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Is Art Acevedo going into politics? He's sorta getting involved in education.

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DalTxHornFan

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8 minutes ago, HRSchenker said:

Art blocked me on twitter while he was the police chief in Austin. I thought that was unconstitutional but I guess he thinks he's above the law

I made a joke about how dangerous it was to get between Art and a TV camera on a FB thread of a friend (who is a somewhat public figure) -- Art was most displeased and let me know about it.  He is a tool.

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Orange&White

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Just now, DalTxHornFan said:

I made a joke about how dangerous it was to get between Art and a TV camera on a FB thread of a friend (who is a somewhat public figure) -- Art was most displeased and let me know about it.  He is a tool.

Local Police Chiefs from all of the Austin suburbs were telling that joke pretty much the entire time Art held the position in Austin.

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APEX

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33 minutes ago, AUS-97HORN said:

dude went from being the PC of the 11th largest city in the US (thank god)  to the PC of the 44th largest (got kicked out) to the 51st largest city PC....

 

dude's career is kinda on a downskid.

11th, 4th (Houston), 44th and 51st.

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3 hours ago, AUS-97HORN said:

dude went from being the PC of the 11th largest city in the US (thank god)  to the PC of the 44th largest (got kicked out) to the 51st largest city PC....

 

dude's career is kinda on a downskid.

Still playing with house money...

He should be incarcerated.

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mycox

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12 hours ago, HRSchenker said:

Art blocked me on twitter while he was the police chief in Austin. I thought that was unconstitutional but I guess he thinks he's above the law

I'm sure your tweet was justified, but I would like to know why you think blocking you was unconstitutional and above the law.

Or did I miss the sarcasm

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atomheartbevo

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nathan fillion castle GIF
 

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/former-police-chief-art-acevedo-hired-for-new-role-with-city-of-austin/

Quote

Former police chief Art Acevedo is returning to Austin to work for the City in a new role overseeing and advising the police department, multiple sources confirmed to KXAN Friday. The City said it plans to hire Acevedo for the role of interim city manager over APD.

There’s already an assistant city manager position that oversees all of public safety, but Acevedo’s new position will focus specifically on the police department, law enforcement sources said.

Quote

In a City memo to the mayor and city council members, Interim City Manager Jesús Garza said Acevedo’s role will report directly to him:

“It is essential to have a City Management-level resource identified who is dedicated solely to APD. To that end, I am adding an Interim Assistant City Manager position who will report directly to me.  I am pleased to announce that former Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, known to many here in the City as well as the community from his tenure as Police Chief for nearly 10 years, will be serving in this position.”

Quote

Acevedo most recently served as the interim police chief for the Aurora Police Department in Colorado. Earlier this week, Aurora announced Acevedo’s plans to leave the department and return to Texas to be closer to family.

Quote

“I’ve known Art Acevedo to be a leader,” said District 6 Council Member Mackenzie Kelly. “I’ve known him to say things that might not be what people want to hear, but what they need to hear. He has always been analytical on the decisions he makes based on facts.”

 

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bernorange

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“I’ve known Art Acevedo to be a leader,” said District 6 Council Member Mackenzie Kelly. “I’ve known him to say things that might not be what people want to hear, but what they need to hear. He has always been analytical on the decisions he makes based on facts.”

Quote

Memories quickly returned of Police Chief Art Acevedo rationalizing the somewhat aggressive arrest of a UT-area jaywalker by saying, "In other cities there's cops who are actually committing sexual assaults on duty – I thank God that this is what passes for a controversy in Austin, Texas."

https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2014-11-07/not-so-funny-apd-officers-caught-making-rape-jokes/

 

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boilerhorn

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https://www.aol.com/exclusive-art-acevedo-taking-271-193622853.html (AOL? - it is an AAS  article)
 

Quote

Art Acevedo, who has served as a police chief in Austin, Houston and Miami, is taking a newly created, $271,000-a-year administrative job at Austin City Hall overseeing policing, city officials confirmed to the American-Statesman.

Acevedo – both a celebrated and polarizing figure – will serve as an interim assistant city manager and act as a liaison between the Austin Police Department and interim City Manager Jesús Garza.

