24 Apr Tina Cannon – 2012 Candidate for Place 5 – Answers to Multi-Environmental Issue Questionnaire

Each 2012 Austin City Council candidate was sent a Multi-Environmental Issue Questionnaire with 28 questions broken into seven subject areas. The questionnaire as well as information about the televised May 23rd Election 2012 Green Forum is here.  Below are the written answers submitted for Tina Cannon:

General

•                What do you believe that Austinites think are significant environmental issues? How do you plan to address those? What positive contributions have you made to environmental efforts in the past?

Austinites are focused on all of the different ways our presence here impacts the environment. Everything from clean air and water quality to cleaner energy, carbon footprint and litter reduction are included. I plan to work with constituents and council to continue to maintain our parklands and reduce Austin’s environmental impact.

•                What is the role of the sustainability officer and what changes–if any–would you like to see to increase sustainability practices in Austin?

A sustainability officer should present to Council a comprehensive view of Austin’s strengths and weaknesses from a sustainability perspective as well as prioritized proposals for improving sustainability which can be reviewed by Council for action. Critical to this process, and many others that Council is responsible for, is rigorous review to ensure that metrics are being achieved.

•                What is your strategy for engaging YOUTH and SCHOOLS in sustainability initiatives?

I like the approach taken by groups like Urban Roots’ YouthLaunch Program, and would like to see more such programs in Austin.

Food

•                What steps do you believe the city can take to ensure long-term sustainability of our local food system, including production, marketing and distribution, and preparation and consumption? How can the City make good food easily available and affordable for all of us living in Austin?

I believe the City recently hired a staffer to focus specifically on food issues. This is a good first step, but again requires proper management as with our Sustainability Officer. Understanding how our food ecosystem works and where bottlenecks exist is the first step toward improvement. I also believe that we should be more focused on understanding way in which the City actually impedes distribution of affordable, quality food and make sure we eliminate unnecessary regulations that get in the way.

Development and Transportation

•                How will you take use of resources and resource availability into account when making decisions about local economic development and incentives?

Resource availability and usage must ALWAYS be considered when assessing economic development and incentives.

•                Do you support construction of SH 45 SW? Why or why not?

My understanding is that the County, and not the City, has final say regarding SH 45. There are, of course, avenues of influence with the County that we can pursue, and I believe we should in order to ensure that reduction of traffic congestion is sustainable and environmentally friendly.

•                Going forward, what are your plans for improving Austin’s pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure?

I am a strong believer in multimodal transportation. These efforts need to be coordinated. I think too often in the past Council has acted to bandage issues rather than to develop and implement a comprehensive solution, which is where my focus would be.

•                Campaign finance reports for Council candidates are not due until the end of April, after Early Voting starts. In the past, candidates have made environmental promises which some believe were undermined by the influence of political donations. In the interest of disclosure and transparency, will you tell us who is bundling contributions for your campaign?

I have committed to not accept campaign contributions from bundlers or from lobbyists registered with the City of Austin. In 2009, my opponent ran on a similar promise, but by 2011 – almost 40% of his campaign contributions were from lobbyists and bundlers.

•                What will you do to create or attract high-wage, family-supporting green jobs to the Austin and Central Texas areas? What will you do to ensure that hard-to-reach populations and communities of color have access to these green jobs?

Council has done an okay job focusing on green jobs. They have left hard-to-reach populations completely out of the mix. My opponent claims to be a problem solver, but I have yet to hear from anyone in South or East Austin what problems he has solved for them. The twenty years I have lived in Austin I have spent mainly in South Austin and (the more recent past) in East Austin. The current at-large system of electing Council ensures that these areas are under-represented and have no voice on Council.  I will be that voice.

•                Politicians often say they are against suburban sprawl – yet they approve water and sewer lines and zoning changes that create it. How are you different? How will you ensure that development pays for itself, i.e. the extension of water and wastewater lines? Do you support or oppose giving a discount on electric and water rates to ratepayers living outside the city? Why or why not?

The proposal to discount electric and water to ratepayers outside the city results largely from past mis-management by Council and the constant draining of funds from Austin Energy via the general fund. We are now faced with rate increases due to past mis-management. Development must pay for itself.

•                Between urban rail, expanding the current light rail system, bus rapid transit, a monorail system or HOV lanes on major roadways, toll lanes which transportation options do you believe would be best and worst for Austin and why?

All are options. All may have their place in a comprehensive transit plan. Suggesting that any one of these is the solution to Austin’s transit issues is disingenuous.

•                As more families are forced to move further out of Austin to find housing they can afford, our traffic is becoming more congested, earning us another distinction as the third most congested city in America and our air quality deteriorates as a result. What would you do to address these interconnected issues? How would you help more residents secure affordable housing in the city?

Access to affordable housing near work areas and public transportation routes is a start. We also need to balance densification of housing in the center of Austin against traffic impacts and concomitant environmental effects.

•                Do you believe that the Formula 1 deal is an “historic agreement” for sustainability? Please explain why or why not. What are your concerns around Formula 1 and what should be done to mitigate the impacts?

