by Alex Blum
Candidate for City Council, District 7
Platform Snapshot:
Vote Blum this November for City Council District 7 to help make north Austin a GREAT place to live.
What does G.R.E.A.T. mean?
GREEN spaces are important to maintain Austin’s high quality of living, especially with the Parks and Rec mandate stating that all citizens should have green spaces to meet friends and build communities within walking distance (0.25 of a mile). We are no where close to that goal, especially in North Austin. That is why a project like
RESTORE Rundberg is such an important initiative. Restore Rundberg seeks to progressively reduce crime through education and employment rather than harsh enforcement, build sidewalks and crosswalks to make roads safer for school-aged children, and to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline that has become such an opportunity-killer for children within AISD. Our goal is to make Austin more
EGALITARIAN; because all Austinites deserve the chance to thrive regardless of their education or income level. It’s important that we as a city and a district provide opportunities to the less fortunate and give them the ability to legally contribute to the well-being of their families and communities. A large part of this is ensuring that Austin remains
AFFORDABLE; reasonably priced and conveniently located housing is essential to the continued healthy growth of Austin. Austin is the fastest-growing city in the United States as of December2013; in order to maintain a rich and diverse community we must strive to keep affordable housing available to citizens who seek it over the next decade. As the city grows, it’s important that we don’t forget about the
TRANSPORTATION infrastructure of the city. Our municipal funds should be used to ease traffic burdens by constructing new avenues for our citizens to get to work and school efficiently and inexpensively. As of 2011, Austin had the nations third-worst traffic, behind only huge cities like Los Angeles and the Washington D.C. area. We need aggressive and innovative solutions to resolve this problem, and we need them now.
Bio:
Alex Blum is a native Texan, born and raised in Houston and has lived in Austin for the last 6 years. He works in an administrative capacity for Amazon and will graduate from the University of Texas in May with a self-funded degree in Rhetoric and Writing with a minor in Psychology. This is his first campaign for public office; Alex plans to bring a mix of youth, energy and passion to his representation of the interests of District 7. Alex continues to be active in the community through various non-profit and civic initiatives.