Brewster McCracken Announces Endorsements From Over 100 Clean Energy Advocates, Lays out Four-Point Plan to Create Thousands of Clean Energy Jobs and Make Austin a National Clean Energy Leader
Mayor Pro Tem Brewster McCracken today announced support from more than 100 clean energy leaders for his campaign for Austin mayor. Joined by clean energy advocates and leaders from emerging clean energy companies, McCracken laid out a specific four-point plan to create thousands of clean energy jobs and made clear for Austin voters what is at stake in this election. The event was held at the offices of FTL Solar.
“All across the country, cities are competing to be the place where the next generation of clean energy innovations and job creation take hold,” McCracken said. “I believe now is the time for Austin to pursue jobs and leadership in this important and promising industry. Austin is in a position to be the clean energy capital of the nation, but it will take leadership and vision for us to pursue this ambitious goal.”
“There’s a reason why virtually every clean energy leader who has endorsed in this election is supporting Brewster,” said Paul Ballentine, a former semiconductor employee, a Pecan Street Project team member and co-founder of the Solar Energy Entrepreneurs Network. “We have worked with Brewster. We know he is innovative, proactive and effective. Brewster’s efforts have already opened up economic opportunities in a wide range of clean energy technologies and businesses, including renewable energy, storage, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency.”
“Standing still and filling potholes or shaking an angry fist at City Hall won’t turn Austin into a clean energy job creator,” McCracken said. “Vision and leadership will. Austin’s clean energy community is supporting my campaign because they know me and what I have done to make Austin a clean energy leader. They also know Austin can’t afford a caretaker mayor at this critical juncture. Austin will fall behind other competing cities if we hunker down in a bunker for three years or simply long for the good old days.”
“None of my opponents have a single clean energy project on their resume,” McCracken said. “None of them have been working with clean energy entrepreneurs or investors. None of them have won the support of the entrepreneurs that will create these jobs. And none of them believe that we actually have to go after this to make it happen.”
Less than a year ago, McCracken initiated the Pecan Street Project with colleagues from The University of Texas, the Chamber, Austin Energy and the city. He recruited the Environmental Defense Fund to spearhead the project’s first phase, which is due for completion in August. Since its launch, the Pecan Street Project has attracted cooperation from some of the country’s best energy and technology companies, including SEMATECH, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Gridpoint, GE Energy, Applied Materials, Freescale and others and is now recognized as one of the country’s most advanced clean energy partnerships.
“The Pecan Street Project is the nation’s most significant clean energy research and development partnership,” said University of Texas professor Michael Webber. “It truly has the potential to make Austin the global center for innovation in clean energy, and we need to acknowledge that it’s happening because of Brewster McCracken’s leadership.”
“I was part of the original seven-person Pecan Street Project team that began work in the spring of 2008,” Webber continued. “Brewster brought us together, chaired each meeting, and led the development of the vision. He built consensus, sought advice, and he personally recruited the Environmental Defense Fund to lead the project. I think it’s important to recognize good political leadership when it happens, and that’s Brewster McCracken. He did it the right way. That’s why so many of us in the cleantech community are supporting Brewster.”
“The Pecan Street Project has already catapulted Austin to the forefront of cities working on smart grid projects,” McCracken said. “We are working on complicated technology challenges that other cities haven’t even thought about yet. We are competing for stimulus dollars other cities don’t know exist. If Austin is to take advantage of this massive head start, its mayor needs to understand what’s at stake and what it will take to succeed.”
McCracken laid out a specific four-point plan to make Austin a national clean energy jobs and innovation leader:
· Implement the Pecan Street Project’s recommendations (to be announced in August) to research and develop the nation’s most advanced smart grid Energy Internet and to implement this system to cost effectively install solar on 100,000 homes and businesses in Austin by 2020;
· Recruit major battery and energy storage employers to position Austin for leadership in energy storage;
· Create clean energy manufacturing jobs by forming a regional clean energy partnership with San Antonio that would leverage the two cities’ combined regional purchasing powers to bring new solar and battery manufacturing jobs and protect existing semiconductor manufacturing jobs (this is the approach New Mexico already uses – which helped it lure Solar Array Ventures away from Austin); and
· Pursue federal stimulus funding, as the city, UT and SEMATECH are currently pursuing, to implement the Pecan Street Project’s smart grid innovations.
“My four-point clean energy plan will protect existing semiconductor jobs and create thousands of new clean energy jobs right here in Austin,” McCracken said. “It will also ensure that Austin’s famous innovation leads the way to providing cleaner, safer and reliable electricity for the entire country.”
Following is a partial list of clean energy advocates, entrepreneurs, investors and employees that have endorsed McCracken’s candidacy.
Lew Aldridge
Greg Anderson
Tarik Aossey
Paul Ballentine
Lucien Banton
Patrick Basinski
Michael Bates
James Beasley
Jose Beceiro
Mark Begert
Andrew Berry
Jay Boisseau
Andy Bowman
Meg Brown
Sam Brown
Michael Brozgul
Scott Burton
Steve Calkins
John Ross Chromer
Bob Cocke
Fred Cohagen
Jerry Converse
Cree Crawford
Charley Dean
Dick Deininger
Shalou Dhamija
Kelli Dillon
Clifton Dukes
Joyce Dugar
Drew Dutton
Nick Fox
Harvey Frye
Roland Galang
Al Garcia
Gustavo Garza
Michelle Greer
Jenice Gutierrez
Iga Hallberg
Linda Haas
Lenae Hart-Shirley
Chris Herbert
Heath Hignight
Dan Holladay
Chris Hughes
Godfrey Huguley
William Hulsey
Marcia Inger
Richard Jung
Steve Kanetzky
Dan Keelan
Susan Kelly
Loren Kirkpatrick
Bob King
Patrick Kronfli
Kevin Koym
Michael Kuhn
Kevin Lally
Jonas Lamis
Greg LeRoy
Patrick Lockerman
Blake Manson
Christi Marrufo
Casey Marshall
Nash Martinez
Barry Mayer
Frank McCamant
Rob McPherson
John Merritt
Jeremy Meyers
Mica Odom
Amanda Ogden
Thomas Ortman
Bill Ott
Jeff Otto
Craig Overmiller
Justin Pajer
Tuan Pham
John Pitts, Jr.
Pike Powers
Melissa Rabeaux
Mark Rangel
Shannon Ratliff
Alvin Richter
Eva Richter
John Rosshirt
Rebecca Sanders
Shanda Sansing
Tony Saxton
Victor Sauers
Chris Searles
Dave Shaw
Donna Cates Sphar
BJ Stanbery
Geoff Stasio
Joe Strathmann
Richard Stovall
Bill Stueve
Jay Taylor
Steve Taylor
Noralinda Ureste
Tom Vogt
Bert Wank
Michael Webber
Mike Weinning
Steve Wiese
Peter Zandan
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