TEXAS — Wednesday’s election, by and large, did not go Democrats’ way in Texas, and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo placed the blame on the Austin City Council.

In a tweet response, Acevedo, who previously was the chief of police in Austin, wrote, “Texas Democrats can thank ‘socialist democrats and defund the police crowd’ led by @GregCasar, @JimmyFlannigan and the rest of the AustinCity Council. Fact, Americans and Texans want better policing, not de-policing, and they don’t want anything to do with any form of socialism.”

Acevedo was referencing a move by Austin City Council in August that reallocated about $150 million of the Austin Police Department’s budget to social services, housing efforts, and violence prevention.

The move came in the wake of protests over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Many protesters called for police departments to be defunded and for that money to be allocated to programs aimed at violence prevention, community service, and other social programs. 

Austin City Council Member Greg Casar sent this statement on the matter:

“After last night’s election, Austin is now the only big Texas city with no elected Republicans – and that’s for a reason. Austin voters have clearly mandated progressive priorities. In fact, every Democratic candidate that voted for police reforms won the most votes in Austin’s elections last night.”