Austin City Council members have earned a score of “100,” the highest possible score, for advancing the LGBT agenda. They also are incubating the diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology in the city budget.
The Human Rights Campaign—a far-left LGBT organization and DEI proponent—awarded Austin 100 points in its Municipal Equality Index, which measures how in line city governments are with the LGBT agenda.
Points are awarded based on whether or not the city promotes the LGBT agenda in its laws, spending, services, and public positions.
Austin earned 100 points in 2024 for multiple actions, including:
- Providing “services” to “LGBTQ+ youth,”
- Providing “services” to “transgender” individuals,
- Having an “LGBTQ+ Liaison/Task Force” in the police department.
While HRC’s MEI doesn’t allow a city to score above 100, Austin would have received 109 points if the cap were removed.
An examination of Austin’s $5 billion 2024-2025 budget revealed taxpayer-funded DEI in the city’s goals.
A goal city council members approved, found on page 126, was “recruiting, hiring, and retaining a talented, engaged, diverse, and inclusive workforce.”
As part of that, the city will provide employees with a tenure of three or more years with “opportunities for training, growth, and professional development with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Another city goal, found on page 120, is to “foster relationships with under-resourced communities to deliver programs and services that represent Austin’s diversity.”
To fund the 2024-2025 budget, council members hiked property taxes by more than eight percent, increasing revenue by roughly $84 million. Only former council member Mackenzie Kelly voted against the budget. She lost her re-election bid in November 2024.
The incubation of DEI by Austin city council members contrasts efforts by the Trump Administration to eliminate it at the federal level. Companies like Disney are reportedly working similarly to dismantle DEI practices.
The Human Rights Campaign helped push the DEI ideology throughout corporate America with its “Corporate Equality Index.” Their MEI was exposed in June 2024 for pushing cities to adopt the LGBT agenda.
“DEI is the siren song of today’s social justice movement. Its chief priests promise equity and fairness but deliver only ridicule and ruin to those foolish enough to embrace it,” said James Quintero of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
“Most Texans expect their city governments to fill potholes and police the streets, not play race-based political games on the public dime,” he continued. “Activist cities need swift correction from the Texas Legislature. State lawmakers should make it clear this session that DEI has no place in Texas government and that it’s time for cities to get back to the basics.”
The office of Austin Mayor Kirk Watson didn’t respond to a request for comment before publication.
Texas Scorecard will continue examining the advancement of the LGBT and DEI ideologies in Texas’ local governments.
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