During APRIL, Lakeway’s LOCAL ELECTION SEASON, my blog splits into TWO ISSUES. Yesterday’s April 6 blog was the usual version—Lakeway events, space stuff, women’s rights updates, deer photos, etc. Today, April 7, I am posting the ELECTION ISSUE—covering everything you will see on your ballot–Lakeway Council, $22MIL Lakeway Parks Bond, Lake Travis ISD Board, and Travis County Appraisal District Board. The same split will happen next time, on April 20 and 21.
May 4 LOCAL ELECTION
Early voting starts April 22, with Election Day on Saturday, May 4. Please VOTE!
There are 4 things happening in this election—3 Lakeway Council seats get filled, a $22MIL Lakeway Parks bond gets voted up or down, 2 Lake Travis ISD Board seats get filled, and 3 Travis County Appraisal District Board seats get filled. Each is covered right here, with info I have gathered, my impressions, and tons of links for you to get MORE info if desired.
Go here to put in your name and birthday and SEE YOUR BALLOT for this election: https://sites.omniballot.us/48453/app/sampleBallot/vr
LAKEWAY COUNCIL
Three Council seats are open. Four candidates are running. The 3 getting the most votes will win. Everyone has 3 votes. (Sorry, but there IS math involved….)
Just want the down-and-dirty version? Here is all you really need to know!
Want MORE? Read on!
Media Coverage:
–Check out Community Impact’s candidate profiles and Q&As, here: https://communityimpact.com/austin/lake-travis-westlake/election/2024/03/11/election-qa-meet-the-lakeway-city-council-candidates/
–League of Women Voters’ Candidate Q&A: Coming soon.
Candidate Meet and Greets/Forums:
—April 11, 7PM: We the People will host a Council Candidate Forum, at the Rough Hollow Pavilion (903 Highlands Blvd.). See above image. Come early for the social gathering at 6:30PM. FYI, this sponsor may not be a favored group of yours, but their candidate gatherings in recent years have been well worth attending.
–April 16, 6:30- 8:30 PM: The Local Election Candidate Symposium will be hosted by Lake Travis Democrats and Voices for Progress, at the Lakeway Activity Center. This will include candidates for the Lakeway City Council, LTISD Board, and the Travis County Tax Appraisal District. Plus–Merrie Fox, State Senate Candidate 25, and an overview of the City of Lakeway’s Park Bond proposition.
–UPDATE—April 18, 6PM: Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce will host a COUNCIL Candidate Forum at the Lakeway Activity Center. This will be followed by an LTISD Candidate Forum at 7:30PM.
WATCH FUTURE BLOGS for updates on the candidates, info on events, links to media Q&As, etc.
My election analysis….
If you want a really deep dive, read my March 9 and March 23 blogs, which both opened with Election coverage. Bits and pieces will re-appear here, but not everything.
People always ask me who to vote for. Well, start with election math: No matter what, 3 of the 4 candidates will win.
And, elections are usually about WHO WINS. But, I think this election is all about WHO LOSES. That must be Chris Levy. I promise to explain why—keep reading.
Vote for Kelly Brynteson, an incumbent.
VOTE for Matt Sherman. Matt is a dedicated and driven advocate for Lakeway, plus he already has experience in high-level city matters (see below). Truly, Matt is the bright spot in what is otherwise a pretty dreary election. When I vote for Matt, I will smile.
Vote for Jennifer Szimanski, an incumbent..
Happily, Kelly, Matt and Jenny are, by random drawing, the top 3 names listed on your ballot in the Council race.
So—just vote for 1, 2 and 3. And you are done!
Seriously, do NOT vote for the 4th candidate, Chris Levy. He would be catastrophic on the dais, tipping Council over to complete mayhem and a body that serves developers, special interests, the Old Guard and Lakeway’s elite, at the cost of the rest of us. (Much more on Mr. Levy, below.)
