I Bought and Read Steve Adler's Book So You Didn't Have To
A fact-check, a couple complaints, and a few things his book left out.
Mackenzie Kelly's Substack
Reflections on Austin politics, public policy, leadership, and the work of building better communities. Free to read.
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Every Austin Bond Since 1984
A city that keeps asking, and what it's actually gotten for saying yes.
The City Doesn't Need to Be Involved in This At All
A feasibility study lays out real costs and real risks for a future LGBTQIA+ Cultural Center. Here's why I think private funding, not City dollars, is the option that actually works.
Staff Wrote the Rules. Council Wants to Skip Ahead.
A new City memo on data centers recommends real zoning and performance standards. The Mayor's office wants a freeze first. Here's why that's the weaker move, and what I'd propose instead.
Same Hallways, Twenty-One Years Later
My daughter started her senior year at Westwood today. I did the same thing in 2004. Here's what that school and my time at a fire station across the street turned into.
It's Not Even a Lake
The surprising history behind Lady Bird Lake, Lake Travis, and the Colorado River dams built after floods killed dozens of Austinites.
Austin's New Budget Restructures 911. Nobody Who Runs It Wanted That.
The mayor voted against his own $6.6 billion budget. I know that vote well. The 911 office buried inside it is what will keep me up at night.
A 200-Page Report Landed at City Hall
What Austin’s new Human Rights Framework actually says, and where I think it needs more scrutiny before Council adopts any of it
Paying the Same Vendor Twice
One budget memo, two vendors, and the argument I couldn't win three years ago.
Grading the Bond
The parks and libraries bond is smaller and more specific than it used to be. It's still not done answering my questions.
A Way Out: Why You Need to Watch This Film
One phone call can change everything. I got a small, brief part in telling that story, and I want to tell you why it matters so much to me.
The Vote-Counting Playbook Nobody Tells You About
What a dead charter amendment and a live $4.7 million fight tells us all about reading eleven votes before they’re cast
The Audit I Didn’t Want to Write About
It’s been sitting in my drafts folder for a week because it hurt my heart. Here’s why I’m writing it anyway.
I Was a "Celebrity" Judge at Spamarama, and It Was Not What I Expected
A love letter to Austin's weirdest, meatiest tradition, the year it tried to come back to life, and so did I.