DeWayne Lofton

DeWayne Lofton was a 2014 candidate for District 1 of the Austin, Texas City Council.

Campaign themes

On his campaign website, Lofton highlighted the following issues:^[1]

Transportation

Excerpt: "The issue of transportation is high on the list of what needs improvement in Austin. There’s no secret Austin is growing and we must address the issue of traffic soon or it will eventually have a negative impact on our attractiveness and viability as a city. If we are to get ahead of this issue, we must start looking at all transportation models, including creating more live-work-play communities, shared lanes, bike lanes and rail. None of these solutions are easy, but I think we all realize they are important to our success as a city."

Affordability

Excerpt: "Property taxes and property values are driving up the cost of living in Austin. We have a modest tax rate in Austin and the Mayor recently made a pledge to keep tax rates level, however with increased property values, these increases are driving longtime residents out of their homes. District One has taken the biggest hit on this issue. We are losing our diversity in Austin and more importantly in District One, because residents are being priced out of Austin. With the lack of high paying jobs for low and middle-class citizens it has become more and more unaffordable to live in Austin. I will work with community stake holders to develop workable solutions to create and preserve affordability. One of the ways we can address this issue is through the adoption of the Homestead Preservation District."

Jobs

Excerpt: "District One is a remarkable district and is comprised by a variety of income levels; however the reality is that there are a number of citizens who are unemployed or underemployed. We must work with the chambers to attract major employers to the district who can provide high paying, low skilled jobs. We all know that economic prosperity improves communities. By creating better, high paying jobs, we ensure that Austin continues to have a robust economy that is composed of diverse citizens, as diversity is the key to our prosperity."

Infrastructure

Excerpt: "Austin has a number of infrastructure needs from road improvements, drainage, and environmental issues. District One, through years of neglect is in dire need of improvements to infrastructure in these areas. We must work to address these service issues to improve the quality of life for those that live or work in this area."

Small businesses

Excerpt: "Small businesses have been and will be the key to Austin's success. To this end, we must work to create opportunities that encourage entrepreneurism, creativity, and innovation. This includes a diverse mix of new businesses. Therefore, we must create processes that will create opportunities for new or low income entrepreneurs to access programs to help them grow their small or micro businesses. We all know that in Austin entrepreneurs are the ones who create jobs and keep our local economy afloat. Increasing access to capital for these small businesses without unreasonable impediments will bolster our economy and keep Austin on the global scale of competitive cities around the nation. As a city, we also need to look at providing incentives to small locally owned business, as their employees typically live in Austin, thereby contributing to our tax base. By taking such an approach, we will see a much quicker return on our investment as compared to other incentives offered to major corporations."

See also: Austin, Texas municipal elections, 2014.

The city of Austin held elections for city council on November 4, 2014. The candidate filing deadline was August 18, 2014. Because of redistricting and term limits, there was no incumbent for District 1.^[2] The candidates were Andrew Bucknall, Michael D. Cargill, George Hindman, Ora Houston, Christopher J. Hutchins, Norman A. Jacobson, DeWayne Lofton, Valerie M. Menard and Samuel A. Osemene.^[3] Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the general election, the top two vote-getters - Houston and Lofton - faced each other in a runoff election on December 16, 2014.^[4] Houston was the winner.^[5]

Austin City Council, District 1, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ora Houston	49.1%	6,429
DeWayne Lofton	14.4%	1,887
Andrew Bucknall	6.2%	811
Michael D. Cargill	5.4%	711
George W. Hindman	7.1%	928
Christopher J. Hutchins	3.2%	421
Norman A. Jacobson	1.2%	153
Valerie M. Menard	9.3%	1,221
Samuel A. Osemene	4%	529
Total Votes		10,766
Source: Travis County Clerk - 2014 Official Election Results

This section links to a Google news search for the term "DeWayne + Lofton + Austin"

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