City Council Inauguration Transcript – 1/7/2019 Title: City of Austin Description: 24/7 Channel: 6 - COAUS Recorded On: 1/7/2019 6:00:00 AM Original Air Date: 1/7/2019 Transcript Generated by SnapStream ================================== >> Mayor Adler: All right. It is January 7th of the year 2019, and we have a quorum present, so I'm going to convene us here at 6:20 in city council chambers for a special called meeting. I want to congratulate this dais and everyone that is on it. This is going to be just an exciting couple years. I want to give each of the folks that had the honor of being sworn in today to address everyone, [6:21:18 PM] just for a few moments. We're going to reverse district order. Councilmember tovo. >> Tovo: Thank you, mayor. And thank you so much to all of you who have taken time to be here with us this evening. It's always so exciting to see city hall bursting with individuals down here to support us in the work and help shape the work that we're doing down here, so thank you for being willing to stand beside United States and work alongside to help make Austin the city that it can be, the best city that it can be. I'm extremely honored to have been reelected to represent city 9 andthe city of Austin for another if you are years. Serving in this capacity, I take very seriously, and I am honored and privileged to be here this evening to make that commitment. We are facing some very challenging times, nationally, of course, and here in the city of Austin. Our city continues to face critical issues with regard to transportation, property rates, climate change, homeless, and ever widening gap between the richest and poorest. I'll continue to do whatever I can to make Austin a place where all families can thrive. We have some important conversations ahead to make sure to best ensure -- about how Austin's prosperity benefits all, not just a few, and that that prosperity benefits austinites in every council district. Throughout city hall and our entire city throughout the last several years, some of our conversations, especially those with regard to land use, have been incredibly divisive, and you have my commitment to approach these challenges as I have in the past, with respect, even when there's disagreement, with focused attention, with determination and creativity, and in collaboration with you, our community. The decisions we make here can have powerful impacts, not just on the lives of those who come down and speak or email and call, [6:23:19 PM] but on the tens of thousands of austinites who never reach out to us in any of those ways. So you also have my renewed commitment to continue to go beyond these walls and out into the community to listen and to learn from the experiences of constituents so that I can best represent their interests. When I first came down to city council to testify in 2002, I saw firsthand how the community can help shape better decisions, and I renew my pledge here tonight to always prioritize the roll of the public in the decisions made here at city hall, and to listen to each and every voice, whether it's joined by a others down in the chambers or by an individual email that I received. I want to say just a few thank yous before concluding. I'd like to thank my colleagues with whom I've served the last four years and welcome to new colleagues. I'm looking forward to continuing to work with each and every one of you as we build a foundation and craft a system that works to achieve our shared goals, in a more equitable and more inclusive city. I want to thank my city hall staff, Nicki, Ashley, Shannon, joy, and I want to thank you all for the work that you do each and every day on behalf of austinites. No one who has worked at city hall can imagine the tremendous skill and graciousness required in that role. Each of you do a fabulous job serving the people of district 9 and the this city, and I'm so proud of the work that our office was done on homelessness, housing, and I want to move to say efforts forward. I had a long and very intense reelection campaign and I would like to offer my sincere thank to my campaign consultants, some of whom are here tonight, my campaign staff, volunteers, my family, and to the many organizations that supported me in my reelection. Add special thanks to the more than 80 advocacy many of them electric district 9, but when's from across the city, and the other canvassers who came [6:25:20 PM] together to knock on doors and have conversations with constituents throughout district 9 as part of the petition drive. So many people were involved in that effort but I'd like to give special mention to our youngest petition collectors, and that was Avery and Alex Hirsch who were involved in not just petition collection but also a lot of the strategy meetings. Then of course to my family. Thank you to Tom hurt for and assistance he's now offered through three campaigns, and of course to my daughters. It's not easy having a mom who serves an elected office. They've attended lots more ribbon cuttings and council meetings than most Austin kids. They've had to wait through issues at the areas store, at church, in school. When I began serving on Cowan council, they were middle schoolers with their own ideas about how to improve the stickers sometimes with their own ideas about how I can do my job better, I'm just so proud of the young leaders that you're becoming. And of course thank you to the voters of district 9 and every single precinct across district 9, from