This is great -  present interim city manager needs a liaison between him and APD.  And it's worth $271k.  And the city council decides they should hire the chief that darn near EVERYONE celebrated his departure.  After AA left, any time I would encounter local PD (off duty security, helping after a collision, etc.), I'd ask about Acevedo.  Most responded, "now that he is no longer our problem, we are glad to see him somewhere else."  Or something like that.

No CR, but this should remind us all to either (1) vote in our local elections and (2) make sure we get candidates who do more than consume oxygen.  I am in district 6 and need to help prevent further damage.  Kelly is a functional moron.  No CR.

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royiv

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11 minutes ago, boilerhorn said:

https://www.aol.com/exclusive-art-acevedo-taking-271-193622853.html (AOL? - it is an AAS  article)
 

This is great -  present interim city manager needs a liaison between him and APD.  And it's worth $271k.  And the city council decides they should hire the chief that darn near EVERYONE celebrated his departure.  After AA left, any time I would encounter local PD (off duty security, helping after a collision, etc.), I'd ask about Acevedo.  Most responded, "now that he is no longer our problem, we are glad to see him somewhere else."  Or something like that.

This has been my experience as well. Why would you bring in a guy that is almost universally disliked by the frontline cops to be the liaison between city hall and the department? Besides questioning the need for the position in the first place, it doesn't seem like Art is the guy I would bring in to manage that relationship.

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atomheartbevo

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7 hours ago, royiv said:

This has been my experience as well. Why would you bring in a guy that is almost universally disliked by the frontline cops to be the liaison between city hall and the department? Besides questioning the need for the position in the first place, it doesn't seem like Art is the guy I would bring in to manage that relationship.

Because he’s friends with city management.  Wonder if he will ultimately try to run for office, or if he’s padding his retirement.

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atomheartbevo

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https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/his-return-is-a-step-backwards-for-survivors-of-sexual-assault-travis-county-da-slams-return-of-former-police-chief/

Quote

Travis County DA Jose Garza and other leaders voiced concern about the hiring of former Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo for a newly-created city position, at a Saturday afternoon event honoring sexual assault survivors. 

Those survivors included plaintiffs of a 2021 lawsuit, which alleged that several agencies, including APD (led by Acevedo at the time), failed to properly investigate sexual assaults between 2006 and 2019.

Quote

Flanked by those plaintiffs, Garza, along with Travis County Judge Andy Brown, Austin City Council Member Alison Alter and Congressman Greg Casar, championed survivors of sexual assault for their bravery.

Garza mentioned Acevedo’s return in his remarks, saying that many of the changes implemented from the lawsuit were related to errors in leadership made during Acevedo’s time at APD. He said that under Acevedo and other officials “a backlog of untested rape kits grew and a culture of disrespect for survivors of sexual assault festered.”

Quote

“His return is a step backwards for survivors of sexual assault. His appointment represents a stunning disregard for their pain and for the values of this community. We are here to remember, but we are also here to celebrate, because even if Art Acevedo is coming back, we are never going back,” Garza said.

 

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Brisketexan

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https://www.aol.com/exclusive-art-acevedo-taking-271-193622853.html (AOL? - it is an AAS  article)
 
Art Acevedo, who has served as a police chief in Austin, Houston and Miami, is taking a newly created, $271,000-a-year administrative job at Austin City Hall overseeing policing, city officials confirmed to the American-Statesman.
Acevedo – both a celebrated and polarizing figure – will serve as an interim assistant city manager and act as a liaison between the Austin Police Department and interim City Manager Jesús Garza.
This is great -  present interim city manager needs a liaison between him and APD.  And it's worth $271k.  And the city council decides they should hire the chief that darn near EVERYONE celebrated his departure.  After AA left, any time I would encounter local PD (off duty security, helping after a collision, etc.), I'd ask about Acevedo.  Most responded, "now that he is no longer our problem, we are glad to see him somewhere else."  Or something like that.
No CR, but this should remind us all to either (1) vote in our local elections and (2) make sure we get candidates who do more than consume oxygen.  I am in district 6 and need to help prevent further damage.  Kelly is a functional moron.  No CR.

