Editor’s note. AustinDistrict7.org’s editorial board, consisting of neighborhood leaders from throughout the new District 7, met at the start of October to discuss a candidate endorsement, but decided not to endorse. Instead, the site has offered each candidate the opportunity to submit an endorsement by local supporters. In this piece, District 7 resident and recent parent Chris Lippincott explains his support for Jimmy Paver.

My wife and I are both 20-year residents of Austin. We bought our first home together in Crestview in 2005, and like you, we have seen big changes (good and bad) in our community. Now that we are raising a daughter here, my attention to city politics has evolved to expect more elected officials as they make decisions not just for me but for the city where our kids will become young women and men.

Jimmy Paver is the only candidate with over a decade of experience in public policy and leading a small, family-owned business. His years working for Democrats Lloyd Doggett and Mark Strama weren’t spent grabbing coffee. They were spent developing complex renewable energy bills and leading constituent services for 600,000 Texans, including many of our District 7 neighbors. For the past five years, Jimmy has served as the Planning and Community Outreach Director for Stepping Stone Schools, a small business started by his mother when his family moved to Crestview in 1979.

Families are the backbone of this community. As a lifelong resident and a new father, Jimmy is in a unique position to understand the challenges we face daily in a fast-growing city. Jimmy and his wife Anetta plan to raise their son Max here in District 7 – where he can enjoy a quality education and a healthy environment –things that I want for my own daughter and all of the children in our community.

Jimmy’s experience and roots here give him the perspective we need representing District 7 at City Hall. Jimmy will involve us in decisions that affect our community, and he will partner with other members of the new Council to solve our city’s toughest challenges.

In our first election under the new 10-1 City Council plan, we are fortunate to have a long slate of candidates who want to represent District 7. All of these candidates, our neighbors, love Austin and want to do a good job for us. I am supporting Jimmy because he stands above the rest (and not just because he’s 6’5”).

I’m voting for Jimmy Paver because he is the only competitive candidate who:

•  Has worked both for state and federal government AND for a family-owned small business
• Is not beholden to the old guard that created the problems that we are trying to address
•  Works in education and has a child who will be educated in Austin
•  Has experience providing constituent services for District 7 residents

When you make your decision to vote for a City Council candidate, take a good look at the experience he/she touts. Some of the candidates tout careers in state or county government that helped create our current traffic problems and policy log jams. Is that whom we can trust to plan for our future?

People who simply say “government should be run like a business” do not understand the role of either government or business in a community. Jimmy Paver has education and business experience along with an impressive record of federal and state legislative service. He knows that efficiency and sensible budgeting along with a commitment to servings the citizens of District 7 will be critical to serving as our representative at City Hall.

We have the opportunity to send someone downtown to work for us. Jimmy Paver is a lifelong Austinite and new dad who wants the best for our city. He’s our neighbor. When we elect Jimmy, we’ll get a successful small businessman and a tested public servant who won’t bring along the bad habits that put Austin’s mobility and affordability at risk.

I hope you will join me in backing Jimmy. Together, we can preserve Austin’s future.

Chris Lippincott

See more at www.jimmypaverforaustin.com