Austin Democrats for Yes on Prop B
A massive bipartisan coalition of 78% of Austinites agree that it was a mistake to remove all of our laws on camping in public & aggressively panhandling. Voting Yes on Prop B will bring back our laws & our city, & force the mayor & council to find real solutions.
Democrats For Proposition B
Every day, Austinites are suffering from the free-for-all associated with the City’s deregulation of all public camping and aggressive panhandling. It’s not helping the homeless and it’s not helping Austin. We asked over 10,000 Austinites what they should of the experiment with public camping, and here are some of their stories:
I’m a lifelong registered Democrat and plan to Vote Yes on Prop B. We live in South Austin and have seen our community and neighborhood become a free for all with camping and related crime. Our home backs to an alleyway and watershed... I voted for Ann Kitchen, but I never voted for this. As crime and camping continued to spiral out of control in our area I kept thinking surely this will be addressed. Instead police have told us their hands are tied and our area continues to become more unsafe with fires, camping on private property, homeless crime and now we have gang activity and aggressive panhandling at every corner. This situation has gotten completely out of hand and I feel this is our one shot to keep Austin from deteriorating beyond a point of no return . Struggling businesses suffer ongoing problems with theft and expensive property damage. Human feces and syringes are commonplace. This situation is getting worse with no end in sight. Public health and safety is a bipartisan issue. This situation is unsafe and unhealthy for all Austinites including our homeless residents. Please VOTE YES on PROP B! Wesley Russell.
An Environmental Disaster
The largest health risks associated with continued deregulated camping are the risks to Austin’s rivers and streams from human waste, trash, and needles, and the increased risk of transmitting communicable diseases among those experiencing homelessness. Deregulated homeless camps also increase the risk of pedestrian vs. vehicle accidents. Further, as we’ve seen, the vast amount of litter accumulated and the use of propane tanks have increased the risk of fires around our highways and toxic smoke.
Our Homeless Deserve Better
A Yes vote on Prop B restores the commonsense laws that our city had for 23 years until 2019. Those laws restrict where one can publicly camp and aggressively panhandle. These are public safety laws - they’re not, as the fringe movement supporting the status quo claims - about “criminalizing” the act of being homeless. In fact, the Austin Police Association shared that during those 23 years, they got over 95% compliance with the rules. The current situation isn’t good for the homeless and it’s not good for anyone else.
People Move to Austin for Our Lax Approach, Growing the Problem
The sister of Edward Macintosh, a homeless man who attacked a woman on 6th Street unprovoked, spoke out to CBS Austin. She said that her brother moved to Austin from a group home once the ordinance was lifted.
“In addition to reconsidering the city's homeless ordinance, she says her hope is that city will look at more resources for the mentally ill and those who struggle with addiction. "There's more people like Edward who have chosen to leave their homes because now they can," said Janet. "And with that, there are going to be more Ms. Karli's. There is going to be more victims."
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Hear From Austin Democrats
Why do I, as a longtime Democrat, support Prop B? I support Prop B because individuals experiencing homelessness need our help. Leaving a vulnerable population to live and die in squalor in tents on public city property is not the answer, especially not when the city has funds allocated to help these people but is not using them. It is a public health hazard, an ecological nightmare, and a serious public safety issue not just for these individuals, but also for the rest of us who live and work in Austin. I've seen people performing sex acts and doing drugs in broad daylight at the encampments on Riverside Drive and under the overpasses; my boyfriend had a handful of coins thrown in his face by a panhandler angered by the amount of the spare change he was given. I understand these people are desperate and thus becoming more aggressive, but I no longer feel safe walking in nearby parks and I've also stopped frequenting businesses where I've been, or seen other patrons, harassed by individuals experiencing homelessness. I know I'm not the only one. I worry too that tourism will be negatively affected after we fully reopen post-COVID if we don't reinstate the camping ban. And again, I wonder -- why are Mayor Adler and the Austin City Council not using the funds set aside to help alleviate homelessness? Where is that money going? Why are they buying hotels for considerably more than they're appraised under the pretense of housing those in need but then not using them?
- Anne L.
I’ve been a lifelong democrat and was born and raised in Austin. I graduated from Westwood high school in Austin. Open camping was discouraged from former APD chief and current Chief of UT police because it’s dangerous to citizens and UT college students. These two top leaders in law enforcement warned the mayor not to allow open camping before it was allowed. They were both right and ignored by Austin’s mayor and the council members who voted to allow open camping. Assaults against men and women have increased since open camping has been allowed. That’s why I plan to vote yes to prob B to end open camping.
— Michael B.
