Austin’s Proposition A was crushed Tuesday, as voters overwhelmingly rejected a plan to hire hundreds of police officers at a cost city officials say they could not afford without making significant budget cuts elsewhere.
November 04, 2021 – By Ryan Autullo – Source Austin American-Statesman (TNS)
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin’s Proposition A was crushed Tuesday, as voters overwhelmingly rejected a plan to hire hundreds of police officers at a cost city officials say they could not afford without making significant budget cuts elsewhere.
A total of more than 155,000 votes were submitted. Of them, 68% voted against Prop A and 31% voted for Prop A.
The margin was a bit of a shock, as those close to the race came into the night expecting a tighter result following months of strong campaigning on both sides.
The vote was prompted by signed petitions gathered by Save Austin Now — the same political action committee behind the vote to reinstate the homeless camping ban in May.
Co-founder Matt Mackowiak told the American-Statesman in October he would consider leaving Austin if Prop A failed. But following Tuesday’s defeat, Mackowiak made it sound like he’s here to stay and will continue working to change local politics.
Mackowiak is the chair of the Travis County Republican party.
In a tweet, Mackowiak said: “Tonight was a setback. But we are not defeated. We will triple our commitment to making Austin a great place to live, work and raise a family. We haven’t saved Austin yet. But we will.”