downtown to UT, Miller, cherry neighborhoods, Travis heights, you supported my reelection to city council, and I appreciate and never take for granted your confidence in my leadership and your confidence in my ability to continue to balance the needs of district 9 alongside and the diversity of holds along district 9 boundaries, while also staying focused on what's best for the whole city. It's been an honor and privilege to represent city council district 9 these past four years. Colleagues, I'm so proud of the work we've done together to build a stronger Austin and I'm really excited to keep working with you to make Austin, Texas an even better place for its residents. So thank you. [6:27:23 PM] [Applause] >> Mayor Adler: Councilmember Ellis. >> Ellis: My name is Paige Ellis and I am honored to be your new councilmember for southwest Austin. [Cheers and applause] >> Ellis: I started my activism activismism on the very front steps of city hall, and you have my promise to take care of a city that has taken such good care of me and so many others. You also have my promise to look out for those in need of care, such as seniors, our children, those who are just getting on their feet, and of course the environment. What I love about southwest Austin is that our backyard is the Greenberg our garden is lady bird Johnson center, and our pool is Barton springs, at least half of it. From oak hill to Travis country, to vintage place, to the cheese tacos in circle C, in southwest Austin we come from many different areas but we all love this city and we all look out for each other. And as your councilmember, I will be a representative for every in southwest Austin. I would especially like to thank my campaign team, Ed Espinosa, Stella savage, Laura, Dave, Britney walker, and Michael Tomlinson, my family who have traveled from San Antonio to see this tonight, and other friends who were able to make it, some who were not able to Mike it, and most ol, I want to thank the voters of southwest Austin for trusting me to be your city councilmember. And once again, it is my honor to serve you. Thank you. [Cheers and applause] >> Mayor Adler: Councilmember kitchen. >> Kitchen: Hello, everyone. I am -- I'm very excited and honored to have been entrusted [6:29:24 PM] with a second term on the Austin city council and the opportunity to serve the people of district 5 in south Austin, and austinites across our city. So I'd like to first just take a moment to share my thoughts on some of serious challenges and opportunities facing Austin. But first, I believe that Austin aspires to be a people-centered city, where every person has the opportunity to be healthy, safe, and prosperous. The fundamental challenge for Austin is ensuring the health of our city and the health of our people. Addressing things like mobility and housing, flooding, affordability, equity, all that is central to our ability to live healthy lives. So creating a people-centered city means we must be deliberate in how we grow, understanding the real-world impacts of decisions on people's lives, and focusing on results. And because we are a dynamic city, it's important to remember that as fast as change seems to be happening, ground-breaking shifts take time. The 10-1 council, which I have been very proud to serve with my colleagues, with community and with staff, has taken steps to fundamentally shift the focus, to turn the ship. We have revamped our budget process, we have funded major investments in housing and transportation, we have refocused incentives on local business, and created ventures, and we have broadened our approach to public safety. I also think it's important, and I want to stop here, to recognize the people of the city of Austin that made these changes possible. My staff, our city management and staff, Austin owes you a debt of [6:31:24 PM] gratitude for your time for your energy, for your passion. Continue council and the community don't always make it easy, but I want you to know we really appreciate what you do. So what are some of the main challenges to creating a people-centered city? What will it take to ensure the health of our people and our community? A couple of things. We all know that we have an urgent need for real choices about how we get around. Today, people cannot get where they need to go in a reasonable amount of time. The lack of options to get around limits access to jobs, to medical care, and more. There's no greater transformative change for Austin than creating a complete transportation system, connected to high- capacity transit, and I'm committed to making that change. [Cheers and applause] Likewise, we desperately need more housing in the city that people can afford, in the city. Today, people live on the streets while others struggle to find a house or an apartment they can afford. We must develop sustainable funding and leverage community resources to build more affordable homes, help people at risk of losing their homes, and offer people a path out of homelessness. We need solutions to our critical problems that threaten the health of -- of our city. Artists and musicians are moving out of town. As we grow, we need more than ever to protect our water, our parks and green spaces, and address climate change. So although it's difficult at times, we must recognize how all these efforts are linked together, which makes the need address these issues comprehensively that much more critical, including with the land [6:33:26 PM] development code. We