The Candidates
Matt Sherman is a 5-year Lakeway resident living in The Preserve. He now serves as Chair of the Comprehensive Plan Committee, as well as a Commissioner on the Zoning and Planning Commission. (Image credits: Matt Sherman for Council.) His campaign website and Facebook page have considerable informative content and are here: https://www.mattshermanforlakeway.com/ https://www.facebook.com/mattshermanforlakeway
Kelly Brynteson is a 16-year Lakeway resident living in Flintrock, currently seeking a second term. (Image credit: City of Lakeway.) Her Facebook page and official bio are here: https://www.facebook.com/kellyforlakeway https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2007/Councilmember-Kelly-Brynteson
Jennifer Szimanski is a 12-year Lakeway resident living in Rough Hollow, currently seeking a second term. (Image credit: City of Lakeway.) Her Facebook page and official bio are here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077428167465 https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2006/Councilmember-Jennifer-Szimanski
Chris Levy is a 16-year Lakeway resident living in Old Lakeway. He is also a NIGHTMARE. This candidate has ZERO experience serving the city in any capacity. Levy is all over social media, but he refuses to answer questions about his policies for Lakeway. Instead, Levy posts, on Next Door for example, scathing diatribes against whoever most recently irked him, and he immediately blocks comments so that no one can respond. Drive-by posting is cowardly for anyone, but for a candidate to do that hints at far worse to come if he takes office. On his own campaign’s Facebook page, Levy BLOCKED it early on to all but his pals; so much for transparency and informing voters, right? I confronted him on Next Door about this, and as of March 22, he removed the blocks. But, if anyone comments there with a view he doesn’t like or with a policy question for him, he threatens to block them. And, he routinely deletes posts on his page—even his own comments—after he blows up and shows his true nature. (When dealing with Levy, screenshots are mandatory.) https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556480009185
Campaign Finance Reports
Council candidates filed their first Campaign Finance Report with the city last week, covering all contributions and expenditures from the start of the campaign to March 25. (A second report is due on April 26, and then a final report is filed after the May 4 election.) All 4 reports can be seen here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2132/Current-Candidate-Filings
Reports like this say a lot about candidates—who is donating to them (and how much), plus how they use the money. Is the report transparent? Do the numbers balance? Did they spend money like water? (If so, KEEP THEM AWAY FROM OUR TAX DOLLARS.) The 2 incumbents’ reports were pretty boring; both had major funding in prior elections and bought their signs back then, so …. But, the 2 challengers in this race could not be more different, as their reports demonstrate. Matt did things right, and he exercised fiscal restraint. Levy’s report doesn’t come close to balancing; the only thing that is clear is his wild over-spending—and there is still a month to go before the election.
MATT SHERMAN received $805 in contributions and spent $5,665. He funded early expenses (mostly signs) by making a loan to his campaign. So, all expenses flow through the campaign account, which is less messy and prone to error than when candidates pay for campaign items with their credit cards. Matt capped contributions at $100, which means he can’t be pressured later to help out a big contributor. For expenses, Matt paid Stokes $2,792 for signs. The only other major expense is $1,596 for advertising (in the upcoming issue of Community Impact, I believe). He paid $515 for shirts, $356 for sign materials, and $245 for his website; the rest was for event supplies and financial fees. Matt’s report is crystal clear and balances to the penny.
CHRIS LEVY received $8,000 in contributions. His only cash contributor was Gretchen Nearburg, who ponied up $5,000. In addition, Kim Mulloy sponsored a campaign event that Levy reported as an in kind contribution of $3,000. Per the report (see the above image above), Levy has, so far, spent $54,067. Or, maybe closer to $33,000. Hard to tell, as Levy’s report is full of errors and inconsistencies. Either amount is crazy for a local race, and a volunteer position…. Instead of funding his campaign with an early loan, Levy went the credit card route.
Levy paid Stokes $8,203 for signs, plus another $1,185 to Home Depot for stakes and the rest needed to erect all those big signs. Plus, Levy paid John Cummings (of May, TX) $3,248 in salary for general campaign work, that seems to be largely pounding sign stakes into the ground. (If you think Levy’s signs have ruined every lovely vista in town, he spent nearly $13,000 doing it—so far.) Advertising is an even bigger expense; Levy paid $19,033 to Community Impact, plus another $1,319 to Sarita Geisel for advertising and logos. Adding a few events expenses brings Levy’s total as itemized to around $33,000. Yet, page 2 of his report clearly says expenditures were $54,067. So, where did the other $21,000 go? Oddly, the report says the $54,000 is roughly $30,000 from credit cards and $24,000 from personal funds. My best guess is that he or his treasurer (Lauren Frederick, of Liberty Hill, TX, who Google says is a CPA/tax preparer) got confused and reported Levy’s subsequent payments TO his credit card as expenditures, creating duplications. The math is still way off, but that’s for Levy to correct and file an amended report. We’ll see. Of course, more expenses (signs, advertising, events, etc.) will appear on the second campaign report, end of April.
