AUSTIN -- David Orshalick takes a lot of pride in his community.
"You know, six years ago I wasn't an activist," said Orshalick. "Something happened."
A neighbor broke a rule.
"It's so mundane, my neighbor built an eight foot fence, code says the fence can only be six foot. He did not get permission from any of the neighbors and he did not get a building permit," he recalled.
The retired dad fought the fence. It came down and he became a community activist.
Orshalick grew up in Dallas, served in the Air Force and came to Austin in 1979 to complete post graduate work in computer science at the University of Texas. The business owner taught at UT and Austin Community College and created the Austin Computer Fair. Now, he wants to be Austin's mayor.
"I was sick and tired of voting for the lesser of many evils. So I waited and waited for someone who was running for mayor to say anything that looked like they understood our problems and they could actually do something about them. And when they didn't, I signed up at the last minute."
Orshalick said Austin's biggest problem is its unsustainable growth model, fueled through subsidies and incentives.
"Austin's the prettiest girl at the ball, we don't have to give anything away," said Orshalick. "Our city fathers have, and continue to, recruit people and businesses to Austin without building out the infrastructure and setting up the planning to make sure that we can accommodate these people."
One of his solutions is to convert north-south corridors, such as Burnet Road and Lamar Boulevard into six lane divided boulevards, similar to what's in Dallas instead of the proposed urban rail, which he opposes. He also wants to build several innovation districts along the corridors.
"What if we can create a place that was a walkable, urban space that the millennials are looking for where you can work, play and live and eat and it was fun and it was happening and you also had a way to get to the other hot spots in town within 15, 20 minutes? And the answer would be an innovation district."
Orshalick worked in the effort to change Austin's form of government to geographic representation, and said he's the best candidate to bring about more change.
"I can see the problems clearly and I have a vision including innovative solutions to solve each and every one of them."