must leverage and align our investments in transportation, housing, land use jobs, and more to be successful. So how do we get there? One of the most important ways is purposely being stronger together. On the council, I truly believe that our differences can be our strength when we respect and listen to each other. We can best achieve a broad vision for the city, take on tough challenges, and resolve differences by purposefully creating an atmosphere of trust and mutual problem-solving with the community and among the council. That's not easy, but our community and our staff and everyone deserve that. I am confident that Austin can tackle these challenges and become the city we aspire to be. Austin can become a people-centered city with the opportunity for all the team to be healthy, safe, and prosperous. I'm committed to working with district 5 people and people all across the city, their staff and my staff and council to take bold and deliberate steps necessary to achieve our vision. As I've said many times, one of the most rewarding parts of serving on council is meeting so many smart, caring, passionate people in our city. I want to thank each of you who have -- who have rolled up your sleeves to work for us for a better Austin, and I especially want to thank my family and my husband mark for all that he does for our family and our city. Thank you. [Applause] >> Mayor Adler: Councilmember Renteria. >> Renteria: Good evening. I want to thank all of y'all for being here with us today. You know, when I took the oath of office four years ago, my colleagues and I were participating in a historic movement of Austin history. [6:35:26 PM] After many long, hard-fought Batts, we were in a almost -- we were in a room welcoming a new era of Austin, Texas. The first 10-1 councilas being sworn in, those of us who were granted the privilege of serving, with jus representation. We still have a long way to realizehose promises because we're still battling with economic segregation, displacement, flooding and other environmental challenges. But the progress that we achieved since 2014 is encouraging. Thanks to the work of my colleagues and those community leaders who have stood with us from the beginning, we have fought -- we have brought attention and action to many of the pressing challenges. We have focused in providing affordable housing, smart public transportation solutions, alternative energy, workers protection, tenants' protection, and economic opportunities for the working families and local businesses that make Austin such a special place. I am proud to have played a small role in all of that, so I want to take a pause to look around and celebrate. But I also want to take this movement to recommit myself to these goals, no matter how difficult it seems. While I can't thank everyho deserves to be recognized, I want to make a few -- I want to make a few mentions of family, friends, supporters, and staff who allowed me to do the work that I have in behalf of Austin and district 3. First of all, I want to thank my campaign chair, Nick serrano and my other campaign worker was Timothy berret. These guys did excellent work. I also want to thank Michael Thompson because did he an excellent job for us in the media and getting my information out. [6:37:26 PM] But most of all, I really want to thank my wife. [Cheers and applause] She's been there with me. She provides the support, and my two sons, David Pio Renteria and Sabino Carlos Renteria. And most of all, the one that did the most work for me, and she was out there every day, every opportunity that she was able to do, was my daughter salana Renteria. She really, really came up for me and did an excellent job, you know. And I have my staff -- I just have such a great staff, I'm so proud, you know. We have -- first of all, I want to mention that -- I want to announce that David is going to be my chief of staff for my office. He's been there, I'm just so happy, you know, and I also have two other people there, my staff, Liz, my policy aide, and Stephanie have done an excellent job and I'm really proud of all of them. So I just want to thank all of y'all and all the supporters. I know that there's some out here that worked -- Cynthia Valadez was at my office, Joe Ramirez, Manuel Jimenez, they all did excellent work, and I want to thank them. Y'all were there for me the first time and y'all came back and helped me the second time around. I know there's some others out there I forgot to mention, but I also want to thank y'all. [Cheers and applause] >> Mayor Adler: Councilmember [6:39:29 PM] harper-madison. Thank you. And thank you everybody for coming out and fighting the traffic to support us. [Cheers and applause] >> Harper-madison: I'll keep it short because I'm going to giggle half the time. I can't believe this is real, but at the very same time, I believe this is real. I was built for this. I spent my life aiming in this direction, I just didn't know it would shake out as a person involved in politics, but I knew all along, what I was meant to do was to help people, what I was meant to do was embrace, love, and make this beautiful city that I love so much a better place for all of us. So my name is Natasha harper-madison. I'm an austinite. I'm a small business professional. I'm a mom. My kids are in the audience. Maggie, I heard you sneezing. [Laughter] I'm a wife, I'm a thriving breast cancer survivor, I'm a person who wholeheartedly believes in a quote that I really love by Mia