From Eric Dondero:

The Travis County Libertarian Party candidates bi-annual forum has grown into an influential, and must attend ritual for Austin office-seekers.

This year virtually all the candidates for Austin City Council showed up. And by all accounts lots was learned and the candidates had a fun time.

One incumbent - Randi Shade pronounced she's more "Libertarian" than we may think. Significant, as she's a Democrat. A quick check of her records shows she's mostly about affirmative action programs for special interest groups, and expanding city services. But she does have a libertarian streak on one single issue - she fought against more regulations imposed on street vendors.

The Austin Post has full coverage of the forum, with some zany highlights fitting for a city that espouses itself on bumper stickers "Keep Austin Weird." Like, who ever knew flouridation of city water was such a hotly contested issue.

But a bit of a controversy has enused post-forum. The Post leads its coverage:

Did you know Max Nofziger enjoys pat downs? Did you know Kathie Tovo and Randi Shade have used marijuana, but Kris Bailey has not? That and much more was on display Wednesday night at the Travis County Libertarian Party (TCLP) forum for Austin City council candidates.

In the comments section a Bailey supporter quickly shot back:

I believe it would be more accurate to say Kris Bailey "does not" (smoke pot)...he said "it's been a long time." So we can't fault him for never having given it the ol' college try 😉

And the next day Bailey himself corrects the record:

The question was "Have you ever smoked pot" and my answer was in fact "it's been a long time." I certainly have done this in the past but it has been many years, so that would be a slight error in the article here. I was making the point that even though I do not smoke marijuana, I believe firmly that the laws surrounding it are wrong and create criminals as opposed to stopping crime. Hence, I am trying to loosen the laws and reduce the amount of resources being used to pursue marijuana related arrests.

Photos - candidates Shade and Bailey.