Levy is not a nice guy. PART 1.
On Broadcast, Levy’s Council run has prompted local residents—mostly women—to relate disturbing things he did after a disagreement. In some cases, they say Levy mailed threatening letters—or just left disturbing notes at the door. In other cases, they say he repeatedly slow-rolled past their homes until he got noticed and his implied threat was delivered. Sounds unlikely, right? Folks are just being mean to the poor guy, maybe? Well, I know personally what Chris Levy will do and how he reacts when thwarted. During the 2023 election, his comments to and about me on social media were threatening enough that the police were informed (NOT by me), and my house was put on their list for enhanced patrols.
Then, in 2024, Levy decided to run for Council. So he mailed me a Christmas card. In FEBRUARY. About when he filed as a candidate. And he scrawled on the envelope: “Not sure how we forgot about you…. ” Obviously, Levy and I are not card-exchanging pals. Levy wanted me to understand that HE KNOWS WHERE I LIVE, in hopes of intimidating me and keeping me quiet about his candidacy. Didn’t work….
Here is what he mailed to me. (I covered the faces and names of his wife and daughter, although Levy himself posts their images all over his Facebook campaign page and elsewhere online, as well as using them in his print advertising.)
Levy is not a nice guy. PART 2.
Several residents, including me, have tried over and over to get Levy to clarify his policies, elaborate on his plans for the city, and answer questions that we posed to ALL the candidates. We get absolutely nothing back, except delays, excuses and whining about how unfairly he is treated.
So, on April 3, I arrived at City Hall just a couple minutes before my Zoning and Planning meeting was to start. Levy accosted me near the front door and demanded I talk to him. I reminded him that as a ZAPCO Commissioner, I needed to get inside for the meeting. I asked him to discuss his policies for Lakeway in a public forum and also post that Old Lakeway recording he made, so all residents can decide how to vote; he refused on both counts. No surprise there…. I went inside for the meeting. Levy drove away. He didn’t bother to go inside and engage in city business. Not exactly the model of a good Councilmember….
But Levy didn’t stop there. That night, he posted on his campaign Facebook page a message needling me about the encounter. When I posted a response, he panicked and removed the whole thread—that HE had started. That’s why he only wants to communicate on his Facebook page; he deletes anything that doesn’t fit his narrative. And that’s why it doesn’t work to post policy questions there in hopes of getting answers from him about anything. Levy uses his campaign page to play hide and seek with voters. Here are the contemporaneous screenshots I took.
Levy’s bizarre Old Lakeway misadventure.
I related this sorry saga (Levy attacking his neighbors, recording over an hour of foul-mouthed rants about them, and uploading that to YouTube) in detail in my March 9 blog; backtrack to that if you missed it.
Below are some of Levy’s comments to his pal on the phone. They are full of hate toward his neighbors, making fun of them for being older folks and denigrating their homes as cheap $%@#holes. This is directly from the recording he made and uploaded, for whatever bizarre reason…. People send me stuff, so I have heard the recording. I decided not to upload it here, because it features and identifies other people, who didn’t know they were being recorded. Still, Levy is threatening to sue me and several Lakeway residents he assumes are involved, for outing him on this. Even though HE made the recording, and HE uploaded it publicly. That’s Chris Levy. That is what bullies do.
One last thing. Levy DOES NOT DENY HE SAID ALL THIS TRASH. Instead, he is playing the victim, whining that he has changed since 2017. Don’t buy it. The guy on the recording is the same guy who for many years and TO THIS DAY causes trouble wherever he can–on social media, in the polling place parking lot, in court suing the city, at Council meetings, on and on. And, he is NOW threatening to sue anyone who dares to thwart him. Of course he is. In my experience, he is mean, he is a bully, he oozes grievance and entitlement, and there is nothing that he won’t do to get his way.
