Austin Council Member Ora Houston Picks Gun Rights Activist For Bond Task Force

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX — Austin City Council member Ora Houston has nominated an avid gun rights activist who's also an ardent fan of conservative shock jock Alex Jones to serve on the city's Bond Election Advisory Task Force, Patch has learned.

The nominee to the key post is Michael Cargill, the owner of a firearms store in South Austin who's been vocal in the past arguing the handgun ban at City Hall is non-compliant with state law allowing for "open carry" of firearms. That view is shared by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has sued the city in his ongoing attempts to force the city to allow City Hall visitors to carry their concealed handguns.

Patch was alerted to the nomination by Andre Treiber, who describes himself as a progressive political operative in Austin. His claim is corroborated by a letter from Houston in reply to his concerns, correspondence he provided to Patch.

Ironically, Cargill ran for the District 1 council seat three years ago that was ultimately secured by Houston. He also ran another unsuccessful race two years before that for the Travis County Precinct 2 seat.

On his Facebook account, Cargill alluded to his envisioned role in deciding on future municipal debt issuance: "This is Michael Cargill and I approve this message," he wrote as caption to a photo of him posing with Jones outside his Central Texas Gun Works storefront. "The City of Austin wants another bond package that will raise our taxes. I think I should have some say in that."

He also re-posted a post from a site dubbed "Deez Nuts For Mayor of Austin" while mocking Mayor Steve Adler's stance on climate change. "The Mayor of Austin can't fix traffic why in the hell does he think he can fix the climate?" Cargill offered as caption. "Can I have your strain of crack please because mine is obviously not strong enough to deal with this madness."

Defending her choice to the bond advisory task force, Houston framed her selection as one rooted in the ideal of ideological diversity, positing her district as "...a large blended family" as outlined in correspondence obtained by Patch. She cited Cargill's longtime Austin residency, homeowner status and proprietorship of a small business as among personal attributes informing her decision.

"Have you ever met Mr. Cargill?" Houston begins in her reply to Treiber. "It has always been my position that there is a place for different perspectives. This is one seat of eleven on the Bond Election Advisory Task Force. Mr. Cargill lives in the far northern section of the district; has lived in Austin for a long time; is a small business owner; a home owner and I am confident that he has the capacity to work within the rules and regulations of this particular Task Force."

The councilwoman took issue with Treiber's assessment of Cargill's values as contrastingwith those of the council in which he lives.

"There are 76,000 people in District #1," Houston noted, "and after two years, six months, and one day, I am confident that there are no ‘defined’ values of District #1." Instead, she outlined what she termed the "core values" of the District 1 office and appointees to a board, commission or task force:

• "Seek to participate in true dialogue through open, honest and civil conversation rather than debate."
• "We invite, welcome and engage a wide variety of people who choose to call District #1 their home in conversations about the vision of the city."
• "We are mindful and respectful of the viewpoints and truths of others as well as the experiences which formed them."

In summation: "District #1 is diverse and is an example of a large blended family," Houston wrote. "Listen to all voices to get different perspectives, new information, creative solutions and ways to enhance the conversations between the City of Austin, trade associations, special interest groups and the people who pay our salaries. Acknowledge that each of us carries seeds of bias and prejudice in our DNA. Preconceived ideas and perceptions about the ‘other’ or members of cultural groups who are different from us."

Houston told Treiber she had directed an aide to send him of the copy of the "complete core values document" that helped inform her decision in nominating Cargill.

"It is important to show mutual respect between members of the community and the employees of the city," she wrote in addressing Treiber's concerns. "Our vision for District #1 and the City of Austin is one of civility, equity, unity, cooperation and inclusiveness. Who I am as a person has been grounded in the above core values that I try to live by and a long history of being excluded in this city because I am a proud American of African descent."

But Treiber insists Cargill does not reflect prevailing political values: "Michael Cargill represent the values of only 5.4% of 2014 D1 voters and does not represent our district," Trieber, who is experienced in local voter canvassing on a range of political campaigns, wrote on his Facebook page. "My city council member, Ora Houston, City Council Member District One, is about to nominate Michael Cargill (pictured below with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones) to an advisory task force. This is a horrible decision that I believe should be rejected by all Democrats in District One."

To accompany his text, Treiber posted a photo from Cargill's Facebook account of the task force nominee posting with Jones outside the Central Texas Gun Works storefront, 321 W Ben White Blvd., that also teaches concealed handgun classes.

For some, it's not the gun rights advocacy so much as it is even the hint of political association with Austin-based radio shock jock Jones of Infowars fame that raises a red flag given the commentator's bombastic views and conspiracy theorists. Of late, the shock jock has taken to retracting and removing several stories from his Internet forums under the threat of legal action against him.

Arguably the most inflammatory of Jones' recent stories is one centered on a pizza parlor Jones claimed was a front for a child pedophilia ring with which Hillary Clinton was associated—a fiction prompting an armed sycophant to travel to the eatery and fire a round inside the establishment. Facing legal action, Jones later publicly apologized to the owner of Washington, D.C.-based Comet Ping Pong while acknowledging the pedophile ring story was untrue.

Although the lion's share of those commenting on Treiber's Facebook post agreed with his view on Cargill, not everyone shared the assessment. "This is why Hillary lost," wrote Kris Bailey. "The Democrats attack each other and destroy their ability to be effective. CM Houston flat out says she wanted a conservative voice and she picked one. If we close the party to anyone that doesn't conform, soon there will be no party left. I support CM Houston."

While it's too early to conjecture on whether Cargill would attend Bond Advisory Task Force meetings with his firearm in tow should he be selected—a practice currently prohibited at City Hall— he boasted on Facebook of having recently taken a shotgun onto the grounds of the Capitol before entering the building itself while still armed.

"This week I took a shotgun on Capitol grounds & inside the Capitol," he wrote April 20 to accompany a video of a man fatally shot by police after a car chase in Harker Heights, Texas. "It's not against the law but it's against their policy. I wasn't shot or arrested because I know how to communicate with law enforcement."

At their regular meeting on Thursday, council members are scheduled to decide from among 20 nominees for various municipal boards and commissions.

>>> Photo of Austin City Council Member Ora Houston via Texas State Directory