From KUT News:
Austin has seen meteoric growth over the past decade and a half, and its police department has found itself rethinking its priorities to address public safety amid the influx of newcomers.
So, we asked the five candidates for Austin mayor where they stand on the following issues and how they would broadly address public safety during a potential term in office.
Police staffing
Austin’s police department has had a continuous gap in staffing among patrol positions over the past four years. Currently, there are roughly 350 vacancies in these positions. While the department has made strides in hiring of late, it has paid out six-figure overtime payments to dozens of officers.
Crime and safety
Austin is a safe city, compared to cities of comparable size. Violent crime is down from pandemic-era highs, but the city has still struggled with crime in a handful of “hotspots,” according to the last update from APD staff. That includes stretches of downtown, as well as pockets east of I-35 and in North Austin. The prevalence, coupled with staffing woes, has led to a perception that Austin is not safe.
Law and order
Relations between City Hall, APD and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office have been fraught over the last couple years. DA José Garza ran on a platform to prosecute police misconduct and he’s done just that. Garza has secured indictments in nearly two dozen cases involving police violence.
Over the last few years, the two agencies – the DA’s office and APD – haven’t been as lockstep when it comes to prosecuting cases and enforcing the law.
911 response
Austin’s 911 response times and lack of call-takers has been top of mind since last year, when a street-racing takeover of Barton Springs and Lamar Boulevard grabbed headlines. Since then, the department has made huge strides in hiring 911 operators – slashing the vacancy rate from 70% to just 7%. Still, 911 response times have not met the city’s expressed goal for an average of 10 minutes and 44 seconds.
Police labor contract
For years, Austin went without a formal police labor contract. The city and the Austin Police Association were at loggerheads over the deal in early 2023, but it fell through. Then, voters approved the Austin Police Oversight Act in May 2023, paving the way for increased civilian oversight of the police department. Those changes had to be implemented into a new labor deal and, after months, the city is on the verge of finalizing a five-year, $218-million contract.
Candidate responses
All candidates were given the same list of questions at the same time, roughly a week before early voting began. We’ve summarized their responses, as well as provided their full remarks at the footer of each section. Jeffery Bowen did not respond to KUT’s questionnaire, but we will update this story if he does.
Kathie Tovo
Police staffing: Tovo said she understands Austin is seeing what many departments across the country are seeing: a shortage of cadets applying to police academies. She said she hopes a new police labor contract will help reduce the staffing gap, adding that she’d like to see more creative efforts to build a pipeline from local high schools to the police academy, referencing a similar program run by the Austin Fire Department.
“Research points to the positive benefits that can result when officers live in the communities they serve,” she said.
Crime and safety: Tovo pointed to research that Austin is, comparatively, a safe city, but she admited that “for every victim of crime, the statistics don’t matter.”
Tovo previously represented a district containing Sixth Street. She highlighted efforts she made on City Council to increase safety in the entertainment district after a mass shooting, including improving lighting and cameras along the street and giving business owners training to reduce gun violence.
But, she said, the work she did on the plan, known as the Safer Sixth Plan, hasn’t been fully actualized.
“Many recommendations from the Safer 6th Street initiative have not yet moved forward since I left Council,” she said, “and as Mayor I intend to finish what we started.”
Law and order: Tovo said she would, as she argues she has in the past, help foster conversations between the community, law enforcement and local prosecutors.
“I will facilitate those conversations again and use my position to help build stronger relationships,” she said.
Tovo also applauded Travis County’s efforts to expand diversion programs to keep people out of jail and bolster mental health care among people who often end up there.
“I’m hopeful this type of investment will assist both the police department and District Attorney as they do their respective jobs together,” she said.
911 response: Tovo said she would stay the course as it relates to recruitment of 911 operators, but that she hopes there is more oversight overall of 911 response – from operator to officer response.
“I recommend regular audits of response times to 911 calls so we can have assurances that officers are adhering to established protocol for how and when they respond to calls for assistance,” she said.
Police contract: Tovo said she hopes the longterm contract is approved, but added that she wants more disclosure of financial impacts on forthcoming city budgets.
“At a time when many Austinites are struggling to make ends meet, we need to know that the City is prepared for the significant financial commitment required in this proposal,” she said.
Biggest priority: Tovo said she hopes for a “safer, more resilient” Austin where “everyone [can] feel safe in their home and neighborhood.” She said she aims to achieve that by providing more money to violence prevention programs, mental health care access and diversionary programs that would allow officers to respond to high-priority calls more quickly.