Angelou. She said, "You do the best you can until you know better. And when you know better, you do better." And what I've learned along the way is that we all have some obligation to making this place the best it can be because we know better. And so that's my commitment to the city of Austin. When I decided to run for office, it was because I wanted to give back to my city in the most meaningful way possible. It was because I love this beautiful city. You guys, I want you to look outside that window right there. Do you ever just drive through this city and go, I live in a really beautiful city? I do that all the time. I love this beautiful city. I wanted to continue as I serve the city in multiple capacities, I wanted to continue doing so, but in a way that was in the most meaningful it could possibly be. I realize that to create the most positive impact at a greater policy and funding level that being a city council person, having the trust of M constituents, having the trust of my fellow residents of the city of Austin, would be the best way [6:41:29 PM] for me to make the most impact. So here we are, with y'all's support, with the support of the voters who showed up, not just for one election, but came back out for that runoff election and resoundingly chose me to be the person to represent this district. [Cheers and applause] >> Harper-madison: Thank you all. I'd like to point out that my formative experience was not unlike many people who live in the city of Austin today. My mother did everything right. She worked hard, she tried her best, but we still struggled. And if for no other reason, I have a very deep and personal understanding of the importance of offering pathways to mobility and offering innovative economic development approaches. Now that I've been elected, I absolutely understand and plan to execute because I realize that residents deserve to have a place where they can turn to. I will prioritize constituent services. You deserve a invoice, and you deserve to have a council person who will hear you out. And I promise you, I promise to do that. I will be a champion for homeowners and for renters, for creators, for musicians, for small business owners, for our workforce, for our public servants who put it all on the line every day to make certain that we're safe in this beautiful city that we love so much. I want to make certain that we all -- my new colleagues and I -- hi, y'all -- my new colleagues and I, us collectively as a city, that we prioritize innovative workforce development strategies, financial and digital literacy, really, really robust efforts to bridge the digital divide. As my new colleague pointed out, we are a racially and [6:43:29 PM] economically segregated city, and we don't have to be. Austin -- I said all along, Austin is an old enough city to have made a lot of mistakes, but we're young enough to get it right. And I want us to get it right together. I definitely want to make certain that we prioritize high quality employment. Citizens need to earn living wages and receive benefits. I will continue to work to ensure that Austin makes investments in families through food access, through more reliable and affordable child care, and transportation. It is my absolute honor to serve district 1, the place where I grew up. It's my absolute honor to serve the city of Austin. This is my home. This is where my family lives. This is where I always knew I'd raise my children, and here we are doing so. I want to make certain that I convey my true commitment to moving with integrity, with honesty, with passion. I'm a rooky to this, but that means two things. It means I have a lot to learn, but it also means I have absolutely nothing to lose. [Laughter] I'm going to fight for Austin -- [cheers and applause] >> Harper-madison: -- With innovation and with an energy that can't be duplicated. I'm so excited to be here that that's something that I think will bring, you know, real robust, brand new energy to this office, and district 1 and the city of Austin deserves that. I'll leave you with this whether you've been here for generations or just got here yesterday, I promise to represent you equally well, and I want you to know that I keep my promises because I'm uncompromisable. So thank you for your time and thank you for coming out this evening. I really, really want to say thank you. I appreciate the support of everybody who worked on the campaign. There was Lauren Hartnett, Neil wetstone, grace oncoff, and a few [6:45:31 PM] other folks that came in towards the end and brought the kind of support and real, you know, robust collaboration that we needed. I'd also like to say that I'm a bit of an overachiever, so we have hired our staff, and they are here this evening, if you would mind just giving a little wave, we have Elizabeth McDonald, Daniel Kelly, Neil wetstone, Lauren hartnedd and Kay Pritchard are going to help us do what we need to do to help this office run the best it possibly can for the city of Austin. Thank you for your time. >> Mayor Adler: Okay. Thank you very much. I want to thank some public and elected officials that are with us here this evening. Travis county judge Sarah Eckhardt is here. [Cheers and applause] >> Mayor Adler: Jeff Travillion, Travis county commissioner I think is here. [Cheers and applause] >> Mayor Adler: Stephanie arkinian is here, ACC elect trustee. Bruce elfont, Travis county tax assessor/collector. We have constable George morales here, precinct 4, Travis county. [Cheers