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ancianita

(40,398 posts) Fri May 2, 2025, 10:28 PM 12 hrs ago

The election Musk is watching

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/west-wing-playbook-remaking-government/2025/05/02/on-the-ground-in-musk-land-00324518
(05/02/2025 04:57 PM )

Tomorrow, Boca Chica, TX voters will decide if Starbase should become its own city.

This roughly 1.5 square mile community is technically unincorporated Boca Chica Village. But on Saturday, the 200-odd residents — the vast majority of whom are SpaceX employees — will vote on whether to incorporate the land (surrounding Musk’s massive rocket launchpad into a new town. It is an election the region has been marching toward since December, when several dozen residents submitted a petition to South Texas’ Cameron County asking it to schedule an election that would incorporate Starbase as its own municipality. The move would give SpaceX increased autonomy, virtually its own government, and greater ability to build where and how it wants. The measure is widely expected to be approved. We mentioned this election in a recent newsletter. Then, we decided to send a reporter there.

Nearly 2,000 miles from Washington, this election comes at a strange time for Musk. A man who seems to disregard (or “delete”) regulations and systems that do not serve him is now aiming to define ordinances on the most local level by building a new city from the ground up in rural Texas. After a period in which Musk was seen as a shadow president, he may now become the de-facto mayor of his own small town.

At the national level, Musk has emerged as one of the least-liked members of the Trump administration, even among Republicans. In Cameron County, local elected officials, long supportive of SpaceX’s presence, have begun to draw a firmer line over the powers it should hold. As the hours inch toward election day, local activists and organizers who have been fighting SpaceX for years are attempting a last-ditch effort to sway voters.

The measure’s passage could lead to possible land grabs through eminent domain, diminished public beach access and less oversight of the company’s activities. Its failure, meanwhile, would serve as a public black eye for Musk, and an indication of limited support even within his own company.