Austin mayor responds to Abbott’s ultimatum to fix ‘homeless crisis’

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin’s mayor fired back at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this weekend regarding the governor’s demands that the city fixes its homeless crisis.

Concerns about the homeless issue led Gov. Abbott to send a letter to Austin Mayor Steve Adler saying the city needs to act quickly to fix problems linked to homeless camping.

Mayor Alder initially said he welcomes help from the state. But at a Democratic party event Saturday, Adler was much more critical of the governor’s response.

“When I first read it, when we read it we thought maybe he was telling us he was going to lay siege to Austin here at the end of the month. If that happens kind of like Berlin we are going to be looking to other cities around the state to be doing air drops for us here in Austin,” he said.

On Twitter, Gov. Abbott asked people to share photos and video of what he calls “public safety threats” related to the homeless in Austin and to tag Adler in those tweets.