and applause] >> Mayor Adler: And we have Travis county democratic party chair Diana limom Mercado. [Cheers and applause] >> [Off mic] >> Mayor Adler: Thank you very much. I probably forgot or overlooked someone. If they just pass me notes, we'll make sure we get them recognized [6:47:33 PM] as well. On a more personal level, I want to -- myself, I want to thank the folks that have most keenly participated in me being here. I want to thank my campaign staff. I'm real proud that not only did they work on my chain, but these are people that helped deliver to the city positive votes on the 2016 mobility bond and some of the independent school district bonds in the area, and just going back for decades with contributions that they've made civically to the city, and thanking Jim wick and Laura Hernandez, in particular. I want to thank -- [cheers and applause] >> Mayor Adler: I want to thank my staff, who are here in the room and have spent so many nights, as all of our staffs had, late, working on behalf of the city, really doing the work of the council and the mayor's office with just incredible dedication and ungodly hours. Leslie vargese, my chief of staff, Cortez, my senior visor, Barbara shack, it's tough to keep schedules. I used to keep my own schedule until Barbara told me I had abused the privilege. [Laughter] >> Mayor Adler: Jeanine Clark and Michael Mcgill, thank you very much. I want to thank city manager ewe for coming in, in a year, changing so many things, helping us grow, helping us get things done in new ways with new eyes. I want to thank your staff and [6:49:34 PM] the 14,000 members of the Austin city employment force. It is the best of any city. [Applause] >> Mayor Adler: I want to thank all the volunteers that have volunteered to work in my office, and mostly I want to thank Diane,, who I love dealer. Dearly.it's hard to be the partner or spouse of someone who is serving in one of these elected roles. It's just hard. It's especially hard, I think, when you're married to someone that does such a poor job of finding a life/work balance, as I -- as I am challenged in that respect. And fortunately, I married a kindred spirit who is doing this job with me and shares with me that inability to balance that correctly. [Laughter] [Cheers and applause] >> Mayor Adler: My message today I think is primarily intended for my colleagues on the -- on the dais. I just feel such honor working with all of you. I know well from two years or four years, the folks that have been on this dais, I know everyone in that group to be hard-working, everyone to be motivated with the community interest. And while we have at times disagreed on how best to accomplish that, I know that everyone here on this dais leads with an altruistic and selfless [6:51:37 PM] motivation, and I'm proud to be part of a body that you can say that about. To our new colleagues on the dais, I've had a chance over the last 12 months of being involved on the campaign trail with you. I have seen you speak. I have seen you relate to your now constituents. I know that you have inspired people, that you have come into contact with. I know that you have spoken from your hearts. You -- you belong on this dais and with this group, and I am really excited to be able to do this work coming up with you and with this entire dais. I will say that I am real excited about these next two years and this council. And I'm excited because -- and I've been now -- this is my third inauguration period, and I'm just really excited because in a way, that has not been true in the first two. And quite frankly, in a way that I don't think has been true, as I've watched other councils before us, come in. We are and this city is poised to really get some really big things done. You know, government works way too slowly. It takes too long to line everything up for things to actually come into -- come into being. But this council has the advantage of people that have been setting us up for the last 20 years, and the last 10 years, and councils that were setting us up five years ago, and our work over the last four years, we are truly, I think, poised to move things across the finish line that this community has been waiting for for a really long [6:53:38 PM] period of time. We've set things up, and I really think that the moment is now for us to be able to do that. When you look at the issues that you all have spoken to and that the community has spoken to, on affordability, on homelessness, we have the work that was done before us, but we also have really keen work of councilmember tovo and councilmember kitchen and, quite fra, everybody who is sitting up on this dais, but we have endorsed the action plan to end homelessness. We've identified $30 million in the waller creek tif to bring to bear, the work that's happening to end youth homelessness has been successful, and we're ahead of where we anticipated being, and now the community is asking us to take all of that with us, that action plan, the work that our staff is doing to pull together all those pieces, posting right now to bring into city work an ombudsman or homelessness challenge czar, so we have someone to focus on this. It is all happening right now. And we have the ability, I think, over the next two years, to really set us on a course and reallye all that work that everybody's done and move it forward, on displacement, you know, an issue that is critical, that councils have tried to work on for decades in this city. We know because