Posted: Sat, 9 May 2009 07:00 AM - 8,446 Readers

By: Austin American-Statesman

McCracken, Riley, Cole endorsed in Austin's mayor, council election.

It is Election Day in Austin and surrounding cities and school districts, and we strongly urge every registered voter who hasn't already cast a ballot to go to the polls today.

Austin will choose a new mayor and fill four seats on the City Council in this election, officials who will set a course for this city for years to come. If no one of the five candidates in the mayor's race receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held on June 13.

While the bruising Austin mayor's race has captured most of the attention this spring, there are also contests in Bee Cave, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Rollingwood, Round Rock and several smaller villages in the area. There are school board elections, as well, in Del Valle, Eanes, Lake Travis, Leander and Round Rock.

Turnout in recent elections in Austin has been atrociously low. But in this difficult economic climate, the stakes are high enough that voters ought to be flooding the polls today. Austin is staring at a potentially huge budget deficit, as much as $43 million next year, and a possible tax increase. Together, they could hit taxpayers hard.

In the Austin mayor's race, we believe Council Member Brewster McCracken is the best candidate to lead the city into the future. He also is the candidate who is taking the strongest hand in meeting the projected budget shortfall.

McCracken, 43, has a vision for Austin as the center of the next technology wave — green energy. And he is working hard to bring businesses and jobs to the city. We urge voters to support McCracken at the polls today.

Council Member Lee Leffingwell, another mayoral candidate, is a steady hand who has been successful in bringing disparate groups to the table and hammering out compromises. He has an excellent record on environmental issues and has steered numerous projects through City Hall. However, Leffingwell, 69, is too close to the public safety unions, whose salary demands could handcuff the city next year. His campaign is based on Austin standing pat, not forging ahead into the next economy.

Former Austin mayor and state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn has been a formidable presence on the campaign trail. But Strayhorn, 69, hasn't brought either McCracken's vision or Leffingwell's gravitas to the race. Also running are political newcomers David Buttross and Josiah Ingalls, but neither campaign has gained much traction.

In the Place 1 special election to fill the two remaining years on Leffingwell's term, attorney Chris Riley and legislative aide Perla Cavazos are excellent candidates who have run spirited campaigns. We believe Riley, 44, is more prepared to join the City Council. He has a long record of community service and has an intimate knowledge of city government.

The Place 2 election pits incumbent Mike Martinez and Jose Quintero, a relative unknown who has not actively campaigned. Voters have little choice but to return Martinez, 39, to council and hope he abandons his intense personal agenda and helps guide the city through a troubling economy.

In the Place 5 race, former City Council Member Bill Spelman, 51, is unopposed. Spelman, a government professor at the University of Texas' LBJ School, served on the City Council from 1997 to 2000 and is an expert in public administration. The council will benefit from his ascension to the dais.

In the Place 6 race, incumbent Sheryl Cole is seeking a second term against libertarian-leaning Sam Osemene. Cole, 44, has been an effective member focused on downtown and social service issues, and she should be re-elected. Osemene, an investigator with a state agency, ran for the council last year and lost.

We believe these five are the best candidates to lead Austin and recommend them to voters.

*  Story Contributed by: Austin American-Statesman