Candidates for city council running in the local election set for May 10 (remember; the primary run-off election is on April 8, with early voting ending April 4) have stepped up and answered an additional set of thoughtful questions. This time, the questionnaire is from the BAT-PAC people. Whatever anyone thinks of the BAT endorsements, these questions and the replies that they elicited are the sort to assist the undecided in making up their minds. They’re just as useful as the earlier responses to the ANC battery of questions and the yet-to-be released responses to the League of Women Voters issue queries. This is the preamble to a question about an issue that I believe to be extremely important, especially in view of the rush to unload City-owned land downtown and transfer it into private hands on favorable terms: “We are told by the City Administration that the City can no longer afford to purchase land for community facilities downtown, yet land the city already owns downtown is being proposed for sale for private development. Moreover, we are told that we must relocate essential city services away from the populations they serve without adequate transportation services.” “BAT” stands for “Better Austin Today.” The complete elections calendar and additional information about registration and voting may be found at the site of the Travis County clerk.