AUSTIN -- It was a meeting of the mayors Sunday night at South by Southwest.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler all participated in a panel called "Mayors Disrupting Locally, Leading Globally." The mayors spoke about how local government has the power to drive positive reform, even at the federal level. One of the main issues they touched on was net neutrality.
All were proponents of keeping the internet accessible and open. They support a congressional review of the FCC net neutrality rollback and encouraged cities to use their power to protect it. The mayors also stated they will not do business with someone who doesn't honor its principles.
Another thing that was talked about was Amazon's second headquarters. Adler said he doesn't want to do anything that would make the two biggest challenges that our city faces, affordability and mobility, worse. However, he also said maybe Amazon could come into Austin and deal with or approach those challenges differently.
"I'm not going to preclude having the conversation about how, in a new paradigm, a company could weave itself into the fabric of a community and come into a city in a way that benefits that city," Adler said. "What we don't know is whether or not a company of the size or resources of Amazon could come into our city and help us deal with or approach those challenges in ways that we can't find ourselves."
The panel wrapped up with the question who has better barbecue, Austin or Brooklyn? The answer de Blasio gave: Austin.