Austin was born 1880 in Kendall, Wisconsin, and moved to Chicago, Illinois, with his family, where he was a newsboy at age 7, and to Aberdeen, South Dakota.

The main issue was the $8.5 million spent for water projects, such as Lake Hodges Dam, with little to show for it.

The motivation was to help stem police corruption, under the idea that an appointed city manager is less subject to bribes and campaign contribution favors than an elected strong Mayor.

He also built a three-story house in Bankers Hill, a San Diego area just north of downtown, in the 1920s.

His children are Genevieve Irene, Virginia Lucille, Warren Wolcott, Gladys Viola, and Edgar Owen.