Austin City Council Accused of "Lawlessness" and "Undermining Democracy"

The Austin City Council is facing a lawsuit filed in the Travis County 98th District Court, alleging they violated the Texas Open Meetings Act when adding a slate of charter amendments to the Nov. 5 general election ballot. The suit, filed by attorneys representing the Save Our Springs Alliance, its executive director, Bill Bunch, and former staff attorney of the Texas attorney general's office, Joe Riddell, claims the Council showed a "disdain for transparency" and "undermined democracy".

A "Lawless" Council and a History of Success Suing Them:

"The Austin City Council is becoming lawless, and this lawsuit is another example of their arrogant disdain for transparency. Mayor Watson and the Council majority are undermining democracy with violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act." - Bill Aleshire, former Travis County judge and attorney for the plaintiffs

The lawsuit asserts that the Council violated public participation and notice requirements by compressing all proposed amendments into one agenda item. With the last day to order an election rapidly approaching, the suit seeks to invalidate the approval of the 13 charter amendments. If successful, these amendments would be prevented from appearing on the ballot.

This is not the first time Bill Bunch has successfully sued the Austin mayor and City Council for violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act. The city charter, a comprehensive legal document outlining Austin's rules, may see changes that many believe hinder democracy. Proposed amendments include:

• Raising the signature threshold for a recall election, making it harder to hold officials accountable
• Empowering the City Council to appoint and remove the city attorney without checks
• Restricting initiative elections and citizen-led charter changes to biennial November elections, limiting citizen influence

The Council has yet to provide a substantive comment, with spokesperson David Ochsner stating they are "reviewing the lawsuit". The lawsuit exposes a pattern of behavior by the Austin City Council, one that threatens the very foundation of democratic values.