I agree that many Austinites were turned off by the sheer amount of spam sent by the Uber/Lyft-backed campaign. Others, I believe, were simply angry about the cost of a single-issue special election. [1]
Yet others, I believe, were furious that those two generously funded companies were attempting to insert themselves into local politics and override a regulatory scheme enacted by the local elected government. And if Uber and Lyft could buy this election, what next? It's been said that Uber and Lyft needed to make an example out of Austin, but the reverse is true, too: Austin needed to make an example out of Uber and Lyft.
Yet others, I believe, were furious that those two generously funded companies were attempting to insert themselves into local politics and override a regulatory scheme enacted by the local elected government. And if Uber and Lyft could buy this election, what next? It's been said that Uber and Lyft needed to make an example out of Austin, but the reverse is true, too: Austin needed to make an example out of Uber and Lyft.
[1] - $500,000. Source: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/05/07/early-voting-austin-...