But—you decide. In his own words:
CHRIS LEVY: “I went to this meeting, what they did was they took this first development neighborhood in Lakeway, right? And this group of people who own these 1971, pre-71 homes, you know, like the least valuable homes in Lakeway. And they created this thing called Old Lakeway. They got the city to let them put signs up in our neighborhood that now declare our neighborhood as Old Lakeway. And so they have also come up with this concept called the Lakeway 300, which are basically the first 300 homes built in Lakeway, pre-April 71. They’re the least valuable homes in Lakeway, these 300 homes.”
CHRIS LEVY: “And dude, I got to tell you, a lot of my rich neighbors, we’re thinking about getting a lawyer and suing this guy.”
CHRIS LEVY: “And I have it all recorded. I’ll let you listen to it. I’ll send you the file because, dude, they jumped on me with knives when I started to point out what they were doing was going to be… They basically hate rich people and they hate our generation and they hate Rough Hollow. They hate The Hills and they hate new homes. And basically, because they all own these $300,000 shithole homes that are 46 years old, they don’t want people building new homes around them. But what they don’t realize is the new homes are what make their homes valuable.”
CHRIS LEVY: “Yeah. There were 22 people there. Half of them were senior citizens.”
This is grim stuff, I know. But, because of that pesky election math, residents cannot afford to sit out this election, even if is distasteful or you aren’t excited about the options. For the same reason, just voting for 1 of the non-Levy candidates isn’t enough. Remember—3 candidates win, no matter what. And Levy has money and connections; he saturated Lakeway with his signs for name recognition.
If YOU don’t vote—LEVY will win.
If YOU don’t vote for ALL OF THE OTHER 3 CANDIDATES—LEVY will win.
For all the reasons mentioned here—and many more–Chris Levy is NOT someone I want at City Hall making decisions for Lakeway. This election, all residents need to decide about that, and vote accordingly. Consider his zero experience with city matters, how he acts, what he says and does. Vote for Matt, Kelly and Jenny. Just don’t vote for Levy.
Please consider the above. Ask around. Think about who you want running Lakeway.
PARKS BOND
After several years of planning, Lakeway Council voted unanimously at its Feb. 5 meeting to put a $22MIL parks bond on the May ballot.
The funds would be used on 5 of our parks. Our long-time favorite recreational areas, City Park and the Swim Center, would get much-needed renovations and upgrades, so they can serve the city’s growing population well into the future. The Activity Center would get minor updates. The Live Oak Tennis Courts would be expanded. Finally, brand new Butler Park in Rough Hollow would be built from the ground up, finally providing families on that side of town with a wide variety of conveniently located recreational opportunities. See the chart above for a breakdown per park.
The $22MIL bond will add about $100 to the annual property tax bill on a home valued around $750K (the average here).
I see this as a legacy—what current residents will leave for our kids, grandkids, and all future residents of Lakeway. I moved here in 2009, but I have read and heard about all the kerfuffle that accompanied creation of City Park, Hamilton Greenbelt, the Activity Center, the Swim Center, etc. People ranted that each of those was TOO MUCH MONEY, NOT NEEDED, CRAZY OVERREACH, blah, blah, blah. And yet, now that we have these amazing amenities, they are used and beloved by an enormous number of residents. They play a large part in making Lakeway a wonderful place to live. Can you really imagine Lakeway WITHOUT the Greenbelts? WITHOUT the Activity Center? WITHOUT City Park? For me, that would be a sadly depleted Lakeway. I’m willing to pay a little more in property taxes, to refresh and expand our parkland legacy and enrich Lakeway’s future. The city has gathered info on the bond here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/2162/2024-Parks-Bond
LTISD SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION
Community Impact recently published candidate profiles and Q&As. Since the School Board runs in Places, there is an article on the Place 1 candidates, and an article on the Place 2 candidates.
