been on task forces
that came up with really
excellent recommendations that
may not have had much impact.
And so I think it's really
important to acknowledge the
amount of time that the
stakeholders put into coming up
with these recommendations and
acknowledge that they really do
represent the people who have
the most to gain or lose with
the changes that are
being considered;
so I'm hoping that we can give
more credence and more weight to
the task forces and that we
really adopt plans and then
stick to them.
An important example of
that is Imagine Austin.
You know, we're going to be
rewriting the Land Development
Code, which is going to be one
of the biggest tasks before the
new Council.
And making sure that it reflects
the values from Imagine Austin
is going to be
absolutely critical.
A lot of people spent a long
time identifying those values
and coming up with ways to
honor them and include them,
and if we don't make sure that
the Land Development Code honors
that and reflects those, then
I think it's going to be really
unfortunate.
>> Okay.
There -- there are a
number -- as you guys know,
there are a number of
subcommittees and boards that
the City Council Members have
a pleasure of serving on,
not just the regional entities.
Have you guys given any thought
to which boards you think you'd
be most effective on?
Go ahead, Mandy.
>> The Council Committees?
>> Yes.
The Council Subcommittees.
>> Okay.
I would really like to serve on
Health and Human Service and I
would like to serve on the
Audit and Finance Committees.
Those are two that
really speak to me.
Having graduated
from the LBJ School,
I am crazy about budgets.
I'm one of the weird people I
know who really enjoys reading
budgets and scrubbing them and
digging really deeply into them.
So that would be a
real pleasure for me.
The other, as I said, is the
Health and Human Service because
we have so many absolutely
fabulous organizations in Austin
that serve many, many human
needs and I would like to see
the city strengthen those
relationships so that those
groups can do an even better
job of serving the needs of the
community.
>> Okay.
Sheri.
>> You know, as a business owner
for the past 35 years and -- and
having kept that business
open through three economic
up-and-down cycles, I look at
budget and I see that, perhaps,
the city needs to be run in a
manner that -- that mirrors a
little bit more towards
business owners and a business.
Sound budgeting,
controlling expenses.
I mean, our affordability issue
right now is -- is based on --
on a lot of -- of
non-controlling and
overspending, and I think that's
really important to -- to get a
handle on those.
Customer service, you know I
hear that over and over again.
I think we need -- we've got
great city employees but I think
we need to work a little bit
on customer service, there.
I just -- I think that the
affordability issue is so
substantial in this town
and it's -- it's impacted so
substantially by the fact that
we're not controlling expenses,
and perhaps, we're spending on
things other than core services,
which is what we need
to be spending on.
All of our neighborhoods are --
are screaming for libraries that
need to be improved, and
potholes that need to be fixed,
and parks that need
to be maintained,
and sidewalks that
need to be built.
And talking about affordability,
housing is of an interest to me.
So that is the other place that
I would like to have an impact.
It's what I've
done for 35 years.
We've got to maintain
affordability,
both in a home ownership
and the rental market.
Over half of the people in
Austin rent and if rents go up,
my children, who
have great jobs,
can't afford to buy close to
where they work so they have to
leave.
So we have to make sure that --
that we manage the expenses of
property owners so that they
can keep those rents affordable.
So that's -- that's one of the
places I would really like to
work.
>> Okay.
Unfortunately, we have -- only
have time for one more and then
I'm going to have to limit you
guys to each -- 30 seconds each.
[Laughter]
At the --
>> Sound familiar.
>> At the end of your term,
what is the biggest mark you
would like to leave on your
district?
And I think you're
up first, Sheri.
>> You know, I think being a
leader that understands the
responsibility of leadership
is leading people in the right
direction; and that means that
you make thoughtful decisions,
you -- you build
consensus, you listen,
but you make sure that your
government decisions that you
make as a Council Member are
leading the city in the right
direction and that's
what a good leader does.
>> Okay.
Mandy?
>> One of the marks
I would like to make,
and sort of be remembered for,
is helping to shepherd the new
Land Development Code.
It is going to affect Austin and
how it's -- how it grows for the
next 15, 20, 30 years ,and
having spent 7 years on the
planning commission, working not
only on Imagine Austin but also
the downtown plan in working
with lots of neighborhoods to
develop their
neighborhood plans.
I think it is going to be
extremely important that we
reflect the values and the
hard work of all the people who
worked on those and make sure
that the Land Development Code
is exactly what
we need it to be.
>> Okay.
That's all the time
we have for tonight.
Thanks to both of you, Mandy
Dealey and Sheri Gallo.
All of the run-off conversations
and our conversation with the
newly elected candidates
for District 2, 5,
and 9 will be
available on YouTube.
Early voting in the run-off
election starts December 1st.
Election day is December 16th.
For KLRU, Leadership Austin, the
Annette Strauss Institute for
Civic Life and KUT,
I'm Michael Kanin,
thanks so much for watching.
[Music]
[Applause]
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