we just did an inventory of a work that all the councils had done, leading into this, and I want to especially thank councilmember pool for her work and, well, quite frankly, all of us on this dais. We have the people's plan that's [6:55:38 PM] moved forward. We have the UT study. We have the task force on displacement. We have all these things that have come together. Staff now is completing a review of all that work over the last 20 years, and I expect that within the first few months, we're going to be presented with really specific things that we should be doing on displacement because now the cards are aligned for us to be able to move that forward. It's true about housing in this city and affordability. Again we're at the beginning. I want to thank councilmember Casar and Renteria and tovo for their work, and quite frankly, all of us on the dais. The bond that we just passed is a community with $250 million. A lot of people always talk about the things you want to do and there's not the money to do them. Well, we have the money to do them now, and it's just a question of taking everything that we've learned and everything that we've set up, and then making those things happen. We have a strike force working on workforce housing that in the last eight weeks has closed on the first three properties that they have. We are poised to actually start planning affordable units on public lands, so city of Austin lands, on school district lands, on other partners. We are right there and ready to be able to do that work because of the work that others have done leading us into that. Just like the land development code. I want to -- well, again, quite frankly, everybody here. We learned a lot from going through that process, where the challenges were, where the opportunities were, where we can move together as a group, and we are poised, I think, to deliver that for a community that needs us to resolve that; on mobility with project connect. For decades now, we've been trying to get a high-capacity transit system in this city on [6:57:39 PM] dedicated pathways, and we've tried and tried, but now I think the time is right, and we've launched that two-year effort, and I want to thank the members of our council that are on capmetro. I want to thank the members of our dais that are on campo. I want to thank the members of our dais that are on the transportation committee, which is another way of, once again, saying everybody that is up here, for the work that we have all done collectively, to get us to the place where we are ready to adopt that plan, to execute that plan, to go to voters with that plan, to pass the Austin strategic mobility plan. It's been years in the making. That's going to be coming to us in just two months. We're poised, again, with all that work, for us to be able to make that happen. The 2016 corridor bonds is going to be something that we implement here coming up. Then working, finally, on government that matters and government that works in this city. Councilmember Flannigan, I want to thank you for that work. Councilmember alter, thank you, especially, for that work as well, and councilmember Edwards, and manager, and again, everybody on this dais for the work, we are poised to be able to actually implement the strategic planning process we went through in a way that is having the most direct impact on the decisions that we make, open a budget so that now we can deliver a budget in a focuses not on what we're going to see that we can spend new money on, but enable us to actually look at what we shouldn't spend money on any longer as we align the priorities that we have. And then, finally, I think that this council here in the last four years especially has really taken to heart the admonition that we should make sure that equity is part of the filter for everything that we do. And I think it truly has been. And I think that's one of the things that we build off of, as we see that impacting all of the [6:59:40 PM] decisions that we make. And I just -- you know, this was an important election we just went through. And in a lot of respects, it was a decisive election that we just went through. I think, and I want to take from this election, that people in this community trust us to get this job done. That's why you have bonds that pass at 70, 75, and 80%. Quite frankly, I think, my bias, the fact that propositions J and K did not pass was the community saying that they trusted this --to be able to make those decisions and move this forward. I think -- [cheers and applause] >> Mayor Adler: But with that trust from the community comes the expectation that because everything has been set, because we are so close to being able to execute and get these things doneth that trust comes the expectation that we will perform. The expectations that we will get these big things done, that people have been waiting years to realize. And I believe that if we approach these as I know we will, as a team, where we help one another and work with one another, and battle the tough issues, wherever they are, but at the end, to be able to look at each other and say, bottom line, we are going to get the big things done, and we're just going to knock them off, and we're going to move forward, I believe we can do that I believe that we will do that. And then I want to conclude by saying, you know, we -- many of us were in the dais here this past weekend when we talked about mayor Gus Garcia. And I think that is a real good thought for us