Candidate Forums:
UPDATE:
–April 16, 6:30- 8:30 PM: The Local Election Candidate Symposium will be hosted by Lake Travis Democrats and Voices for Progress,at the Lakeway Activity Center. This will include candidates for the Lakeway City Council, LTISD Board, and the Travis County Tax Appraisal District. Plus–Merrie Fox, State Senate Candidate 25, and an overview of the City of Lakeway’s Park Bond proposition.
—April 18, 7:30PM: Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce will host an LTISD Candidate Forum at the Lakeway Activity Center. Come early for the Lakeway COUNCIL Candidate Forum at 6PM.
There are 2 contested seats this year. Incumbents Lauren White https://www.facebook.com/laurenwhiteforlaketravis and Phillip Davis https://www.facebook.com/Vote4PhillipDavis are seeking another term.
Both are former teachers.
Both are supported by Lake Travis Voices for Progress, in order to block the far-right Lake Travis Families PAC from controlling all 7 seats on the Board.
Lauren White and Phillip Davis OPPOSE book banning. They OPPOSE school vouchers. They are fighting for literacy, instead of wasting money on political stunts, and they are working to keep our tax dollars in Lake Travis ISD.
If you agree these things are vital, VOTE to Re-Elect Lauren White and Phillip Davis.
To meet the candidates, attend LT DEMS’ Local Election Candidate Symposium, April 16, 6:30- 8:30 PM, at the Lakeway Activity Center. All 4 LTISD candidates were invited. (Other local election candidates will be there, as well, including those running for Lakeway City Council, and the Travis County Tax Appraisal District, plus Merrie Fox, State Senate Candidate 25, and an overview of the City of Lakeway Parks Bond proposition.)
Here is a link with candidate info, videos and more: https://www.betterunite.com/ltv4p-2024ltisdschoolboardelection?fbclid=IwAR1qDom7gIn1a7wuLvBwhNRoNoiCWVCHjEkXdmkMHU7u-e2WQv5-T2VGpDc
Confused about all the fuss over book banning? This March 28 article on how library materials are reviewed/banned locally at LTISD is helpful in understanding the process. It also identifies the tiny number of parents responsible for exploding this issue since 2021. Lake Travis ISD emerges as a battleground for school book bans 3/28/24 https://www.kut.org/education/2024-03-28/lake-travis-school-book-ban-library-austin-texas
As for vouchers, the analogy stated above sums it up, as far as I’m concerned. (Thanks to LT Dems for the image.)
Need this free yard sign for the LTISD election? The folks at Voices for Progress will deliver one to you. Just fill out the form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdceri4wyWGXVcK6b4SEAnRymKYBUsP_SDQhT1aYdSbO-dUwA/viewform?fbclid=IwAR3lhFSZ8FSvtUhOT3JCn3NwwsfVI0KehNud8ucJ7V3xOw6PUHHz7xYxcMA
TCAD BOARD
3 seats on the Travis County Appraisal District Board get filled. This is a brand new election, as previously these were appointed positions. Similar to ISD, this Board runs in Places. So, there are 3 separate races to vote in, picking 1 candidate for each place. While this is technically a non-partisan election (so candidates’ party preference will not appear on the ballot), the rest of the Board is Republican, so it would really help to get Democrats elected. Plus, the elected Board members seem to have more power than the others.
The above image gives the background better than I can.
The above image, courtesy of the Jett Hanna campaign, has a summary of each race and links for each candidate. It also shows the party affiliation of each candidate. As it notes, Democrats are Jett Hanna, Shenghao “Daniel” Wang, and Dick Lavine. Republicans are Don Zimmerman, Matt Mackowiak, and Bill May. And, Jonathan Patschke is Libertarian. That should be a good starting point for any more research you want to do.
Again, to meet the candidates, attend LT DEMS’ Local Election Candidate Symposium, April 16, 6:30- 8:30 PM, at the Lakeway Activity Center. (Other local election candidates will be there, as well, including those running for Lakeway City Council and LTISD Board, plus Merrie Fox, State Senate Candidate 25, and an overview of the City of Lakeway Parks Bond proposition.)
Early voting starts April 22, with Election Day on Saturday, May 4.
So, pick your candidates, make a plan to vote—early or on election day. And—VOTE!