Good Tuesday morning --
This week is a crucial one for public safety in our city.
The most critical meeting of the year that will have a devastating impact on every Austinite will be this Wednesday 9:00 am at City Hall.
More significant than the day our City Council voted to Defund our Police.
Please SUPPORT a 4 year contract for our officers by signing up to speak against ITEM 1: 1 year police contract that was never successfully negotiated or agreed to by the Austin Police Association.
At the last City Council meeting on police contract, 79 speakers spoke and ONLY 5 speakers who spoke in support of the police. It is understandable many people have professions, businesses to run and children to raise, however, the anti-police show up in droves and the City Council is under the false impression these fringe, radical extremists represent the majority of our city, and consequently how it was decided to defund our police.
Because we DID NOT MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD and let these anti-police activists speak for us, known police abolitionists like Chas Moore, the leader of Austin Justice Coalition (whose stated goal is to abolish the police) were able to Defund our Police and we are now at police staffing crisis never before seen by our city.
Austin Police Association proposed the most progressive oversight model in the state. Police officers should not be used as political pawns.
It serves no one to have a demoralized, understaffed and strained police force that cannot retain its officers of adequately recruit new ones.
Austin Police Department (APD) has been negotiating a new 4-year contract with the city for a long and challenging year. The current contract expires March 31, 2023. City Manager Spencer Cronk and Austin Police Association president Thomas Villareal announced a deal on a four-year contract last week.
Save Austin Now co-founder Cleo Petricek has attended several of the negotiation sessions. We understand APD and the city have mutually agreed 4-year contract. But the anti-police folks (and some socialist members of council) want to interfere with that process by changing the term of the contract to 1 year, which will further decimate our already depleted police force.
There are 2 options to speak, and both require that you sign up.
You can sign up below -- it takes one minute to sign up (against item #1). The sign up deadline is noon on Tuesday.
** Here is the sign-up link here. **
Underground parking at City Hall is free - get your parking ticket validated when you enter the council chambers (first floor).
Please voice your OPPOSITION to Agenda Item 1 by speaking at this Wednesday's meeting.
It is more impactful to speak in person however, for those unable to speak in person, the phone option is as easy as can be:
Once you sign up, you will receive a call at or about 10 am on Thursday. That call will put you in line to speak. Don't hang up! Leave your phone on and go about your business. When your name is called, simply make your statement. It can be as simple as "My name is ______ and I DO NOT SUPPORT resolution 1." You will have at least 1 minute to have your say, so feel free to say something like "Austin needs fully staffed and supported police department, my experiences calling for police..." Please consider at least speaking by phone if you are able!
PLEASE NOTE that you are able to sign up to speak about either or both agenda items, but your total time will be limited to 1-2 minutes. We may not know the allotted time until Wednesday morning, so keep that in mind.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING AUSTIN!!
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SUPPORT OUR WORK
You can support our efforts to hold city leaders accountable for their decisions here. If you wish to send a check to ("Save Austin Now PAC" and mail to 807 Brazos Street Suite 701, Austin, TX 78701).
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As we have said before, we have only begun to fight!
Thank you!
-Matt Mackowiak & Cleo Petricek
Co-founders, Save Austin Now PAC
> Questions? Email Matt.
> Learn more: http://www.SaveAustinNowPAC.com
Will you please support our efforts now?
You may donate to our legal effort here to force full enforcement of Prop B here: https://secure.anedot.com/save-austin-now-pac/save-austin-now-pac-legal-fund-c4cfa533f8ab98c9da232.