“These types of innovations, partnerships, and collaborations allow our community members to receive the appropriate response during times of distress and emergencies,” she said.
Kirk Watson
Staffing: Watson, who helped broker the longterm contract with the Austin Police Association, said he believes that contract will have the “biggest impact” on solving Austin’s police staffing issues.
“We’ve made great progress, as for the first time since 2019, Austin will end with more officers than it started with at the beginning of the year,” he said. “But we have more to do.”
Crime and safety: Watson said he believes Austin is a safe city, but that the city needs to continue reducing crime. As he sees it, more officers mean better response times.
But, writ large, the community presence of officers is also key to addressing concerns that Austin is unsafe.
“Austin needs to deepen the connections and trust between the police and every community,” he said.
Law and order: Watson touted his efforts to bring the city’s police union to the table and make progress on police staffing.
“The relationship between City Hall and the Police Department is stronger now than it was just two short years ago,” he said, adding that the new contract “is evidence of mended fences and will go far in the relationship” if it’s approved.
911 response: Watson said response times are “much, much improved” from where they were prior to his term as mayor, but added “no one wants to be on hold for any length of time when calling 911.” He added, at least on the call-side, Austin is meeting the national standard of answering 90% of calls within 15 seconds.
Police contract: Watson helped broker the labor contract. It’s been a focus of his term, and, obviously, he supports it. He said the contract balances both the transparency in the Austin Police Oversight Act and the need to retain and recruit more officers.
Biggest priority: Watson said he wants fully staffed EMS, fire and police departments. He said he’s helped secure longterm labor contracts with two of those three departments, with the police labor contract up for a vote on Thursday.
“We have more to do to improve public safety, but it starts with having the staff to do it,” he said.
Doug Greco
Police staffing: Greco said he wants a police force that “reflects our diversity.” As mayor, he said he would “double down” on investments to racial-equity training to make sure the “relationship between the police and our community reflects our values.”
Crime and safety: Greco said he believes the city should make a better effort to address the roots of crime – namely “social, economic and environmental pressures” – that may lead to “negative outcomes.” That he argued is a “broader and more coordinated” approach.
Law and order: Greco said he’s committed to building strong ties between City Hall, APD and the DA’s office, but they “need a new start” – and a new mayor. If he wins, he said “all parties would be committed to the twin values of keeping our community safe and transparency and accountability” in public safety.
911 response: Greco said sworn officers should be focused on the most urgent calls, while other city departments could respond to calls for service where there is “no threat to people or property.”
Police contract: Greco said the tack used to get the police labor contract to council has been “heavy-handed.” He said he has concerns about Mayor Watson “rushing” to get it OK’d before the election and the so-called “G-files” – the previously secret police employment files Austin is now legally required to divulge.
Biggest priority: Greco said he wants to pay police officers competitively and “fully implement the Austin Police Oversight Act.”
Carmen Llanes Pulido
Police staffing: Llanes Pulido said the department needs to address “holistic” issues, as it relates to police academy training. The department has been revamping its training for years after an analysis found it needed “sweeping” reform to address a lack of diversity and a “warrior mentality.”
“By learning from the past several years and having candid and constructive conversations with new Police Chief Lisa Davis, we can set metrics and measurable goals for our police department,” Llanes Pulido said.
Crime and safety: Llanes Pulido said she wants officers to focus on “critical calls that require immediate police response,” with a focus on higher rates of property crime. She said she wants the city to focus more on less interventional strategies like increased lighting while also leaning on community-based programs to address crime hotspots.
Law and order: Llanes Pulido said she’s spoken with residents who say police “won’t make arrests because they think there will be no charges brought” by the district attorney. She said there needs to be an “up front discussion” about the relationship between APD and the local prosecutor.
“I believe we can move forward with a common set of shared goals and outcomes,” she said.
911 response: Llanes Pulido said she wants to fully fund social workers to answer 911 calls and reorganize the 911 call system, while also expanding an EMS program to address people in mental health crisis.
Police contract: Llanes Pulido said she is “extremely concerned” about the cost of the $218-million tentative police labor contract. She’d like to see an analysis of how it could help retain and recruit new officers.
“Increasing compensation for APD is important, but cannot come at the expense of funding other critical needs—including public safety needs—that are essential to allowing the police to do their job,” she said.
Biggest priority: Llanes Pulido said she wants the city to free up other city staff – namely social workers – to address lower-priority 911 calls.
“By routing calls that don’t require police, we can lessen the load on APD,” she said.
