James Flannigan
James Flannigan (also known as Jimmy) was a member of the Austin City Council in Texas, representing District 6. Flannigan assumed office on January 6, 2017. Flannigan left office on January 6, 2021.
Flannigan ran for re-election to the Austin City Council to represent District 6 in Texas. Flannigan lost in the general runoff election on December 15, 2020.
Flannigan also ran for the city council in District 6 in 2014. He lost to Donald S. Zimmerman 49 percent to 51 percent in the December 2014 runoff election.[1]
Although city council elections in Austin are officially nonpartisan, Flannigan is known to be affiliated with the Democratic Party.[2]
Biography
Flannigan earned a B.B.A. in management information systems from the University of Texas, Austin, and an M.B.A. in e-Business from the University of Phoenix.[3]
As of his run for city council in 2016, Flannigan owned his own student organization website business, Site Street. His professional experience also includes work as a web developer for the pharmaceutical and biotech sales training agency Healthanswers.[3]
Flannigan has served as president and vice president of the Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, regional chair of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce's Transportation Committee. He also co-founded the community leader support organization Northwest Austin Coalition.[3][4]
Elections
2020
See also: City elections in Austin, Texas (2020)
General runoff election
General runoff election for Austin City Council District 6
Mackenzie Kelly defeated incumbent James Flannigan in the general runoff election for Austin City Council District 6 on December 15, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mackenzie Kelly (Nonpartisan) | 52.2 | 7,961 | |
| James Flannigan (Nonpartisan) | 47.8 | 7,295 | ||
| Total votes: 15,256 | ||||
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General election
General election for Austin City Council District 6
Incumbent James Flannigan and Mackenzie Kelly advanced to a runoff. They defeated Jennifer Mushtaler and Dee Harrison in the general election for Austin City Council District 6 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | James Flannigan (Nonpartisan) | 40.2 | 14,278 | |
| ✔ | Mackenzie Kelly (Nonpartisan) | 33.4 | 11,866 | |
| Jennifer Mushtaler (Nonpartisan) | 19.1 | 6,806 | ||
| Dee Harrison (Nonpartisan) | 7.3 | 2,600 | ||
| Total votes: 35,550 | ||||
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2016
The city of Austin, Texas, held elections for city council on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was August 22, 2016. Five of the ten city council seats were up for election.[5] James Flannigan defeated incumbent Donald S. Zimmerman in the Austin City Council District 6 general election.[6]
| Austin City Council, District 6 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 James Flannigan |
55.94% | 15,440 |
| Donald S. Zimmerman Incumbent | 44.06% | 12,159 |
| Total Votes | 27,599 | |
| Source: "Travis County", "Travis County Election Results", accessed November 8, 2016 | ||
2014
- See also: Austin, Texas municipal elections, 2014.
