Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, September 21, 2010,
Citizens Communication
>> Citizens communication is Next. This item gives residents an Opportunity to address the Court on any matter not on the Agenda.
>> judge?
>> yes.
>>
>> [inaudible].
>> thank you, ms. Porter. I was just testing you to see If your vacation had clogged Your mind. All in favor? That passes by unanimous vote. We would been in public Hearing all day without you. The following citizens have Signed in. Dina mayer, are you here on The health care budget District?
>> yes.
>> marie seal. Morris priest. And please join mr. Priest, Paul kwakowski. Rodney heest. Rodney? This says 6, 7 and 8. 6, 7 and 10:00.
>>
>> [inaudible].
>> rodney ahart. Citizens communication on the 6, 7 and 10 items.
>> yes, sir
>> [inaudible].
>> we'll see you later. Karen prince. Health care district budget. Please come forward. Grab the chair of your choice. Please come forward at this --
>>
>> [inaudible].
>> is that an item on the Agenda?
>> 6.
>> we'll see you on item Number 6. Charles williams, we'll see You on 6 also.
>> yes, sir. Alan parker, health care District.
>> present. Yes.
>> david featherton.
>> health care district.
>> clint smith, vote rescue. Please come forward. You are here for citizens Communication, right? Alisa chambers.
>> right here.
>> now, as one speaker Finishes, i will call another. Mr. Priest, please proceed.
>> thank you, judge, Commissioners, morris priest Speaking on my own behalf. I did want to let people know That when we look at our Elected officials today, time And time again we see agenda Driven individuals instead of Public servants. We need to really put the Servant back into our public Servant. We look at different boards And bodies and commissions Such as campo or ctrma or Central health care district And we see this legislation is Passed at our capitol such as Toll roads, being told that, You know, we voted this in. But then we see this evolving Legislation come in after toll Roads, items such as quick Takes which was implemented Into the legislation. Terrible programs that have Put a burden on law Enforcement such as the driver Responsibility program. We see these agendas all the Time and these same agendas Are given by the same Individuals that are driven by An agenda versus being a Public servant. We see this even in our local Jurisdictions here in travis County. On wednesday, September 15th, we had a Health care managers meeting. This notice was posted in our Courthouse by dana debouvier, And i did talk to the county Attorney and i do believe We're in 100% disagreement. We did agree on the language That persons in the audience Request specific items be Moved from consent agenda to Regular agenda for discussion. And when we see these public Notices posted in our Courthouse and having our Seal, our county, we see that We have no citizens comments On this agenda. We also see that consent Agenda public notice is not Complied with, and then we see That we don't get to speak on A regular agenda item. We've seen this at campo with Senator watson pulling Citizens comments from the Campo agenda at the capitol. We've also seen this happen With williamson county vice Chair of the campo board Pulling agenda item 8 which i Received a letter from our Hays county judge. But we also see a Nonresponsive travis county Court that knows that these Things are going on and Doesn't comply with even if It's not the law, some things May be lawful but not all Things are possible. And there seems to be an Agenda driven atmosphere Instead of a public servant Atmosphere and that's why i'm Choosing to vote for david and Mike mcnamara as county Commissioner and county judge. We need good leadership. We need to also learn how to Approach these things and who To talk to. The department of public Safety are the ones that Regulate our toll fees on sh 130, but time and time again We hear people on the campo Board thinking that it's text Txdot. The process has become so Convoluted by developer, Council and court. Thank you.
>> thank you, mr. Priest. Mr. Smith is next. Would ray nadner please come Forward.
>> thank you, judge, Commissioners. My name is clint smith. I represent the great baptist Organization. We want to give full credit to The county commissioners for Much of what you've done the Last few years for the Community. I mentioned last week, for Example, judge biscoe, your Work on the equity commission Study and so forth. We're still implementing Recommendations. We also feel very strongly as The last speaker mentioned That you are faced with an Agenda driven kind of Situation and we would like to Help you help yourselves begin To be more responsive to the People. We know you can be and we want To help you be. We've been here the last few Weeks and represented the Diversity of gray panthers Ethnically, age-wise and so Forth. Today as he mentioned last Week, we want to give you an Idea of the consequences we Face when our elected Officials are not able to be As responsive as you would Like to. Quite frankly, last night i Was with the community action Network and we were glad to Make the comments we did Favorably about the sheriff's Office and the district Attorney and some of the Things being done in the Community. However, on the other hand, This morning i sent each of You copies of a statement that Ms. Allysa chambers will make To you in a few minutes which Reflects the lack of Responsiveness, particularly Of the austin city council. I think this was reflected Last week this the hearings in Connection with water matters But i won't go into those. What we want to do is try to Give you a example. This is a young family this Happened to. 15 years of struggle in Connection with housing Matters that our federal Government, our local Government, our state Governments have said people Have a right to. Now, gray panthers would like To work with you and we all Would and support our elected Officials. We think we have a broken System. I'll turn this over to Ms. Chambers to let you know a Little about what people face. I'm reminded of the points, i Was years ago in the military, A young military officer in Eastern france. We did all sorts of prisoner Transfers and so forth. I had a chance to get to Germany to look at some of the Old concentration camps. Hitler was elected. It's interesting in the Material we've sent to you, But the german government, the German court has outlined or Refused to continue to use Voting machines. They think there's a lesson There. With that i'll wind up my Statement and introduce miss Allysa chambers. Thanks.
