An overview about propositions A and B on the upcoming May ballot. Early voting is Monday, April 24th to Friday, May 2nd. Election day is Saturday, May 6th. Find all relevant voter information at votetravis.com. Sources listed at the end.
TLDR; Prop A: good. Prop B: bad.
It's that time of year again! This round, we have two props on the ballot. Both deal with police oversight, and both found themselves on the ballot through initiative petitions, which basically means they both got 20,000 signatures on petitions from qualified Travis County voters submitted to the City Clerk.
The Ballot Language
First let's see the ballot language. This is what you'll see when you show up to the polls.
Prop A ballot language:
"Shall the voters of Austin adopt an initiated ordinance, circulated by Equity Action, that will deter police misconduct and brutality by strengthening the City's system of independent and transparent civilian police oversight?"
Prop B ballot language:
"Shall the voters of Austin adopt an initiated ordinance, circulated by Voters for Oversight and Police Accountability, that will strengthen the City’s system of independent and transparent civilian police oversight?"
The ballot language makes these props look very similar, with the only difference being the omission of "that will deter police misconduct and brutality" in prop B. (red flag #1.) However, there's some important differences in the ordinances that would actually become law.
The Ordinances
The ordinances themselves are too long and wordy to repost here, so I'lll let you click those links and read them yourselves and give you the highlights below.
You can view a handy dandy comparison of the two here.
Handy Things to Know:
Both of these props deal with the Office of Police Oversight (OPO). The OPO aims to increase trust between APD and the public by receiving complaints against APD from the public, investigating these complaints in a transparent manner, and making recommendations to the City Manager on how to proceed regarding investigation outcomes.
Prop A:
Prop A, also known as the Austin Police Oversight Act, would strengthen the outside civilian oversight of APD, improve transparency of Austin Police, and mandates that the City of Austin only approve a police contract if it complies with the ordinance.
It was put on the ballot by Equity Action, a grassroots coalition of local leaders and progressives who did No Way on Prop A in 2022 and funded primarily through small donations from community members and organizations.
-OPO could access all police records, gather evidence, and interview witnesses
-Community Police Review Commission (CPRC) could access and share information more freely
-Legitimate complaints would be thoroughly investigated in a timely manner
-The City Attorney would have to approve any APD agreement and ensure it was in line with the APOA before council could pass it. If a proposed agreement violates the APOA, council would not be able to pass the agreement.
Prop B:
After Prop A received enough signatures and was approved to be put on the ballot, Prop B popped up, also calling themselves the Austin Police Oversight Act. For our purposes, I'll call this the fake APOA.
This prop was put on the ballot by an organization called the Voters for Oversight and Police Accountability, an organization that sounds great at first but ironically provides very little transparency about who they are. This measure was nearly exclusively funded by the Austin Police Association.
-would remove the ability for people to file anonymous complaints
-would continue to hide crucial records from the public and OPO
-would retain a short time frame for officers to be disciplined for misconduct
-APD agreements could continue to be passed, regardless of if they're congruent with OPO recommendations and the real APOA.
The Drama
After Prop A was put on the ballot, VOPA canvassers started popping up around the city, claiming to be Equity Action and asking for signatures for "The Austin Police Oversight Act". Signers of this petition thought they were signing the Prop A petition, but were signing something completely different. Canvassers were instructed to intentionally mislead voters into getting Prop B on the ballot.
When campaign finance reports were released, it was learned that of the $288,000 VOPA received, $278,000 was donated by the Austin Police Association. The APA also donated the website VOPA is using to them. The other money was donated by the Corpus Christi Police Association.
Despite widespread efforts by signers to get their signatures removed from the Prop B petition, the petition received enough signatures to be put on the ballot. And here we are.
What I Think
Prop A isn't going to fix all the problems with the police department. However, giving the OPO and CPRC more power to review and investigate police misconduct accusations is a productive step in the right direction.
Prop B would not only strip power from Austin residents and the OPO, but also set a dangerous precedent that fraudulent petitions can become law in Austin and give the Austin Police Association even more power than they already have.
If both props pass, there would be even more complicated court battles and an even lengthier path to APD transparency & oversight.
Vote YES on A and NO on B!
What You Can Do
1. Vote! Early voting is Monday, April 24th to Friday, May 2nd. Election day is Saturday, May 6th. Find all relevant voter information at votetravis.com.
Sources
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/vopa-pac-misleading-austin-police-oversight-petition
https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=401238
https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=401234
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/whos-the-group-behind-the-other-austin-police-oversight-act/
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/concerns-austin-police-association-police-oversight-petition-vopa