to have as we begin this work. He was a humble leader. He was someone who led with great humility. He was somebody that brought [7:01:42 PM] people together. He was somebody that reached out to everyone in our city, including those that didn't have people THA really reached out to them in those ways before. But he also worked to bring councils together. We can do this. We have to do this. There's an expectation we're going to do this, and we are just poised and primed to do this. And it's going to be an honor for me to do this with you. Thank you. [Applause] >> Mayor Adler: All right. So, with that I think we have a couple of items of business that we need to take care of in tonight's meeting. We're going to consider the election of the mayor pro tem of the Austin city council. The mayor pro tem plays a real important role at city council meetings, at ceremonial functions in helping to lead the council. It's a post that is selected by us from -- from us, an election by peers. Is there a motion to nominate a city councilmember as mayor pro tem? Councilmember tovo. >> Tovo: Mayor thank you, for recognizing me for a motion. I've had the real honor of serving as mayor pro tem and having been elected by this body twice to serve in that capacity, and now I have the honor of nominating my colleague, councilmember Garza, to serve as mayor pro tem. [Cheers and applause] >> Mayor Adler: There's been a motion to nominate councilmember Garza as mayor pro tem. Is there a second to that motion? [7:03:42 PM] Councilmember Renteria seconds that motion. Councilmember Casar joins in the second. Is there any discussion? Councilmember Casar. >> Casar: Delia, before I start calling you -- Delia, we've been through a lot together, and I admire you a lot. What I admire most about you isn't titles or the thanks that you've gotten done, but I really admire who you are. You're someone who I think never forgets who they are and what they stand for. I saw your family here. I know your parents must be so proud of everything you've accomplished. Our city is proud and I'm proud that girls like Lordes not only get to grow up in a city that's had a Latina councilmember, but to also grow up in a city that's had a Latina mayor pro tem. I know as mayor pro tem you'll continue to be a great advocate for those folks who need at this time most in our city. I'm really excited to support this nomination. And mayor pro tem tovo, you've done a great service to the city as mayor pro tem in a really critical time when we transitioned to 10-1, you brought institutional knowledge and the kind of humility the mayor spoke about. That's so important for all of us. Our first motion on this dais four years ago was to nominate you as mayor pro tem. I'm really proud of that motion and want to thank you for your service. [Applause] >> Mayor Adler: Any further discussion before we vote? Councilmember tovo, I, too, want to thank you for your service in this role. You know, a lot of the work that happens in this role are things that people don't see. You have made this council work so much better, and quite frankly, even though you don't have this title going forward, given your experience and background and your abilities, I hope you continue and trust you [7:05:43 PM] will to keep us moving forward and to our next mayor pro tem, I'm very excited at the prospect and look forward to working with you on that. Councilmember Renteria. >> Renteria: Yes, I really -- I second Delia. She's been a public servant, you know, since receives a firefighter. She's a great leader, especially in district 2, in dove spring. Growing up here in Austin, I grew up when Austin was a segregated city. We didn't have these kind of opportunities that we have these days, you know. And that was -- that has been my fight for years and years of, you know, having, you know, a mixed race, mixed income, everything that I believe can make a great city, you know. We need to work together and we need to provide opportunities for everyone, no matter who they are, out here in Austin. You know, we never want to go back to what it used to be here, you know, where you weren't allowed at a certain part of town, you couldn't go -- you couldn't swim in a swimming pool because of the color of your skin, you know. So I'm really proud, really proud to have -- not only the first Latina elected here in Austin, but also having the first mayor pro tem Latina elected in Austin. So I really thank and appreciate everything that you have done. You've been a great leader here for us, you know. You have done so much for us, and I really want to thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Let's go ahead and take a vote. [Applause] >> Mayor Adler: Those in favor of in favor of the motion, please raise your hand. Those opposed? It is unanimous on the dais. [Cheers and applause] [7:07:53 PM] >> Mayor Adler: Mayor pro tem, do you want to say anything? >> Garza: Those of you that kind of follow city politics know that I'm the cryer of the group, but that's what happens when you start electing Latinas, you get some passion; right? [Laughter] >> Garza: I want to thank my colleagues for putting their trust in me and giving me the opportunity to serve as your mayor pro tem. I deeply respect mayor pro tem tovo and appreciate all her work and leadership. As the new 10-1 council embarked on making this new form of government a success and representing all of Austin, during this journey together, her experience and leadership has been invaluable. Some