Austin City Charter

This December 9, 2011, letter from attorney David Richards of Richards Rodriquez & Skeith LLP endorses the 10-1 plan for electing council members from geographic districts and opines that such a plan would be viewed favorably by the U.S. Department of Justice for compliance with the Voting Rights Act.

This undated letter from MALDEF legislative attorney Luis Figueroa to the 2012 Charter Revision Committee supports changing the method of electing all council members at-large to a system of electing all council members from single-member (geographic) districts.

The Charter Revision Working Group considered nine suggested changes to the Austin City Charter to address issues related to campaign financing. The full Charter Revision Committee discussed and voted on these changes at its December 8, 2011, meeting.

This draft was prepared by attorney Steve Bickerstaff, based on California's Voters First Act. It would set up an impartial selection process for the appointment of members of a Citizens Redistricting Commission to take political influence out of the equation.

This draft was prepared by attorney Steve Bickerstaff, based on California's Voters First Act, which took the responsibility for redrawing the boundaries of the state's 120 legislative districts away from the legislature and created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.