I think it would be very difficult for a Formula 1 type venue to be a big win for sustainability. The City did take some measures to ensure that the track is green, and I believe that progress may have been mad there. Given that the deal is done, a primary focus must be strict enforcement of the terms of that deal.

Zero Waste

•                The City Council has passed a plan to reach 90% diversion of our discards from landfills by 2030 and 95% by 2040. Would you support any changes to the Zero Waste plan?  Phase 1 of the Universal Recycling Ordinance (URO) requires all multifamily buildings, office buildings, and institutional properties in the City to recycle. In Phase 2, the City will add a citywide policy for diverting compostables. Phase 3 will include single-family residences in the requirement to recycle and compost. Do you support all three phases of this ordinance?

Yes.

•                Do you believe Austin should ban certain problem materials, such as styrofoam, to keep them out of our waste stream? If so, which materials should we target? If not, how will you deal with problem materials?

I think that the City must continue to analyze waste stream components and make responsible decisions with regards to reducing the environmental impact of waste products, Styrofoam included.

Water, Streams and Trees

•                The health of Barton Springs and its aquifer are always a concern to us. How would you use land acquisition to protect the aquifer? How much would you allocate for this purpose in upcoming bond packages? What new ideas do you have to stop pollution of our waters?

I do support land acquisition to protect the aquifier and would look to allocate funds for this purpose in bond packages. I am always open to new ideas that reduce pollution – air, water, noise, etc.

•                Austin’s residential water rates are among the highest in Texas, and unless Water Treatment Plant 4 is put on the shelf, the cost of water will continue to rise. How will you stop the increase in Austin’s residential water rates?

Some members of current Council failed to lead responsibly on WT4 until it was too late. As the Mayor has stated in speeches, a large component of the cost of water in Austin is due to past mismanagement of the utility and specifically its debt structure. We need to improve oversight and management of the utility.

•                We’re in one of the worst droughts in Texas history yet we are still watering our lawns. What stronger measures do you see as necessary to conserve water beyond the city’s current goals? How do we get to 140 GCPD or less?

Austin has an award winning water conservation plan which is in the process of implementation. Improvements are always possible, and I will work with conservation groups to seek other means to responsibly move the ball forward.

•                Austin has lost thousands of trees during the recent drought, posing a serious threat to our urban forests. What will you do on the Council to protect and replenish these forests? How do these concerns figure into your priorities when it comes to drought response?

This is where “responsibly” moving the ball forward from my prior response comes into play. While we must conserve water, we cannot do so to the total destruction of our urban forests. We have to ensure that proper tree irrigation can and is effected.

•                The City of Austin is currently engaged in a public input process to amend the Watershed Protection Ordinance to help preserve east side creeks. Based on this input the Watershed Protection Department will probably recommend headwater setback buffers to be set at 64 acres in east Austin and the ETJ. Would you support or oppose allowing developers to use expanded creek protection setbacks as part of their Park Land dedication requirements?

I would need to see details, but support the principle in general.

Air

•                What air improvement strategy or set of strategies would you advocate to help clean our air? How can the City leverage its purchasing power to impact air quality?

Stopping burning coal would be a nice start.

•                Pure Casting Foundry emits toxic metals and carcinogenic compounds/particles through the manufacturing process of steel and aluminum products. Residents have registered odor complaints from this facility and others, most of which are located East of IH 35. The TCEQ has installed an air quality monitor on top of Zavala Elementary, which is located directly south of Pure Castings. Would you support the passage of an air quality nuisance ordinance as part of the solution? Also, What steps would you take to relocate this facility in order to protect the health of the children at Zavala Elementary and area residents?

I think there is a question as to what specifically can be done which is being investigated by Council. I strongly support addressing the issue once available options are defined.

Energy and Austin Energy

•                Fayette finally has sulfur dioxide scrubbers installed after many years of delay. Fayette doesn’t have SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology to reduce NOx emissions that contribute to ozone. Fayette has not installed the technology to control the fine particles (PM2.5) that cause premature deaths and asthma attacks within a few hundred miles. Do you support getting Austin out of Fayette, and off of fossil fuels and nuclear power altogether? How do you propose that we do so?

I do support that move, however I am much more interested in an approach which not only gets Austin off of those fuels, but shutters Fayette entirely. Whether we can achieve that goal is a question for negotiation with LCRA.

•                Currently Austin's water rates have 5 tiers. The lowest "lifeline tier" is less than 10% of the highest tier. Do you support a similar rate structure for Austin's electric utility?

This seems to be working for AWU. I would consider something similar for AE, but would want to see the numbers in terms of the overall pricing plan for AE including any proposed ETJ discounts.

•                The City Council adopted the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure ordinance in 2008 as a key component of the Climate Protection Program, with the goal of retrofitting older properties with energy efficiency measures at the point of sale. The program has not yet lived up to expectations, with only 5% of properties sold retrofitted. Would you support mandating some energy efficiency improvements when a home is sold?

Given the current state of the economy and citizen complaints regarding affordability of housing, I think we need to very carefully consider any regulations that add to the cost of home ownership.

• What role does rooftop solar energy have in Austin’s renewable energy mix?

Rooftop solar has a role to play if we can make it economically viable. There is likely an opportunity on the commercial side as well as with