>> [applause]
>> miss chambers.
>> good morning.
>> [applause] My name is allysa chambers of Austinites lobbying for Municipal accountability, Alma. As of today we have joined Vote rescue, lulac and this Growing initiative for Electoral reform. And we have reasons. Judge biscoe, you may recall That alma, the gray panthers And travis county broken party Met with you in 2007 bringing To your attention as top Elected official possible Produced animal nissan by Austin and travis county Officials. If you wish, we'll submit the Documentation of those Discussions. No action was taken. Total magazine articles Entitled phantom funds 1 and 2 Recently reported the adverse Consequences of inaction. Page 5 reflects forged Municipal document. Now here we are again, alma, The green party and gray Panthers on the same issues. This time lulac, vote rescue And other allies are here also Concerned with adverse Consequences to the public. For example, affordable Housing programs are a common Grievance, as mr. Gus peen in A stated on september 7th And lulac and sunset testimony Also requested an Investigation just as we have. A lack of systemic Accountability pervades. Mismanaged housing programs Are only one of one of many Public service areas forecar Righteous abuses. Complaints and enforcement of Laws, codes and ordinances Reflect actions that shut People out and impose Financial hardships, cripple Their future and annihilate Hope. Whether east austin or west, The suburbs or ranches, Homeowners or small Businesses, an unaccountable And unresponsive system Enables the loss of lives, Liely hoods, homes, property Rights and due process of the Law. Alma, the green party and the Gray panthers repeatedly Reported patterns of practice, Forgery, unaccounted for Public records, public funds, And other criminal actions, Yet no public official Referred these matters for Investigation. Finally, your honor, when our Group met in '07, we also Alerted to you the county's Incremental shift of traffic From a public road on to a Senior citizen's homestead and County easement. The county shifted its burden, Expense and liability on to The property owner and Neighbors. Consequently, public safety Has been jeopardized and Property rights and civil Liberties violated, yet we've Still heard no response. Systemic accountability is our Right. It begins but does not end With an electoral system and Procedure that assures Accurately counted votes. Thank you votes.
>> thank you, miss chambers.
>> [applause]
>> hold on, please. Chris neilsen please come Forward. Karen rennick also. Yes.
>> good morning, judge biscoe And commissioners. I'm ray nadler olnick, an Organization that advocates For the diskings of water Fluoridation in austin. After 38 years and millions of Dollars spent abundant Evidence has accumulated that This practice is neither Effective nor safe. And for the past two years, Fluoride free members have Been speaking at the citizens Communication portion of the City council meetings in an Effort to educate both the Council and the public about Water fluoridation. It's very likely that this Issue will one day come to a Public vote. And mayor leffingwell hinted As much when he told an austin Carry-on wall reporter, quote, Austin's fluoridation was Actually a result of a public Referendum, and i would think That at a very minimum if the Decision was made not to do That, meaning not to Fluoridate, it should have to Go back to the voters, end of Quote. When that day comes that The -- that the public is Given a chance to correct the Mistake that was made 38 years Ago, we will certainly want to Have a fair and accurate and Transparent voting process. And that is why we support the Admirable efforts of vote Rescue and what they have Achieved so far. And we support the pilot Project for hand counting the Votes in this next election in Travis county. Thank you.
>> [applause]
>> thank you. Would vicky carr please come Forward. Mr. Neilsen.
>> good morning. I'm just going to keep this Short. I'm going to para phrase a Quote from joseph stalin. It is only important that People know that an election Has occurred. The votes themselves do not Matter. It's the people or in this Case the instrument that Counts the vote that matters. Bottom line, if we do not have Accountable voting, if we do Not have verifiable and Recounted voted, what holds Public officials accountable To their constituents if we Can't even tell who elected Them. That's all i have. Thank you.
