Austin News

Austin City Council member Jimmy Flannigan has received significant donations from a lobbying firm for his re-election campaign and has voted in favor of real estate cases that firm has represented, according to campaign finance reports.

Reports show Flannigan has received more than $17,700 from real estate interests, including Armbrust & Brown, an Austin-based lobbying firm that focuses on real estate, North Austin News reported.

After receive those contributions, Flannigan voted in favor of real estate cases that Armbrust & Brown represented, records show. At the July 30 Austin City Council meeting, Armbrust & Brown represented clients in five cases and two were postponed. Two items, 33 and 34, were voted on, and Flannigan approved both of those real estate cases. 

In the Aug. 27 council meeting, two additional Armbrust & Brown client cases were voted on, items 107 and 109, and Flannigan also approved those, records show.

At the most recent city council meeting Sept. 17, two other Armbrust & Brown clients appeared before the council, and Flannigan made a motion to pass on one item that would have given the developer increased entitlements for the property, including a significant increase in height. He voted again in favor of a client represented by the lobbying firm. 

As North Austin News reported, campaign finance reports show Flannigan received 15 individual contributions from members or employees of Armbrust & Brown.

He also received 19 individual contributions from employees or members of the Endeavor Real Estate Group, which has worked on several joint city projects, including the Plaza Saltillo and the Domain. 

Flannigan, who was first elected in 2016 to serve District 6, is a small business owner and community advocate, as indicated on the city's website, North Austin News reported.

Flannigan has been an advocate on LGBTQ issues and established Austin's LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission. He also worked to establish an LGBTQ employee group.

Armbrust & Brown was formed in the early 1980s and has served Austin ever since. Its website states it has "stayed true" to Texas and focuses on participating in the growth of the city to make it "one of the most dynamic regions in the country," North Austin News reported.

Austin-based Endeavor specializes in project leasing, property management, sales, tenant representation and development. It has worked on several high-profile projects in Austin, such as IBC Bank Plaza, The Bowie and The Domain, according to its website.