Shade Rolls Out of Council Race?

This unexpected release from the Randi Shade campaign:

Randi Shade Suspends City Council Race To Pursue Career In Roller Derby

Place 3 Challenger Shade Says Roller Derby Should Be Community’s Top Priority; Calls Incumbent Jennifer Kim “One Of The Best Council Members In Austin’s History”

Austin, Texas, April 1, 2008 - Austin City Council Place 3 challenger Randi Shade announced today that she has suspended her campaign to pursue a career in women’s roller derby, while praising incumbent Jennifer Kim for her good judgment and long list of accomplishments.

Shade made the surprise announcement this morning in front of Playland Skate Center, home of the Texas Rollergirls, saying she will try out for the “Hell Marys” roller derby team later today.

“I’ve thought long and hard about this, and with the strong support of my friends and family, I’ve made the decision to suspend my City Council campaign and devote my life and career to roller derby,” said Shade. “I believe my broad experience as a public servant, a successful businesswoman, and a non-profit executive make me a great candidate to lead the Hell Marys.”

Shade said she called the office of Place 3 incumbent Jennifer Kim this morning to tell Kim of the decision, but Kim wasn’t in. “A big part of my decision to pursue a spot on a roller derby team rather than a seat on the City Council was my realization at breakfast this morning that Jennifer Kim has been one of the best Council Members in Austin’s history,” said Shade.

“Kim’s good judgment, her long list of accomplishments, and her reputation for accessibility, accountability and responsiveness are well known,” added Shade. “From giving Las Manitas restaurant a $750,000 forgivable loan to fighting relentlessly for the rights of dogs to eat out, Jennifer Kim’s record speaks for itself, and if anything I think she deserves to be elected mayor.”

Shade said she will announce the results of her roller derby tryout later today, and may re-enter the Place 3 race if she doesn’t make the team.

ABOUT RANDI SHADE

Randi Shade, 41, is running for Austin City Council Place 3 (if she doesn’t make the Hell Marys team). She has lived in Austin for more than 18 years, working in the public, private and nonprofit sector. Randi has served as the Executive Director of the Austin Entrepreneurs Foundation, and as CEO of Charitygift, an Internet company she founded in 1999 and sold to a publicly traded company in 2005. Randi’s career in public service includes four years in the Governor’s Office (1992 – 1996) as the founding Executive Director of the Texas Commission on Volunteerism & Community Service, during which time she launched and managed the AmeriCorps program statewide. Under Randi’s leadership Texas was awarded more money than any other state ($55 million). Randi also worked as a fundraising coordinator on the successful 1990 Ann Richards gubernatorial campaign and has also previously worked for City Year, Teach for America, and Procter & Gamble. She is a Plan II Honors graduate of the University of Texas, where she was elected to serve as student body president. Randi later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Randi has always been an active community volunteer and has served on the boards of the Association of Women in Technology – Austin, Austin Clean Energy Initiative, Austin Entrepreneurs Foundation, Central Texas Better Business Bureau, Foundation for Women’s Resources Committee of the Board, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Austin, OneStar Foundation, PeopleFund, Sigma Delta Tau Sorority’s Texas Education Foundation, TexChange, Texas Hillel Foundation, UT Commission on 125, and the Volunteer Center (now Hands on Central Texas). Randi and her partner, Kayla Shell, an attorney and Dell executive, live in the Clarksville neighborhood and are the proud parents of a toddler son named Ethan. Yes, this is an April Fool’s Day press release.