What if I told you that Kelly is actually one of our most functional, responsive council members? And that’s not so much praise of her as it is damnation of her peers?
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bolverk

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3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

This is great -  present interim city manager needs a liaison between him and APD.  And it's worth $271k.  And the city council decides they should hire the chief that darn near EVERYONE celebrated his departure.  After AA left, any time I would encounter local PD (off duty security, helping after a collision, etc.), I'd ask about Acevedo.  Most responded, "now that he is no longer our problem, we are glad to see him somewhere else."  Or something like that.
No CR, but this should remind us all to either (1) vote in our local elections and (2) make sure we get candidates who do more than consume oxygen.  I am in district 6 and need to help prevent further damage.  Kelly is a functional moron.  No CR.

What if I told you that Kelly is actually one of our most functional, responsive council members? And that’s not so much praise of her as it is damnation of her peers?

Was this the City Council's decision or the Jesus Garza's (the Interim City Manager)? It's my understanding that the Council had no input, nor were they informed until Friday afternoon, and it's not the first time he's done this (from October).

Interim City Manager Jesús Garza is standing by his appointment of Gail McCant to lead the Office of Police Oversight, citing the city’s need to comply with the civilian police oversight measure known as Prop A.

Garza named McCant to the job in late September in spite of a national search that was promised to residents by himself and his predecessor, Spencer Cronk. The decision was also done without informing the City Council and some city staff.

McCant's appointment sparked concerns among community members, including social justice group Austin Justice Coalition and several city leaders.

More than half of the City Council expressed concern in a post on the council message board last week. The council members said that while they found McCant “professional, transparent, and accessible,” the decision was sudden.

“We were surprised there would be no national search for her role, as had been previously stated. Given the significance of this role and the high-profile nature of the office, why was the decision made to forgo a search and instead appoint the OPO director from within the City of Austin? We hope the City Manager can further explain his thinking on this decision, not only for our own understanding but for the understanding of the public who we all serve,” Council Members Chito Vela, Zo Qadri, José Velásquez, Vanessa Fuentes and Ryan Alter wrote.

Council Members Alison Alter and Paige Ellis responded in support of the need for more information.

On Tuesday, Fuentes told KUT it was a misstep for the city manager to appoint McCant without community input.

"He had already committed to doing a national search," she said. "For him to backtrack on it I think underscores a lack of understanding of how important community engagement is to our community, especially when it's comes to policing."

But Garza told KUT he stood by his decision.

And from September:

How would you like a job that pays roughly $30,000 a month and requires no documented work output?

That's the kind of gig two longtime associates of Interim City Manager Jesús Garza and Mayor Kirk Watson landed this year, without competition from other candidates. From February to July, each was paid roughly $150,000 in taxpayer dollars to provide vaguely defined consulting services through subcontracts that were not approved by City Council – even though that amount of money usually requires Council authorization.

The two consultants – Laura Huffman and Joe Canales – are on track to end the year as two of the highest-paid workers at City Hall (though as outside consultants, they don't get benefits offered to full-time employees, such as health care). At the rate the pair has been billing, each could make more than $420,000 by year's end – an annualized rate that exceeds that paid to Garza ($350,000) and approaches that paid to Austin Energy General Manager Robert Kahn ($475,009), the city's two highest-paid full-time workers.

It is not surprising that people with prior City Hall experience and long histories with the two men currently ruling the second and third floors of that building were brought back into the fold during a tumultuous time for the city of Austin's bureaucratic machine. In a statement, Garza said as much.

"The Mayor and Council brought me on board to be a change agent," he said. "To be effective in providing results, I did bring in people I know, including Laura and Joe, because of the breadth of experience and knowledge they both have, not just about city government, but the City of Austin specifically."

Bringing them on board through subcontracts rather than initiating new contracts, which would have required Council approval, "afforded us with the mechanism for bringing Laura and Joe on to assist me in acting quickly and decisively," Garza continued. "The results we've achieved in a number of areas already, including legislative analysis, compensation structure evaluation and labor negotiations, speak for themselves."

It is true that City Hall was in disarray when Garza was hired (in the wake of previous City Manager Spencer Cronk's ouster in February) and that the organization needed urgent change. It is also true that there are ways to expedite consultant contracts needing Council approval that strike a balance between urgency and transparency, which is both expected in a city that claims to value transparency and required by Chapter 252 of the Texas Local Government Code, which sets out procurement rules for municipalities. It appears that did not happen here.

