Kent K. Phillips

Kent Phillips was a 2014 candidate for District 3 of the Austin, Texas City Council.

Campaign themes

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

Corporate Protectionism

Excerpt: "An example of corporate protectionism within the Austin City Council is the protection of taxi cab companies from new companies like Uber and Lyft, despite ride-sharing programs showing dramatic decreases in drunk driving and improved supply-demand equilibrium for city residents. Still, the City Council continues to pursue legislation to block these free-market solutions from benefiting Austin residents, all at the behest of Taxi lobbyists. This kind of regressive, “legal corruption” needs to be stopped."

Police

Excerpt: "The Austin Police Department exists to serve and protect Austin residents, and it must begin by prioritizing their use of resources for, first and foremost, preventing violent crimes and pursuing justice in response to those crimes. Less focus and effort should be spent on non-violent and victim-less crimes, when violent crimes are still occurring in Austin neighborhoods far more frequently than they should. The APD also needs to spend less time cracking down on marijuana infractions and setting up jaywalking stings, and more time combating problems like car theft. I want to make sure all citizens are being treated with equality under the law."

Transportation

Excerpt: "When it comes to Austin traffic, it is not a question of whether or not there is a problem. It is clear our city is in desperate need of better traffic systems. This stems, in part, from some of our city’s corporate activities through their practice of offering large tax breaks for businesses to relocate to Austin. While this may continue to boost our growing economy, the City Council failed to invest adequately into our infrastructure to meet the new demand brought by incoming businesses. Ending the practice of aiding corporations relocating to Austin temporarily will give us the opportunity to improve our infrastructure and allow for more, and better growth in the future."

Gentrification

Excerpt: "Gentrification in Austin’s neighborhoods is a serious issue for many families struggling to maintain their long-time homes. The trouble lies not in the purchase and improvement of properties, (there’s nothing wrong with one person making a fair offer on another person’s property), but rather from the ever-increasing property tax burden that forces many families to have to relocate. It’s only when the city continues to increase taxable value on a property that people begin to feel compelled to leave a home in which they have lived for many years. I have no desire to limit people from investing in a neighborhood and improving their own property, but tax rates must remain reasonable for present homeowners."

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 3.^[2] Candidates included Susana Almanza, Mario Cantu, Julian Limon Fernandez, Christopher L. Hoerster, Shaun D. Ireland, Fred McGhee, Kent K. Phillips, Jose Quintero, Eric J. Rangel, Sabino "Pio" Renteria, Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla and Jose A. Valera. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the general election, the top two vote-getters - Almanza and Renteria - faced each other in a runoff election on December 16, 2014.^[3]^[4] Renteria was the winner.^[5]

Austin City Council, District 3, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Susana Almanza	21%	2,142
Sabino "Pio" Renteria	18.8%	1,919
Mario Cantu	9.7%	993
Julian Limon Fernandez	5%	510
Christopher L. Hoerster	1.6%	163
Shaun D. Ireland	6.3%	646
Fred McGhee	4.5%	462
Kent K. Phillips	6%	615
Jose Quintero	2.2%	223
Eric J. Rangel	6.3%	648
Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla	2%	201
Jose A. Valera	16.5%	1,683
Total Votes		5,727
Source: Travis County Clerk - 2014 Official Election Results

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Kent + Phillips + Austin"

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