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 puts Austin and the rideshare companies constructively back at the negotiating table.”

Adler continued on to say that only an “against” vote will allow Austin to continue searching for the right solutions for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft. If you remember, a few months ago, Adler tried to broker a compromise between City Council and the ride-hailing companies that would incentivize drivers to voluntarily undergo fingerprint-based background checks. In the end, the effort failed, but it is now clear that Adler still has hopes that a better solution can be found.

“After the election is over, we’ll need to be at our most innovative, creative and collaborative to simultaneously keep Uber and Lyft in town, keep Austin local, and best provide for material public safety choices,” Adler wrote.

If Prop 1 passes, City Council will be prohibited from making any real changes to the ride-hailing ordinance for at least two years.

Several members of City Council held a press conference of their own late last month, also coming out against Prop 1 and calling Uber and Lyft’s campaign ads misleading and deceptive.

As the Austin American-Statesman reports, Garza raised this issue at the press conference, saying that, “Uber and Lyft are running a deceptive campaign in a blatant attempt to confuse the voters and allow corporations to write their own rules. These misleading campaign ads are simply reprehensible and are a huge disservice to our community.”