With early voting just days away, opponents of Proposition 1, including five City Council members, slammed the Uber-and-Lyft-backed�campaign for the ballot measure for making �false statements� and airing �deceptive� advertisements.

�Uber and Lyft are running a deceptive campaign in a blatant attempt to confuse the voters and allow corporations to write their own rules,� District 2 Council Member Delia Garza said at a press conference Tuesday. �These misleading campaign ads are simply reprehensible and are a huge disservice to our community.�

The press conference comes as the pro-Proposition 1 political committee, Ridesharing Works for Austin, blankets Austin�s television and radio airwaves with ads suggesting that votes against Proposition 1 would force the ride-hailing companies to stop performing background checks of their drivers or stick taxpayers with�the tab for running fingerprint-based background checks of drivers.

�One of the most recent radio ads says this election is not about fingerprinting, but it�s about background checks. How much more confusing can you get than a statement like that?� Garza said. �This is about fingerprinting and it�s about a billion dollar corporation refusing to use the most effective type of background check available.�

The �billion-dollar corporation� line was a common refrain from the other four council members who spoke outside of City Hall at the Tuesday�s press conference. Lyft and Uber have bankrolled the pro-Proposition 1 effort, giving $2.2 million in donations and in-kind support, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.

�Please don�t be misled by skewed TV commercials, by slick advertising campaigns that are � at the end of the day � coming from billion dollar corporations who want to write their own regulations,� said District 9 Council Member Kathie Tovo,�the lone remaining member who was serving when the initial rules were passed in 2014.

She described that effort as �heavily written by Uber and Lyft.�It had obvious gaps. We knew it at the time.�

District 4 Council Member Sabino �Pio� Renteria put it this way: �Who will control our city, the residents of Austin, or the profit-driven corporations?�

Uber and Lyft � who have made the claim they do a better job serving poor and minority communities than cabs � also potentially gained a new headache as District 1 Council Member Ora Houston said she would�campaign against the ordinance, including speaking at the influential black churches in her district encompassing parts of East and Northeast Austin.

�Some churches don�t let you speak about politics on Sunday, so I will be careful about how I do that,� she told the American-Statesman. �But, yes, I will be planning forays into the district.�

During the press conference, she offered her own take on the corporate-influence line that dominated the half-hour event.

�The voters of District 1 elected me to make public policy decisions, based on the best interests of the community � all parts of the community. My constituents thought I was fair, thoughtful and willing to compromise,� she said, adding:��They know I will not buckle under to corporations who decide to dictate what city regulations they will or will not follow.�

UPDATE at 4:11 p.m.: Travis Considine, spokesman for Ridesharing Works, sends along this statement: �Nothing is more misleading than the ballot language crafted by the City Council, which is a powerful example of voter misinformation. It is because the ballot language was crafted to be misleading to voters that the vote for Prop. 1 campaign is necessary at all. City Council has not prepared for a city takeover of the system. The council has yet to specify how much it will cost taxpayers to properly administer the program when they take it over. They also haven�t provided any responsive information to ensure compliance with the ordinance.�

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