Take Action
#DefundAPD to #EndRacism in Austin—Today!
Testify at the budget hearing AND/OR call your Council Member
Starting today, August 12th through the 14th, our city council will be listening to the final round of testimony and then voting on amendments to the city budget. Over 20,000 people have called in to request the city move 100 million dollars from the Austin Police Department (APD).
We are excited to announce that there seems to be unanimous support from all 10 City Council members and the Mayor for addressing safety, justice, quality of life, and civil rights with this budget! However to make this a reality, individual Council Members still need to hear from you at the Public Hearing AND their constituents to get the political cover needed to pass ALL of the budget amendments. In order to do this, the City Council will introduce a new “base motion” comprising Council Members’ budget amendments to defund APD fund community reinvestments instead of the draft budget from the City Manager’s office as the base motion for the new budget. Because of this radical and recent change, we need you to support the “Base Motion for Community Reinvestments” when you call your Council Members or testify at the budget.
If you have signed up to testify ? (Monday was the deadline.) take these steps. If not, skip to the next section!
- Use these talking points drafted by AJC (most pieces should be about 1 min long)
- Want to know more? Check out more background about the base motion and explore through the Council Message Board to see each Council Member outline (and link to) their amendments
If you didn’t sign up to testify, no fear! You can (and should) still call and email your Council Member!
- Look up your Austin City Council Member
- Find your Council Member’s office phone (scroll down; their email is just firstname.lastname@ austintexas .gov)
- Then call and email them! ? Use these talking points drafted by AJC.
Events
Thursday, August 13
Lone Star Statewide Phonebank!
5 p.m. Hosted by Sister District and Indivisible TXLEGE. Democrats need 9 seats in the Texas House to gain majority. That might seem like a lot, but it’s not – there are 150 seats in the chamber. Democrats gained 12 seats in the House in 2018, the biggest shift in the House since Republicans stormed through in 2010. Momentum is now on our side. Leaders & volunteers from all across the state will be calling for five endorsed Texas Candidates.
Saturday, August 15
Pushing For Justice Caravan #JusticeForJavierAmbler
1 p.m., beginning at San Gabriel Park, Georgetown. Come help bring us awareness to Williamson county and seek justice for Javier Ambler. This will be a peaceful, safe, and organized caravan where participants can stay in their vehicle and show support while maintaining social distancing.
Visit justiceforjavierambler.com for more info
Thursday, August 20
Lone Star Statewide Phonebank!
5 p.m. Hosted by Sister District and Indivisible TXLEGE. Democrats need 9 seats in the Texas House to gain majority. That might seem like a lot, but it’s not – there are 150 seats in the chamber. Democrats gained 12 seats in the House in 2018, the biggest shift in the House since Republicans stormed through in 2010. Momentum is now on our side. Leaders & volunteers from all across the state will be calling for five endorsed Texas Candidates.
Saturday, August 22
MEET MJ HEGAR: It’s Time for Senator Cornyn to Go!
1 p.m. It’s time to hold Senator Cornyn accountable for his actions! Please join us and help spread the word about our Texas Payback Project Rally where Texans will gather on Zoom to discuss how Cornyn has failed us and what we can do to flip his seat in November. We’ll cover racism, the environment, and health care specifically during this event through videos and live speakers. We’ll also hear from his opponent, MJ Hegar, on how she plans to do things differently if elected. Hope to see you there!