Kelly: I think that people in the city of Austin didn t like, especially my district, didn t like the direction that the city was headed, which is what got me interested in running for office this time around. I think that homelessness, which was a big part of my campaign, and a lack of action on taking care of the people who are unsheltered, really resonated with my community. I think that we were headed in a poor direction with defunding the police. And, you know, there s always better ways to do things. But the defunding narrative was not laid out in a way that was well articulated to the community, much like our homeless situation. And now that I m on council, I see that there has been progress made, and some things do make sense as far as funding go. Like today, I talked with City Manager Spencer Cronk about how online communications is not going to be under APD. That makes sense administratively when one is police, fire, EMS and mental health. And so that s a good way to be eff
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On Thursday, Austin City Council voted to purchase Candlewood Suites to house people experiencing homelessness a week after approving the purchase of another hotel.
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Austin City Council members voted to buy the Candlewood Suites hotel in North Austin to provide housing for people transitioning out of homelessness.
The Austin City Council approved the purchase of another hotel in Northwest Austin that would ultimately house people trying to transition out of homelessness.
District 6 Council Member Mackenzie Kelly cast the lone vote against the $9.5-million purchase of the Candlewood Suites in her district. She cited criticism from the community and officials in Williamson County, where the hotel is located.
The city hopes to ultimately house at least 83 people at the hotel, which will also provide on-site clinical and occupational services managed by Caritas.