 

And just last week, Garza said he wasn't going to apply for the permanent position. Did Watson simply hire his old buddy to give himself cover to create these expensive gigs? Maybe they're needed, maybe not. But I don't like the Acevedo hire, and it certainly makes me question why this is all being done behind the Council's back.

 

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On 2/22/2023 at 11:57 AM, DalTxHornFan said:

I made a joke about how dangerous it was to get between Art and a TV camera on a FB thread of a friend (who is a somewhat public figure) -- Art was most displeased and let me know about it.  He is a tool.

" hey Art, make sure you raid the right house..."

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boilerhorn

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3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

What if I told you that Kelly is actually one of our most functional, responsive council members? And that’s not so much praise of her as it is damnation of her peers?

It would not surprise me at all.  A random selection of Surly posters - 1 from each district - would be more effective and more functional that this city council.  I've lived here since the 1970s and can never recall a time when a majority - or even plurality in a specific setting - thought the city government was a well-oiled machine.  Hell, a V8 running on 3 cylinders would be more effective.

18 minutes ago, Deej said:

Art has probably been sending her dick pics.

That might be the fastest way to get him run out of town.  We can only hope that's what's happening.

@DalTxHornFan thanks for sharing that anecdote about getting between Art and a camera.  Well done!

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MrBig

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4 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Was this the City Council's decision or the Jesus Garza's (the Interim City Manager)? It's my understanding that the Council had no input, nor were they informed until Friday afternoon, and it's not the first time he's done this (from October😞

Interim City Manager Jesús Garza is standing by his appointment of Gail McCant to lead the Office of Police Oversight, citing the city’s need to comply with the civilian police oversight measure known as Prop A.

Garza named McCant to the job in late September in spite of a national search that was promised to residents by himself and his predecessor, Spencer Cronk. The decision was also done without informing the City Council and some city staff.

McCant's appointment sparked concerns among community members, including social justice group Austin Justice Coalition and several city leaders.

More than half of the City Council expressed concern in a post on the council message board last week. The council members said that while they found McCant “professional, transparent, and accessible,” the decision was sudden.

“We were surprised there would be no national search for her role, as had been previously stated. Given the significance of this role and the high-profile nature of the office, why was the decision made to forgo a search and instead appoint the OPO director from within the City of Austin? We hope the City Manager can further explain his thinking on this decision, not only for our own understanding but for the understanding of the public who we all serve,” Council Members Chito Vela, Zo Qadri, José Velásquez, Vanessa Fuentes and Ryan Alter wrote.

Council Members Alison Alter and Paige Ellis responded in support of the need for more information.

On Tuesday, Fuentes told KUT it was a misstep for the city manager to appoint McCant without community input.

"He had already committed to doing a national search," she said. "For him to backtrack on it I think underscores a lack of understanding of how important community engagement is to our community, especially when it's comes to policing."

But Garza told KUT he stood by his decision.

And from September:

How would you like a job that pays roughly $30,000 a month and requires no documented work output?

That's the kind of gig two longtime associates of Interim City Manager Jesús Garza and Mayor Kirk Watson landed this year, without competition from other candidates. From February to July, each was paid roughly $150,000 in taxpayer dollars to provide vaguely defined consulting services through subcontracts that were not approved by City Council – even though that amount of money usually requires Council authorization.

The two consultants – Laura Huffman and Joe Canales – are on track to end the year as two of the highest-paid workers at City Hall (though as outside consultants, they don't get benefits offered to full-time employees, such as health care). At the rate the pair has been billing, each could make more than $420,000 by year's end – an annualized rate that exceeds that paid to Garza ($350,000) and approaches that paid to Austin Energy General Manager Robert Kahn ($475,009), the city's two highest-paid full-time workers.

It is not surprising that people with prior City Hall experience and long histories with the two men currently ruling the second and third floors of that building were brought back into the fold during a tumultuous time for the city of Austin's bureaucratic machine. In a statement, Garza said as much.

"The Mayor and Council brought me on board to be a change agent," he said. "To be effective in providing results, I did bring in people I know, including Laura and Joe, because of the breadth of experience and knowledge they both have, not just about city government, but the City of Austin specifically."

