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In April 2016, Steve Adler framed his case for Austin as an innovation capital by saying the city ranks first in Texas by three metrics (Austin American-Statesman, Deborah Cannon).
In April, Austin Mayor Steve Adler declared that Austin leads Texas in ways that underscore its innovative economy -- business startups, venture capital and patents.
Right he was, we found. Separate studies placed Austin first in the state in venture capital and startups in 2015 and data posted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office showed Austin led in per-capita patents.
Next up, Adler boasted during a May "smart growth" panel discussion that the very first tweet was sent from Austin.
That’s not so, we found. That is, a founder of San Francisco-based Twitter fired off the first tweet in California in March 2006. That was a year before tweeting gained momentum during a South by Southwest conference in Austin.
We rated the mayor’s Twitter claim Pants on Fire.
ICYM, we also track Adler’s performance on the Adler-O-Meter, which shows progress or not on promises he made while running for mayor in 2014. Of late, we rated In the Works his vow to review surplus city properties to assess if any should be sold.
Our Sources
Truth-O-Meter articles, PolitiFact Texas, "Steve Adler correctly says Austin No. 1 in Texas in startups, venture capital investment, patents," May 13, 2016; "Steve Adler wrongly claims first tweet was sent from Austin," May 20, 2016
