{"id":43171,"date":"2022-07-21T13:53:08","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T18:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=43171"},"modified":"2022-07-21T13:53:08","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T18:53:08","slug":"phil-brual-the-ut-austin-student-running-for-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2022\/07\/21\/phil-brual-the-ut-austin-student-running-for-mayor\/","title":{"rendered":"Phil Brual, the UT Austin student running for mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Phil Brual, the UT Austin student running for mayor<\/strong><\/gwmw><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2022<\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY SEAN SALDA\u00d1A<\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Nov. 8, 2022 Austin will elect a new mayor, and already a number of high-profile candidates have entered the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And among those candidates is Phil Brual, a 21-year-old University of Texas student born and raised in Austin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many ways, Brual\u2019s campaign mirrors that of his competitors \u2013 focusing on issues like affordability, public transportation, homelessness and public safety. One important place he differs: notoriety.<\/gwmw><\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Candidates like Kirk Watson, Celia Israel, and Jennifer Virden have years of experience in politics, business, or both. Phil Brual is a newcomer, something he\u2019s keenly aware of, telling the Austin Monitor, \u201cthough my lack of a resume seems to show inexperience, it\u2019s as far from the truth as it could ever be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brual is confident in his abilities to lead the city for a couple of reasons. In addition to being a regular at City Council meetings where he\u2019s learning the ins and outs of local government, he\u2019s an intern with Texas Rep. Ryan Guillen. Perhaps most importantly, he feels like he relates to the issues facing Austinites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m living in a building with four other roommates and we share a bathroom, pay high rent, and I\u2019m able to understand the daily struggles of people in the city, so my lack of experience is not an issue that exists,\u201d says Brual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the election a few months away and still out of focus for most Austinites, Brual is still in the process of building momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One place he\u2019s cultivating support is Austin\u2019s deaf community. Raised by deaf mothers who teach at the Texas School for the Deaf, he\u2019s aware of the barriers that can exist in local government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phil Brual is a progressive. After the Dobbs decision came down, he made a point to come out in support of women\u2019s right to choose. He uses hashtags like #lgbtsupporter on social media, and even made the effort to announce his campaign in sign language (his first language) on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, his policy views are based in pragmatism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, he\u2019s a strong believer in police oversight and reform, but the method by which Austin has tried to achieve that \u2013 via budget cuts \u2013 he\u2019s not so sure about, saying \u201cthey have a very big budget but they\u2019re still struggling. They\u2019re working overtime hours consistently. They don\u2019t have task forces to help them deal with specific issues \u2026 and it\u2019s very upsetting that the police department doesn\u2019t have the resources that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increasing the efficiency of public transit is a cornerstone of Brual\u2019s campaign, but he\u2019s not thrilled about Project Connect, the light rail system Austinites overwhelmingly voted in favor of in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially the project had an estimated price tag of $7 billion, but that estimate has now grown to $10 billion and its planned routes could involve the eminent domain acquisition of many businesses around the University of Texas \u2013 the Ballroom at Spider House, Halal Bros, and Dirty Martin\u2019s, to name a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised if (the cost of Project Connect) went up to $20 billion by the end of the project. I love the theory of the idea but when it came down to planning and looking at what we\u2019re doing, it was planned horrifically in my opinion,\u201d Brual said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still though, he would one day like to see Austin turn into what he calls \u201ca non-car-commute city\u201d with a robust system of buses, a greater emphasis on creating bike lanes, and a gradual relaxation on parking requirements for buildings \u2013 all with the goal of allowing more people to live in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than anything, he feels like what Austinites are looking for is \u201cstability\u201d \u2013 incremental changes that will ease the problems facing people most. He\u2019s campaigning on a regression to the mean: making Austin a safe place to raise families and build community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now, he\u2019s primarily funding his campaign with three part-time jobs \u2013 working with veterans under a doctor in North Austin, picking up shifts at a tech company, and driving Uber on weekends \u2013 the rest of his time is dedicated to the campaign and familiarizing himself with local politics. According to his latest campaign finance report, Brual has raised $250 in campaign contributions so far, putting him far behind the front-runners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.austintexas.gov\/edims\/document.cfm?id=387718<\/a><\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirk Watson has raised nearly $1 million, shattering the previous record of $366,000. Celia Israel has raised $253,305 and Jennifer Virden has raised $131,177.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phil Brual is a long shot for mayor and he knows it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has yet to receive any major endorsements, his campaign\u2019s Twitter account only has a handful of followers (though his Instagram account has more than 450), and most of his supporters are \u2013 like Brual himself \u2013 younger millennials and members of Gen Z looking for something different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But long shot or not, he intends to see the race through, saying, \u201cEven if I am the only person to vote for myself \u2013 if I come out with a final count of one vote \u2013 I do not care. My name will be on the ballot in November.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Austin Monitor\u2019s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SOURCE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.austinmonitor.com\/stories\/2022\/07\/phil-brual-the-ut-austin-student-running-for-mayor\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/gwmw><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phil Brual, the UT Austin student running for mayor TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2022 BY SEAN SALDA\u00d1A On Nov. 8, 2022 Austin will elect a new mayor, and already a number of high-profile candidates have entered the race. And among those…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[4621,27368,638,27367],"class_list":["post-43171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-article","tag-austin-monitor","tag-mayor","tag-phil-brual"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-bej","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19771,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/08\/30\/deaf-research-assistant-needed-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":43171,"position":0},"title":"Deaf Research Assistant Needed – Austin","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"UPDATED 9\/7\/12: We do not accept any more application. Thank you!\u00a0 Deaf research assistant needed DATE: Sept 1-Dec 6 2012 CITY: Austin I am a PhD student in the Linguistics department at the University of Texas and in the fall I will be conducting a research study which examines fingerspelling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25455,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/11\/25\/asl-research-at-university-of-texas-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":43171,"position":1},"title":"ASL research at University of Texas, Austin","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"ASL research at University of Texas, Austin Hello! The University of Texas (UT) Signed Language Laboratory is conducting a study about American Sign Language (ASL). Dr. Richard Meier, a hearing professor in linguistics, and Ms. Lynn Hou, a Deaf doctoral student in linguistics, are doing a study about ASL verbs.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29783,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/01\/24\/survey-on-audiologists-deaf-community\/","url_meta":{"origin":43171,"position":2},"title":"Survey on Audiologists & Deaf Community","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey on Audiologists & Deaf Community For an ASL translation of this email, click on this link: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MRB4SwNlJyI Hello! My name is Bethany Tsui. I am a Doctor of Audiology student from the University of Texas at Austin. I would love your participation in a survey study on the Deaf\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24793,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/09\/26\/research-help-wanted-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":43171,"position":3},"title":"Research Help Wanted – Austin","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Research Help Wanted - Austin My name is Cornelia Loos, I'm a 3rd-year PhD student in the Department of Linguistics here at UT and I'm looking for somebody who is fluent in both English and ASL and could translate some of the data for a study I'm currently conducting on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5575,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/02\/27\/ut-performing-arts-center-sign-interpreted-performances-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":43171,"position":4},"title":"UT Performing Arts Center Sign Interpreted Performances – Austin","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 My name is Rachel Schoen and I am the group sales manager for the University of Texas Performing Arts Center. 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