Lee has been endorsed by the Austin Chronicle!  Our thanks to the Chronicle editorial board!

Here's the text of the endorsement:

When the mayoral race was first being handicapped last year, it didn't appear the central issue would be how to survive the economic bust. Now that problem is front and center – and of the five candidates running, only City Council incumbents Lee Leffingwell and Brewster McCracken have direct experience in handling and adjusting city budgets, programs, and staffing. We seriously considered both candidates, and on balance, our endorsement goes to Leffingwell. We believe he has been the most reliable and thoughtful advocate for protecting core city services and those policies indispensable to citizens' quality of life: social services, environmental protection, neighborhood programs, public outreach.

Leffingwell's willingness and ability to work patiently with disparate interest groups – as well as his council colleagues – has broken policy logjams and moved the city forward on water conservation, redevelopment, public safety, and other issues. We haven't agreed with him on every issue, but he listens very well and seriously considers all public input, including opposing viewpoints. His mandate will also include being an inspiring, forward-thinking leader; he will need to use wisely the "kitchen cabinet" he proposes, in order to generate fresh ideas, solutions, and public energy.

McCracken offers often more visible enthusiasm and an emphasis on creative, enterprising projects (especially related to clean energy – the city should ask him to continue facilitating the Pecan Street Project). During his six years on council, McCracken has governed more wisely than we would have predicted from his campaigns and has accomplished important ongoing initiatives. But he remains too often a creature of his enthusiasms. His too common "flipping" on substantive issues (toll roads, the urgency of rail transit, etc.) has burned the trust of many former supporters and colleagues – thus his nearly total lack of group endorsements this time around. Indeed, his consistent flaw has been his inconsistency, as his enthusiasms outstrip his judgment.

The Chronicle board discussion of the candidates even suggested an apt and double-edged analogy: "Right now, who do you want in charge of city policy, your stodgy but reliable dad or your energetic younger brother?" We've opted strongly for the former.

We would add, for the record and as a warning to voters, that either Leffingwell or McCracken would be leagues above former Mayor Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Austin's most prominent political chameleon. The radical city budget cuts she favors show little concern for less fortunate citizens or preserving progressive city initiatives – which she casually dismisses as unnecessary – and her notion of governance is locked into a decades-old perspective of leaving the good ol' boys and girls in charge. Strayhorn has become the default candidate of those who would unthinkingly slash spending, trash programs, and turn the clock backward to small-town governance and real estate interests.

Progressive voters should certainly not take this election for granted – with five candidates in the race, and Strayhorn's old guard waiting in the wings, turnout will be crucial. We encourage our readers to vote, in early voting, beginning April 27, or on election day, May 9 – and to vote for Lee Leffingwell for mayor.