Anyone who has ever thought of dabbling in politics, here’s a chance to dabble without a long-term commitment.

Wednesday, October 06, 1999

Anyone who has ever thought of dabbling in politics, here’s a chance to dabble without a long-term commitment.

There’s an Austin City Council seat up for grabs in the 1st ward and a person doesn’t even have to go door knocking to get it. All you have to do is live there, be 18 years old or older, and be a qualified voter.

Applications are available at from the city clerk’s office at City Hall and the term is only 13 months. Plenty of time to get used to the job, but not four long years if you discover it’s not really to your liking.

Be warned, however. Sitting on the city council in this town is not for the faint of heart or for slackers.

First to address the slacker issue. The council meets the first and third Monday of each month for the official council meeting – that can take anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours, rarely longer. It’s the committee meetings in between that are killer.

There are eight committees, each with a chair and two other council members. There’s a finance/personnel committee, an ordinance/health committee, committees on streets/sidewalks/curb/highways, fire department and public safety, park and recreation/arena, airport/light/water/railroads, environmental services and, finally, police and public safety. Most council members are on three committees.

Some committees meet nearly every week, others once a month. All council meetings and committee meetings are posted at City Hall every week and are open to the public.

In committee is where the bulk of the tough work gets done: research, discussion, presentations, etc. Committee is also where the citizen should go to actually affect a change. Generally by the time an action reaches the stage of formal council approval, the pertinent committee has discussed the pros and cons, made a recommendation and – unless you have some earth-shattering news – most council members have already pretty much decided which way they’re going to vote.

Being on the council – for that matter, even covering the council – is another part-time job. Don’t apply if you aren’t serious.

Next rule – don’t apply if you can’t take abuse. It’s not often people come in to tell the council they’re doing a good job; more often it’s the opposite. Some folks are thoughtful; some are rude; others can be downright threatening and many just won’t shut up.

Be prepared for the papers to quote you when you’re brilliant as well as when you can’t believe you said something that stupid in public. The television will do the same. People and press will phone you at home, interrupt your yard work, ask you questions and complain about sewage rates. They’ll ask you to fix things the Federal government can’t fix and call you a liar when you say you can’t.

On the good side, being on the council in Austin really counts for something. There are seven council members: two from each ward and a council member at-large. They’re the ones who ultimately decide – with the help of the mayor and city staff – whether to raise or lower taxes, spend money on bike trails, raze the entire downtown, build a bigger airport or library or allow people to raise iguanas within city limits.

So, residents of 1st Ward, now’s your chance. Pick up an application and turn it in by Oct. 22. Interviews are that week with the appointment to be official at the Nov. 1 council meeting. I’m told the interviews aren’t too painful, and it would be most gratifying to see Austin’s recent trend toward enthusiastic involvement in local government continue.

Then, if you decide you like the job, you can run in the November 200 election. If not, you can graciously bow out at the end of December … 2000 that is.

Note to readers: if this column sounds familiar that’s because it’s roughly what I write every time there’s an open council seat. Some things don’t change much.

Jana Peterson’s column appears Wednesdays