>> thank you. Ms. Renick and claire decker, Please come forward. Ronnie reeferseed.
>> hi. Good morning, judge and Commissioners. My name is karen renick, i'm The founder and co-director of Vote rescue. Hello?
>> it's on.
>> we hear you.
>> okay. Today what i wanted to do is Correct for the record a Misinterpretation that Occurred based on my testimony Of last week. And just for the public that Is hopefully listening right Now and in our audience today, Our coalition, the hand count Coalition, has been coming, This is our third appearance In a row at the commissioners Court. At our second appearance last Week, at the end of my Testimony, i brought up to the Court's attention that -- that We had just learned that the National organization of League of women voters had Passed a resolution for Transparent elections in all The public aspects of Elections. I did not say and i was Careful in my testimony to say That this did not say they Endorsed hand counting, but That it was for full Transparency in the process. And the reason i'm coming Today to correct the record or At least a communication that Was sent to all the Commissioners from the President of the league of Women voters after my Testimony because she misheard From someone who was here Present at the court, the -- The person who was here Thought that i was saying that The league endorses the hand Count coalition and hand count Paper ballots. I did not say that and my Testimony, which i won't read Today, but it's available Online for anyone to see. I did not say that. I was very careful not to do That. And my colleague, vicky carp, Will take share for the court And the public the exact Wording of that resolution Because i think it is Important to understand what That resolution says. In closing, i wanted to just Make a -- refer to a person That i think a lot of people In this community know. His name is ronnie dugger. He was the founder of the Texas objector. He's written biographies of Lyndon johnson and ronald Reagan and founder of a group And was the first person to Sort of send up a flare about Voting with machines. And he wrote that first Article for the new yorker in 1988. In 2000, he had a followup Article that appeared in the Los angeles times that was Written during the whole Fiasco in florida. But i wanted to, if i have Time, i wanted to at least get In his final paragraph of that Article.
>> [buzzer sounding] Looks like i won't have time To do that. I'll do this next week. Thank you very much.
>> thank you. Ms. Carp.
>> good morning, commissioners And judge. Vote rescue and our hand count Coalition are pleased to be Back here in court to Acknowledge the upcoming very Positive change to our County's election systems in November, being that all Travis county voters will Apparently have the option This november to choose Whether to vote on a paper Ballot or by machine according To the statement that the Judge sent out yesterday Expressing the intentions of Our county clerk dana Debouvier. And while we are very pleased To receive this statement from You, our coalition does want To remind the court as well as All of our voters that in the Upcoming plan, these ballots Will still be counted in Secret by computerized Scanners. At least that is our Anticipation. We believe that full integrity And transparency in our Election systems will be Restored only when citizens And not machines are counting Our votes, and that is why We're promoting a pilot Program for hand counting Paper ballots in november in Select precincts. We're gathering the names of More citizen volunteers daily Who are eager to participate In this hand count project and We look forward to having more Discussion with the county Election office about that. And i'd like to close by Reading the league of women Voters resolution that was Adopted on the national level. Resolution, whereas the league Of women voters has been an Active champion of openness And transparency in government Throughout our history, and Whereas problems arising from The use of electronic voting Systems led to the league of Women voters u.s. Adoption of The sara resolution,, s-a-r-a, That our voting systems be Accurate and accessible and Whereas the principle of Transparency will include the Current sara resolution and Enhance public confidence in Elections which are the basis Of our democracy. And whereas election Transparency means full public Access to all election Procedures in order to allow Meaningful verification of Ballot handling, auditing and Related records and whereas Furthermore in january 2009, League of women voters task Force issued its report on Election auditing which Repeatedly emphasized the Critical need for Transparency. Therefore be it revolved add The -- as adopted in the 2004 League of women voters u.s. Convention and amended to the 2006 league of women voters U.s. Convention. Our hand count coalition Believes aren't only with Precinct citizen hand counting Of our votes can this crucial Transparency factor be Restored to our elections.
>> [applause]
>> thank you. Mr. Reeferseed.
