Fluoride Free Austin is an alliance of concerned citizens from all walks of life united behind the goal of eliminating the dangerous and costly practice of community water fluoridation. Fluoride Free Austin is not a card-carrying, dues-paying organization. It is a fire in the minds of men and women–a fire that will not die until Austin’s drinking water is free of the artificially introduced, health damaging hazardous waste toxin fluoride. If you agree with our objectives, then, wherever you may live, you can be a part of Fluoride Free Austin. Welcome on board.

You can actively help our campaign by downloading and distributing our handouts, sending us interesting news items to post and–if you live in the Austin area–emailing, calling or writing to City Council members and signing up to speak before the City Council. You can also take advantage of our Reading Room page, with its outstanding collection of links, to educate yourself and others. Please explore our website and make use of the resources you find there.

PLACE 2 ELECTION REVISITED


Now that the excitement and craziness of the May 12 City Council elections is over, some Monday-morning quarterbacking is in order. The official electronic vote count showed 55.6% for Mike Martinez, the Gentlemen’s Agreement candidate, vs. 44.4% for Laura Pressley, Ph.D., the candidate of government rectitude and accountability. Throughout, Dr. Pressley ran a clean campaign, demonstrated enormous grace under pressure, and won a large, devoted following crossing all ethnic and socioeconomic lines. Starting as an unknown, she has emerged a formidable contender with a real future in Austin politics, should she so desire. We hope she will.

Meanwhile, we can reflect on some of the goings-on of the past few months. But first, a bit of back story. Since the early 1970’s, an unwritten so-called “gentlemen’s agreement” to reserve two minority seats on the 7-member Council has prevailed. Set up by a group of Anglo male power players on the Austin political/business scene—including Martinez’ current wife’s late father—the arrangement was devised not to empower minorities but to preserve the same at-large system of City Council elections which is under fire today. Far from encouraging local grassroots leadership, it fosters the emergence of establishment-backed candidates of color. Indeed, the current beneficiaries: Mike Martinez (Hispanic, Place 2) and Sheryl Cole (African-American, Place 6) have both spoken of it as obsolete, while clinging to it as long as it serves them. But, although not legally enforceable, it has rarely been challenged.

Laura Pressley challenged the status quo—a gutsy move long overdue. And while senior Hispanic politicos like former Mayor Gus Garcia grumbled, most voters saw nothing amiss in an Anglo woman jumping in and giving Martinez a run for his money. Hopefully, with redistricting, the Gentlemen’s Agreement will soon be consigned to the dustbin of Austin’s most embarrassing history. (See Fluoride Follies blog: Austin’s Racist “Gentlemen’s Agreement.”)

Meanwhile, Martinez may have hung on to his seat, but it wasn’t easy for him despite a war chest well-stuffed with donations from highly-connected players and the name recognition of an incumbent council member and EX-Mayor Pro Tem. Throughout, he appeared terrified of Pressley and for good reason: not only did she do well in the Anglo majority voting sector, she carried off an impressive share of support from Austin’s Hispanic community including local LULAC. He sent spies to her office and raised a flap about an in-kind contribution of 200 hamburgers she received. His campaign strategy focused lopsidedly on an attempt to tar his opponent as “a Ron Paul Republican, and we can’t have one of those.” (Pressley an independent, proudly supports Paul.) His efforts to further paint her as a crazy fluoride candidate didn’t gain much traction, nor did those of some local “journalists” who goose-stepped to the same tune. The campaign was about issues—on Pressley’s side, anyway. In the end, Martinez’s victory was a bleak one. It probably had most to do with his advantage in funding – nearly six times hers: $180,000 vs $33,000.



May 20, 2012

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