By Sarah Jessica Fields

This was my view of the Capitol from a hotel room. We were in Austin for several days. I am home now and I am physically and emotionally exhausted. I think that some Americans have a skewed idea of what all patriots look like. When you think of a patriot, you think full battle rattle…. maybe you think about marching, and rallies, and giving public speeches about how we need to stop the left from taking over and stepping all over our constitutional rights. I’m here to tell you, that’s not what all patriots look like all the time.

There are those who are tirelessly banding together in small groups. Visiting representatives and senators offices. Pushing and fighting to have our voices heard. We memorize bill numbers. We memorize language from each bill we want to advocate for, or bills we know are bad news for the American people. We eat crappy food. We skip meals. We walk all day for miles in that capitol building trying to build relationships so we can push good bills through committees and into floor votes. We sleep in the back of our cars. We don’t get paid. And sometimes, we have to sit by ourselves in a private spot of that house so we can get a hold of ourselves because of how much our cause means to us. We are met with evil, and we are many times met with demonic atmospheres. We have trash thrown at us. We have people screaming in our faces because while we may want to protect innocent lives, and protect children, some believe we are “messing with their rights” to teach critical race theory to our children, mutilate children’s body parts and tear down statutes from American history that offends them. And then we come home.

We hug our children. We cry over them because we worry about their future. We go to the grocery store and pick out buckets of grapes that aren’t bruised. We cook dinner and clean our houses. All the while trying to simply decompress from the evils that stood in our paths the whole time we were absent. That is patriotism. That is activism. That is advocacy. Sometimes it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. But it is always valiant. There are some absolutely amazing patriots who work outside these capitol walls. Patriots who rescue men, women and children from sex traffickers. Patriots who fight for our country and place their lives on the line every single day. Patriots who have rallies and spread awareness throughout our beautiful country. I work with some of these amazing people and I am so honored to be in their inner circles.

But please don’t forget, this house is The People’s house. We have people on the inside as well who are advocating for constitutional rights so as to keep The People free from tyranny. This week was a hard one. Many bills that we (Texas Freedom Coalition) worked extremely hard for such as stopping medical child abuse, advocating for constitutional carry and making sure parental rights are prioritized by DFPS, have been killed or are in the process of dying; because of the corruption inside this building. Yet, bills that will invade our freedoms during an emergency, are well and alive. (HB3). But we go home. We take a breath. We rest. We start again. Patriotism has many roles and is seen in many ways. But we all have the same patriotic blood running through our veins. I am honored to be a patriot.

Charter amendment regarding binding arbitration 

Proposition A: Shall the City Charter be amended to give the Austin Firefighters Association, Local 975 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, the authority to require the City to participate in binding arbitration of all issues in dispute with the Association if the City and the Association reach impasse in collective bargaining negotiations? 

Vote: Yes! Given the city’s reckless behavior regarding public safety, protecting the our fire fighters is a necessary step.  

City Code amendment to prohibit certain activities 

Proposition B*: Shall an ordinance be adopted that would create a criminal offense and a penalty for sitting or lying down on a public sidewalk or sleeping outdoors in and near the Downtown area and the area around the University of Texas campus; create a criminal offense and penalty for solicitation, defined as requesting money or another thing of value, at specific hours and locations or for solicitation in a public area that is deemed aggressive in manner; create a criminal offense and penalty for camping in any public area not designated by the Parks and Recreation Department? 

Vote: Yes! Austin has seen an increase in homelessness, in fires, and in crime related to the homeless population. While the city should be working harder to help those in need, “camp anywhere” has failed dismally. 

Charter amendment regarding Director of Police Oversight 

Proposition C: Shall the city charter be amended to allow for a Director of Police Oversight to be appointed or removed in a manner established by City Council ordinance, with duties that include the responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability as it relates to policing? 

Vote: No! The city has cut the police budget and is taking advice from numerous anti-safety groups. Adding another entity to control police activity, and the added bureaucracy that will follow, is unwise.  

Charter amendment to change date of mayoral elections 

Proposition D: Shall the City Charter be amended to transition the election for mayor from gubernatorial election years to presidential election years, providing that the mayor elected in 2022 will serve a 2-year term and then mayoral elections will occur on the same date as presidential elections starting in 2024? 

Vote: No! By moving the elections to presidential elections years, partisanship will only increase in what is supposed to be a nonpartisan race. 

Charter amendment to create ranked choice voting for city elections 

Proposition E: Shall the City Charter be amended to provide for the use of ranked choice voting in city elections, if such voting is permitted by state law? 

Vote: No! Ranked choice voting has bizarre effects and many believe violates the “one citizen, one vote” principle of democracy.  

Charter amendment to change from a council-manager form of government 

Proposition F: Shall the City Charter be amended to change the form of city government from ‘council-manager’ to ‘strong mayor-council,’ which will eliminate the position of professional city manager and designate an elected mayor as the chief administrative and executive officer of the city with veto power over all legislation which includes the budget; and with sole authority to hire and fire most department heads and direct staff; and with no articulated or stated charter authority to require the mayor to implement Council decisions. 

Vote: No! By giving such strong power to the mayor, smaller districts, or districts which voted against the mayor, would have even less power than they currently doing making Austin an even more divided city. 
  
Charter amendment to add a geographic council district 

Proposition G: Shall the City Charter be amended to provide for an additional geographic council district which will result in 11 council members elected from single member districts? 

Vote: No! Without knowing where the district would be added, it would be easy for the current members of the City Council to undercut political opponents.  

Charter amendment to adopt voluntary public campaign finance program 

Proposition H: Shall the City Charter be amended to adopt a public campaign finance program, which requires the city clerk to provide up to two $25 vouchers to every registered voter who may contribute them to candidates for city office who meet the program requirements? 

Vote: No! This program takes taxpayer money and redistributes it. This means that effectively Austin taxpayers would be forced to help fund campaigns they disagree with.  

Voting Information

Travis County

Williamson County

Voting Locations