Bringing them on board through subcontracts rather than initiating new contracts, which would have required Council approval, "afforded us with the mechanism for bringing Laura and Joe on to assist me in acting quickly and decisively," Garza continued. "The results we've achieved in a number of areas already, including legislative analysis, compensation structure evaluation and labor negotiations, speak for themselves."

It is true that City Hall was in disarray when Garza was hired (in the wake of previous City Manager Spencer Cronk's ouster in February) and that the organization needed urgent change. It is also true that there are ways to expedite consultant contracts needing Council approval that strike a balance between urgency and transparency, which is both expected in a city that claims to value transparency and required by Chapter 252 of the Texas Local Government Code, which sets out procurement rules for municipalities. It appears that did not happen here.

 

And just last week, Garza said he wasn't going to apply for the permanent position. Did Watson simply hire his old buddy to give himself cover to create these expensive gigs? Maybe they're needed, maybe not. But I don't like the Acevedo hire, and it certainly makes me question why this is all being done behind the Council's back.

 

The decision to hire Acevedo was made by interim city manager Jesus Garza. Garza was also city manager when Kirk Watson was mayor in the late 90s/00s. They did shady shit like this back then too like the LCRA water deal they made behind closed doors. Note that Garza was also the treasurer of a PAC that contributed $700K to Watson’s mayoral campaign. 

 

 

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boilerhorn

boilerhorn 1393

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8 minutes ago, MrBig said:

The decision to hire Acevedo was made by interim city manager Jesus Garza. Garza was also city manager when Kirk Watson was mayor in the late 90s/00s. They did shady shit like this back then too like the LCRA water deal they made behind closed doors. Note that Garza was also the treasurer of a PAC that contributed $700K to Watson’s mayoral campaign. 

Sigh.  It takes 5x more time to expel retreads in Austin politics than it does in NFL coaching.  Garza has been around since 1978.  Watson has been in and out of Austin and state politics since the early 1990s.  Just to mention 2.

https://www.austintexas.gov/department/city-manager

I do not see it written anywhere (could be my fault), but does this mean Bruce Mills is stepping aside?

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MrBig

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11 minutes ago, boilerhorn said:

Sigh.  It takes 5x more time to expel retreads in Austin politics than it does in NFL coaching.  Garza has been around since 1978.  Watson has been in and out of Austin and state politics since the early 1990s.  Just to mention 2.

https://www.austintexas.gov/department/city-manager

I do not see it written anywhere (could be my fault), but does this mean Bruce Mills is stepping aside?

Bruce Mills is still working in his position. The position Art Acevedo is taking is a newly created Assistant City Manager position solely dedicated to working with APD.

"I [believe] it is essential to have a City Management-level resource identified who is dedicated solely to APD," Garza wrote. "I sincerely believe that APD deserves to have this focused level of support and I am optimistic with these additional resources to help bolster our APD that we will continue to see success and movement on addressing any challenges."

In his new role in Austin, he'll act as a liason between the department, interim police chief Robin Henderson, and Garza. He'll also work alongside existing interim assistant city manager Bruce Mills, who oversees the city's other public safety departments.

https://www.audacy.com/talk1370/news/local/art-acevedo-named-as-interim-assistant-city-manager

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DalTxHornFan

DalTxHornFan 3106

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Pretty good synopsis about the Art story here:

Austin Tells Public Safety Advocates To Hold Its Beer By Rehiring Former Police Chief Art Acevedo

https://thehayride.com/2024/01/austin-tells-public-safety-advocates-to-hold-its-beer-by-rehiring-former-police-chief-art-acevedo/

The only thing that this piece overlooked was Art's TV camera appearances and dissembling after the Houston "drug house" police shootings that weren't actually at a "drug house." 

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Yeah, I was wondering if this would go through. Everyone from all angles shunned the move.

Take away the baggage with Acevedo, and the act of simply creating a new position for $300K a year and hiring him without council approval for a job that sounds completely made up would be tough sledding to live down.

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Armybrat

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1 hour ago, bernorange said:

Reason highlights Art's career of lowlights:

https://reason.com/2024/01/25/5-years-after-a-deadly-drug-raid-houstons-former-police-chief-might-finally-be-held-accountable/

 

Slippery eel, he is.

Mayors of Austin, Houston, Miami, and Aurora are just plain stupid, not to mention the interim city manager of the first.

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