>> i have to stop clapping for These wonderful ladies. I'm ronnie reeferseed. Screaming wake up, no more Time for obama fog especially For the kids trapped in our Public kids that promotes Laziness and through the Teachers unions overreaching, Underfunded state and federal Mandates impose odd taxpayers Who by the way are supposedly Only imagining their economic Melt down because it was just Announced the so-called Recession ended many moons in The past. Does the phase could you tell Of touch come to mind? How about out to lunch or out Of their freaking minds. We can rise up in all their Hypnotized schemers who are Actively promoting a policy Promoting death as a favorable Out come for closed door cost Cutting screams designed by Psychopaths who are laughing At you and me and the horror Of massive self-imposed death Is being taught as our only Choice because it's diabolical Means that have been injected Into our bodies that became More accepted and we -- as we All learn more like the water We were talking about. As on and on down the line. Bingo, that's it. The glorious truth is shining Through to more citizens every Minute. Every day who call toll free 24/7 for weekly updates from Your friend and mine, ob-gyn Ron paul and call toll free to Get american free press, the Best truly populace Publication to offer original Articles about dr. Paul and Extrapolate ron paul Revolution of love for all Babies. Liberty and our precious u.s. Constitution. Speaking of all babies, lock Step obamasthons how do you Explain during the first year Of -- more black babies were Executed than were allowed to Be born alive. Huh? This is really, peel. Pay attention. Right here in wealthy usa more Than 50% of all black babies Who were conceived were Murdered in the womb with a Genesis from the white house Like the science czar and also Including kenyan born -- So-called barack obama, ie, Barry sotoro cheering hurrah. Last weekend holden called for Insipid mass sterilization Against our will through toxic Sludge and poison fluoridated Water and tainted deadly Vaccines pushed into the mind Numb public by the Teleprompting --
>> [buzzer sounding] Thank you.
>> thank you, mr. Reeferseed. Now, do we have before us Rodney ahart? Charles williams?
>> yes, sir.
>> aaron prince. And your name?
>> john pena with lcra.
>> john pena. You all are here for citizens Communication.
>> good morning, judge, Commissioners, charles Williams, t.n.r. Environmental And we're here to talk about The 16th annual under water Cleanup. Commissioner huber, we Appreciate you being there and Part of the team. 16th annual cleanup, we've Had more than 16,000 Volunteers with over 100,000 pounds of trash picked Up. I think that's pretty Substantial. We are the largest under water Cleanup in the state of texas And probably all the Neighboring states around us. As i hand out the t-shirts, I'm going to let the rest of The partners talk about their Part of the cleanup. And by the way, this cleanup Could not happen without the Partners we have here at this Table with travis county. We all make it come together And we're all a very deep Package that has really done Well.
>> as charles gets set, Everyone should check out his Beautiful boots.
>> i'm erin, executive Director of the colorado river Foundation and this is an Event we look forward to every Year. Our role is the fundraising Efforts that cover the Expenses for the cleanup as Well as media coverage. Each year we raise over $10,000 this cash and that Money is used for the cleanup Supplies, disposal and our Very pop volunteer Appreciation party held at Carlos and charlie's every Year. We coordinate numerous in-kind Donations, the facilities that We use and door prizes for the Volunteers. We're very excited. It was very successful this Year. We're pleased it was over $10,000 this year. Thank you.
>> good morning, judge, Commissioners, rodney ahart, Keep austin beautiful. The lake austin under water Cleanup is one of the most Sought after cleanups that we Have. Keep austin beautiful Primarily handles the Volunteer recruitment. This year alone we had over 500 certified divers that Actually went under water and Collected items. I think our most unusual Object was a barbecue grill, You know, that they found Under water. But we actually coordinate Certified divers. We also have volunteers that Clean along the shoreline. And as has been stated before, There has been a significant Amount of debris that has been Removed as a result of that. It also is an opportunity for The community to come Together. We have -- we have groups Involving everyone from the Girl scouts to the boy scouts To the kiwanis clubs. We also have businesses Participate as well as Opportunities to have Employees be involved in the Community involving h.e.b., Dell, a.m.d. So it really has been a great Opportunity to bring together The community to work on Cleaning a huge asset to this Community. And i personally want to thank The commissioners court for Your support of keep austin Beautiful's efforts.
>> thank you.
>> good morning, judge, Commissioners. This year --
>> name, please. Name again.
>> i'm sorry?
>> name.
>> john pena. This year we assisted in Coordinating with the dive Teams. Several of these dive teams Have been part of the event For several years, but some of Them being part of the event Since the beginning -- since The beginning of when the Event was established 16 years Ago. They look forward to this Event and -- and they Appreciate travis county's Commitment and effort to this Event. Thanks.
>> i just want to say thanks To the partners. Last year when the lake was Low, i believe it was 34 tons Of debris this effort picked Up. This year we did a lot with The divers and it's an awesome Contribution to the community And Lake Travis.
>> keep up the good work.
>> [applause]
>> david buttress. You are on the health care District budget.
>> yes.
>> we'll be there real soon.
>> anybody else for citizens Communication, where you Signed in or not? Any item not on the agenda? If you are here for -- not for An item on the agenda, please Come forward.
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Last Modified:
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 2:20 PM
