Austin's record-breaking $250 million affordable housing bond appeared to be on its way to approval late Tuesday.
Proposition A had a sizeable lead with early votes counted in Travis and Williamson counties. The rest of the slate of Austin bond propositions, which together with Prop A totaled $925 million, also were ahead in early returns, election results showed.
The outcome appeared to indicate that the increasing cost of housing is increasingly striking a chord with city of Austin residents, who six years ago refused to pass a $78 million affordable housing bond.
"We're excited for this historic bond to have passed with such an overwhelming margin," said John Lawler, the head of the Keep Austin Affordable coalition organized in support of the bond. "We see it as a mandate for the city of Austin to invest heavily in affordable housing."
The affordable housing bond allots $100 million for land acquisition, $94 million for rental housing assistance, $28 million for a home ownership program and $28 million for a home repair program.
These six other bond proposals also were passing in early returns:
— Flood mitigation and open space, $184 million.
— Transportation, $160 million.
— Parks facilities, $149 million.
— Libraries and cultural centers, $128 million.
— Public safety, $38 million.
— Health and human services, $16 million.
"Over the course of the last six months, when speaking with community members, it became clear that this type of serious investment was something that Austinites were ready for and they showed that today," Lawler said.
But even as Proposition A looked to be headed toward passage, the outcomes regarding two citizen-initiated petition ordinances remained unclear.
A narrow majority had voted against Proposition J, the ballot initiative that arose out of the anti-CodeNext campaign waged by neighborhood preservation advocates. That item called for voter approval and a waiting period for any comprehensive rewrites of the city's land-use rules and zoning codes.
Likewise, Proposition K, which asked voters whether an independent efficiency audit of City Hall should be conducted also was behind, by a wider margin than Proposition J.
At his watch party in downtown Austin, Mayor Steve Adler echoed his campaign rhetoric that opposed the two petition propositions, accusing them of being fueled by so-called dark money.
"I think our community is rejecting this dark secret unidentified money," Adler said. "I think our community is rejecting government by petition, and I am encouraged by that."
Proposition K has faced strong opposition from Austin's Democratic leaders. Many have maligned the efficiency audit as an attempt to wrestle local control from city officials.