might say that the position of mayor pro tem is largely symbolic. I would say that symsm is one of the most important ways we show our values as a community and as a representative government. Symbolism is a powerful asset when fighting for those who need your voice the most. We recently witnessed one of the most historic days for women of color when we swore in a record number to congress, including our first place Muslim. [Applause] Our first Muslim, native American, our youngest congress woman, a Latina. I'm proud to be the first Latina elected to this council but I'm saddened it's taken so long to have a Latina. But it's not the most achievement, ensuring that I'm not the last, now mayor pro tem, Latina mayor pro tem will be all of our responsibility. I want young Latinas to look at our leadership and see themselves and know they can serve in this capacity or achieve whatever goal they set for themselves. So, again, thank you to my colleagues for placing trust in me. I want to welcome my new colleagues. I thank my staff. They truly believe the work we do and pour their heart into that work every day, just like other city staff. [7:09:54 PM] I want to thank my family -- for encouragement. They're our support of that. Thank you to the community for your engagement and always holding us accountable. We will do all that we can to represent our great city. Thank you. [Applause] >> Mayor Adler: And what is a pretty incredible gesture, I did not anticipate that our congressman, Lloyd Doggett, would actually be able to be with us tonight, given everything that's happening in Washington, but I understand that he is here with us here in the room. [Cheers and applause] >> Mayor Adler: Last item of business, we're now going to draw seats, as has become the new tradition of the council, rather than having assigned seats going 1 through 10, as was the past kind of custom, we draw new seating arrangements every six months to ensure that everybody has a chance to sit next to their colleagues and be a little bit closer and learn a little bit more about each. So we are now going to draw seats so that the clerk can set us up. The clerk is going to walk to each member, they're going to select a number. Number 1 will be the seat on the west side of the dais near the clerk's table. Number 10 is going to be on the east side -- [laughter] >> Mayor Adler: You know if this comes out that same way there, we're going to have -- >> [Off mic] [7:11:55 PM] >> Mayor Adler: What number did you draw? >> One million dollars. [Laughter] >> Mayor Adler: Number 4. Pio, what did you get? >> Renteria: 6. >> Mayor Adler: 6? You never move very far, do you? Huh? What did you draw? >> 3. >> Mayor Adler: 3? >> Flannigan: 10. >> Mayor Adler: 10? Ann what did you draw? 5? >> 9. >> 7. >> Mayor Adler: 7. 8. Meant to be. All right. Thank you. So the clerk will set us up that way when we come in, and when we're next together. I think that those were all the items of business. Before we adjourn, before we adjourn real fast, because I know people will move, if the council could really quickly just move down to the front of the dais, they're going to take a picture of us for the archives or otherwise, and as soon as the picture is taken, we will adjourn this meeting. Let's all move down here now. 1 is there. Let's take a picture. Oh, the been addiction. Tyi, we're going to come back to you first. So that you all don't leave, I didn't quite have this right, we're going to go down and take a picture, then we're going to come back up to the dais, and at that [7:13:59 PM] point we have -- tji is going to sing another song for us, "America the beautiful," the chaplain is going to give a been addiction, and then we'll adjourn. So let's take a picture real fast and then come back up to the dais. [7:16:58 PM] >> Mayor Adler: We're losing people, people. All right. If we could have everybody's attention, please, if y'all will come up back to the dais, tji, you sang a beautiful song for us before if I could have everyone's attention, please. [Applause] Tji, if you would sing "America the beautiful" for us, we would appreciate it. >> All right. ♪♪ Singing "America the beautiful." ♪♪ [7:19:13 PM] >> Mayor Adler: Chaplain, if you would do the benediction for us, please. >> Mr. Mayor, I can assure you the prayer will be brief. Could we pray. Lord, as we bring this joyous ceremony to a close, we ask for the strength and steadfastness to keep the promises and commitments that have been made here. Help us to live up to the dream of Austin. May we see the day when every citizen and visiter to this place is valued, respected, and honored, and when justice rolls down like a river and righteousness like a never- ending stream. [Speaking Spanish] Amen. >> Mayor Adler: I want to -- I want to thank everybody for coming, being part of this. I want to especially thank the staff for making this happen, for Thomas growser, who played the music before we got started. [Applause] Tyi Austin, thank you as much. Again, beautiful. Chaplain Randall, thank you so much for that function. Judge statman, thank you very much for your work.ese people made this feel very special for all of us, and we are appreciative. If you have not gotten your parking ticket validated, there is staff available in the lobby to do that, and we invite everyone, our friends to join us [7:21:13 PM] in the reception for some refreshments and some soft music. Colleagues, congratulations. I look forward to our work. We are adjourned.