(Community Matters) I loved the humility and the forward vision of Mayor Adler’s State of the City speech last night.
The nerd in me recorded all the applause lines and noted that the overarching theme as Big Cities Do Big Things. Highlighted in the speech: importance of innovation and iterative leadership in solving our problems and the prioritized problems are affordability, mobility, the spirit of East Austin, workforce development, fix permitting and fix Austin Energy.
lines that drew most applause during the speech:
1. And because of decisions this Council made, our utility
will soon become one of the biggest users of solar energy in Texas and in the world.
2. Monument to last minute amendments
3. If time is money, then Austinites are spending an awful lot of money stuck in traffic
4. Cities are great b/c they do great things
5. Ideological positions – doesn’t believe in taking ideological positions. Believes in solutions.
6. Austin needs to build a firebreak that will stop the gentrification or forced displacement of our neighbors in a way that will actually achieve opportunities for permanent affordability or we will lose people and communities all together.
7. Proud to serve with my council colleagues
8. Thanks to Diane Land
9. Determined to make Diane’s sacrifices worth it
10. Thank you to Marc Ott
11. The 200,000 people we cannot lose without losing something of ourselves
12. 5k+ affordable housing units already approved by council
13. Approved neighborhood preservation plan
14. Tens of millions into affordable housing trust fund from towers (& how they are great for the city)
15. Crowdfunding using Austin mini-bonds
16. Will allow us to become an Austin that we imagine by becoming an Austin that we recognize
17. Even those of us who don’t want to get out of our cars will welcome those who get out of theirs
18. Austin needs more mobility choices
19. Transit, bikes & pedestrian options
20. We need urban rail
21. You can also help people make more so they have more to spend
22. a strategic plan for workforce development
23. Economic incentives for jobs for people already here
24. Permitting – file plans and make payments on line
25. Work on music industry better protecting our artists
and one of my favorite lines: “We can do big things if we as a City Council take a lesson from the startup culture and adopt an iterative leadership style. . . ”
(. . . “I believe that to best address the new challenges of mobility and affordability, we must become comfortable with trying new things and adjusting when we receive new information. I want us to creatively and innovatively deal with the problems that fastgrowing cities are facing even if other cities have never figured out the answers.”)
Full text of Mayor Adler’s Speech:
Community Matters 