Local government is important. It’s the branch of government that affects your life the most, and yet, many of us can barely remember the name of our mayor or City Council member. That’s why we break it all down for you in a way that’s clear, easy-to-understand, and even a little fun. No PhD in poli sci needed!
New to The Austin Common? Here’s two ways we suggest learning more about local government:
#1 – Get yourself a copy of “A Beginner’s Guide To Local Government: Austin Edition.”
#2 – Start reading our Civics 101 news stories, conveniently laid out for you below.
This video and blog are part of our ongoing “Civics 101” series, designed to teach Austinites why local government matters and how to get involved. Let’s be honest. Budgets are not inherently the most exciting of topics. Why watch a video about how the city
Remember last month when President Obama came to town? The city feared his visit would bring along a traffic nightmare. The opposite happened. Austinites listened to the Mayor’s recommendations to work from home and the city saw astonishing reductions in traffic. Travel times on that
As part of our “Civics 101” project, the Austin EcoNetwork will also be partnering with in.gredients to host a summer happy hour series, dedicated to teaching City Hall newbies how to get involved. With this series we’ll be bringing the information to life, with inspiring
The Uber/Lyft debate continued last week when Mayor Adler officially came out against Prop 1. In a written statement, Adler said that while he doesn’t think that either Prop 1 choice is best for Austin, he will be voting against Prop 1 because, “such a vote
As part of his continued focus on transportation, Mayor Adler recently finished an innovation exchange trip to Europe with the US Secretary of Transportation as part of the Smart City Challenge. (As a reminder, Austin is one of seven finalist for the challenge. If we win, Austin will
Austin Mayor Steve Adler kept his focus on transportation last week as he traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark on an innovation exchange trip with the US Secretary of Transportation as part of the Smart City Challenge. (As a reminder, Austin is one of seven finalist for the challenge.
In other transportation news, Mayor Steve Adler has been busy lately, advocating for Austin in the US Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge. Austin is currently one of seven finalists. The winner will receive $50 million to leverage technology in building out a better transportation
Hate Austin traffic? Now’s your chance to do something about it. Mayor Steve Adler has named 2016 the Year of Mobility, and City Council is serious about doing something to fix Austin’s transportation woes. But first, they want your input. Last week, the City of
“The most important office in a democracy is the office of citizen.” That’s what President Obama said to a packed house at the Long Center earlier this month as he delivered the keynote address at SXSW. Throughout his speech, Obama focused on this issue of community
On February 24th, nearly 100 Austinites joined Rainforest Partnership Executive Director Niyanta Spelman, Texas Interfaith Associate Director Yaira Robinson, and Huston-Tillotson student Brittany Foley, as well as Austin Mayor Steve Adler, to discuss what the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement means for Austin at a local
Last night, Austin came together to discuss a very important topic – climate change. At “The Paris Climate Agreement, An Austin Perspective” event, cohosted by the Austin EcoNetwork and the Rainforest Partnership, nearly 100 people came together to learn more about Austin’s role in the global
In case you missed it, the Uber/Lyft issue is officially headed to an election on May 7th. Despite some last minute maneuvering by Mayor Steve Adler to pass a compromise agreement that would make fingerprint-based background checks voluntary and avoid an election, in the end, this