The city of Austin held elections for city council on November 4, 2014. The candidate filing deadline was August 18, 2014. Because of redistricting and term limits, there was no incumbent for District 6.[7] The candidates were James T. Flannigan, Mackenzie Kelly, Lloyd "Pete" Phillips Jr., Matt Stillwell, Jay Wiley and Donald S. Zimmerman.[8] Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the general election, the top two vote-getters - Flannigan and Zimmerman - faced each other in a runoff election on December 16, 2014.[9] Zimmerman was the winner.[10]
| Austin City Council, District 6, 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Donald S. Zimmerman |
51.2% | 4,012 | |
| James T. Flannigan | 48.8% | 3,821 | |
| Total Votes | 7,833 | ||
| Source: Travis County Clerk - 2014 Official Runoff Election Results | |||
| Austin City Council, District 6, 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| James T. Flannigan |
24% | 3,702 | |
| Donald S. Zimmerman |
24.2% | 3,729 | |
| Mackenzie Kelly | 9% | 1,382 | |
| Lloyd "Pete" Phillips Jr. | 4.6% | 704 | |
| Matt Stillwell | 15.4% | 2,366 | |
| Jay Wiley | 22.8% | 3,513 | |
| Total Votes | 11,883 | ||
| Source: Travis County Clerk - 2014 Official Election Results | |||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
James Flannigan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Flannigan participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Transportation and Property Crime[11][12] | ” |
When asked what he would most like to change about the city, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | The focus on process over people has left parts of town, like District 6, left out of the conversation and a lack of common sense has created broken departments like Austin Water, Permitting, and Transportation. We can find common sense solutions by working together.[11][12] | ” |
When asked what he is most proud of about the city, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | The people in Austin are amazing. The culture of acceptance, collaboration, and innovation holds so much promise for the future. We don't sufficiently leverage our amazing people and I want to see us work together for a better future.[11][12] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Transportation | |
| Crime reduction/prevention | |
| City services (trash, utilities, etc.) | |
| Housing | |
| Environment | |
| Government transparency | |
| Homelessness | |
| Civil rights | |
| Unemployment | |
| Recreational opportunities | |
| Public pensions/retirement funds | |
| K-12 education | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer four questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| Important | |
| Federal | |
| Public outreach/education programs. We need to expand APD's civilian staff that will help address District 6's property crime problem without blowing up the police budget. | |
| Focusing on small business development. There are many things that we can do, but my own career of small business advocacy will help Austin do better supporting its local businesses and planning for the future. |
Additional themes
Flannigan's 2016 campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
Planning & Parking Implement comprehensive corridor planning, complete streets, and expand park-and-ride Pedestrian Safety Prioritize pedestrian and child safety along our roads and neighborhood streets Transportation Choice Secure more public and private transportation choices Tax & Utility Rates Enact tax relief for homeowners and utility rate reform Rising Rents Curtail rising rents with more housing options Economy & Jobs Diversify our local economy and support middle class jobs Wildfires & Flooding Adopt proactive wildfire, flooding, and watershed protection Fight Property Crime Assist neighborhoods and Austin Police in fighting property crime Parks & Lakes Preserve our parks, lakes, and green spaces[13][12] |
” |
2014
Flannigan's 2014 campaign website listed his core issues as "fixing Austin's traffic problem, affordability and fiscal responsibility, and addressing Austin's bureaucratic road-blocks to small businesses."[14]
Endorsements
2016
Flannigan received endorsements from the following in 2016:[15]
- AFSCME Local 1624
- Austin AFL-CIO
- IBEW Local 520
- Left Up to Us
- LiUNA!
- Todo Austin
- LGBTQ Victory Fund
- Workers Defense Action Fund
See also
2020 Elections
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Campaign website
- Social media:
Footnotes
- ↑ Travis County Clerk, "December 16, 2014 Joint Special Runoff Election," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ Austin American-Statesman, "In Austin's City Council District 6, Is 'Compromise' a Dirty Word?" November 25, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 LinkedIn, "Jimmy Flannigan," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ Jimmy Flannigan for Austin City Council District 6, "Meet Jimmy," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ City of Austin, "City of Austin Election Calendar," accessed February 25, 2016
- ↑ City of Austin, "Ballot Applications - November 2016 Election," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ City of Austin, "2014 Election Calendar," accessed May 14, 2014
- ↑ City of Austin, "2014 Candidate List," accessed September 4, 2014
- ↑ Travis County Clerk, "2014 Unofficial Election Results," accessed November 4, 2014
- ↑ Travis County Clerk, "2014 Runoff Election Results," accessed December 16, 2014
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey, 2016, "Jimmy Flannigan's Responses," October 24, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Jimmy Flannigan for Austin City Council District 6, "Solutions," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ Jimmy Flannigan for Austin City Council District 6, "About," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ Jimmy Flannigan for Austin City Council District 6, "Be a Public Supporter," accessed September 29, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Donald S. Zimmerman |
Austin City Council, District 6 2017 – 2021 |
Succeeded by Mackenzie Kelly |
| |||||||||
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State of Texas Austin (capital) |
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