AUSTIN, Texas — A Travis County judge has ruled in favor of the City of Austin after a local political action committee filed a lawsuit over a petition that attempted to halt construction of Austin’s new convention center. The downtown endeavor is expected to be completed by late 2028.

Judge Jessica Mangrum ruled against Austin United PAC in their lawsuit challenging the City of Austin’s rejection of their petition to halt the convention center project, which is costing the City $5.6 billion and is being financed with a 32-year loan.

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The original lawsuit claimed that City Clerk Erika Brady determined that the group’s petition fell short of the 20,000 signature requirement, despite the petition having over that number of qualified signatures. The lawsuit says the City based this decision on a statistical sampling of the submitted signatures.

“While we respect the Court, we are surprised and strongly disagree with this outcome,” the PAC said in a statement. “This ruling allows the City to sidestep a public vote and move forward with a $5.6 billion, 32-year debt-financed project without a direct vote of the people, despite clear evidence that thousands of eligible voters were wrongfully excluded from the petition process. We believe this decision undermines public trust and enables City Hall to ignore meaningful voter participation on issues with enormous financial and long-term consequences.”

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The group says that it intends to organize a new citizen-led petition to place the convention center project issue before voters on the November ballot.

“This is a good win for Austinites. Our City Clerk handled this matter professionally and I appreciate that professionalism,” Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement. “Plus, the expansion of our convention center is important to our city’s future. It serves as a focal point of our important and thriving tourism industry. I’m pleased that we are looking at a bright future.”