Austin’s Jewish Mayor Blasts Texas Governor For Targeting Liberal Cities
Steve Adler, America’s funniest Jewish mayor. Image by YouTube
By Ari Feldman July 3, 2017
According to Republican governor of Texas Greg Abbott, “the smell of freedom… does not exist in Austin, Texas.”
Abbott has been leading a crackdown on Texas’ sanctuary cities — which includes Austin — and spurring on the Texas legislature’s plans to curtail local authority on taxation and union regulation.
But Austin’s Democratic mayor, Steve Adler, shot back at Abbott with characteristic sass.
“The air in Austin is pretty sweet with an unemployment rate that is a point lower than the state, a lower violent crime rate than the state, with the highest rates of patents and venture capital in the state,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler told the Washington Post. “And the air is sweet with tacos.”
Adler says that the city feels “besieged,” and has called Abbott’s efforts a “war on cities.”
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
