All I can Say is WOW!! We had a great turn out today in support of Mayor Bill White and his run for Governor of Texas! It was a pleasure to have Diana Maldonado as our host and the Williamson County Democratic Party for allowing the use of their office for this event. While I saw a fair number of old faces in attendance, I am overwhelmed at all the new faces!
The WC4BW Team is also thankful that many of the local candidates were on hand as well. This is very inspiring to our team and to the Bill White Campaign as well. The momentum is definitely building and we can do a lot good work between now and the primary, and even more between now and November! Thanks to all of you who attended today, and spread the word. Your help is compounded by the help you recruit in this campaign effort! Let’s make this happen!
I posted about the exclusion of the other five candidates for governor from tonight’s debate here, an entreaty that fell on completely deaf ears. I also had a compilation of news and blog articles on Shami last month, and my 2007 meeting on e-Slate issues with White, before and after.
Via Williamson County for Bill White, they are hosting a “Kick Off” event:
Williamson County For Bill White Kick off WITH MAYOR BILL WHITE!!
Please join State Representative Diana Maldonado as she hosts Mayor Bill White for the Williamson County for Bill White Campaign Kickoff!
Date: Saturday, February 6, 2010 Time: 10:30am – 1:00pm Location: Williamson County Democrats Office, 110 North Interstate 35, Suite 170, Round Rock [MAP]
If U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison had any hope of gaining ground on Perry in this debate, she needed to talk about education and Texas’ dropout rate. That might have stirred Texas schoolteachers to show up and vote in the Republican primary March 2.
But two debates have produced absolutely zero questions about Texas schools. Instead, the newscast-debate seemed to focus on which toll roads are dead or alive, plus something called the Texas Enterprise Fund.
We also learned about poor Gov. James Pinckney Henderson, the first governor of Texas after independence and the answer to a petty trivia question that stumped not only Hutchison but almost every Texan.
It’s probably best they skipped it. It’s not like any of them would have an answer. They likely think we spend too much already on education, and we just need to defund the TEA and we’d have plenty of money for education.
Today is the last day to register to vote in the March 2nd Primary.
Via Williamson County for Bill White, they are hosting a “Kick Off” event:
Williamson County For Bill White Kick off WITH MAYOR BILL WHITE!!
Please join State Representative Diana Maldonado as she hosts Mayor Bill White for the Williamson County for Bill White Campaign Kickoff!
Date: Saturday, February 6, 2010 Time: 10:30am – 1:00pm Location: Williamson County Democrats Office, 110 North Interstate 35, Suite 170, Round Rock [MAP]
From the King Center on the meaning of today’s holiday, an excerpt:
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America. We commemorate as well the timeless values he taught us through his example — the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit.
We commemorate Dr. King’s inspiring words, because his voice and his vision filled a great void in our nation, and answered our collective longing to become a country that truly lived by its noblest principles. Yet, Dr. King knew that it wasn’t enough just to talk the talk, that he had to walk the walk for his words to be credible. And so we commemorate on this holiday the man of action, who put his life on the line for freedom and justice every day, the man who braved threats and jail and beatings and who ultimately paid the highest price to make democracy a reality for all Americans.
The King Holiday honors the life and contributions of America’s greatest champion of racial justice and equality, the leader who not only dreamed of a color-blind society, but who also lead a movement that achieved historic reforms to help make it a reality.
On this day we commemorate Dr. King’s great dream of a vibrant, multiracial nation united in justice, peace and reconciliation; a nation that has a place at the table for children of every race and room at the inn for every needy child. We are called on this holiday, not merely to honor, but to celebrate the values of equality, tolerance and interracial sister and brotherhood he so compellingly expressed in his great dream for America.
Here’s a link to many of his great speeches. It doesn’t include the one he gave the night before he was killed, I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.
Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Southwestern University and the City of Georgetown signed an agreement today that makes the University 100 percent wind powered for the next 18 years.
The agreement makes Southwestern the first university in Texas to have all of its power supplied by renewable energy and one of only six universities in the country to have a totally “green” source of power, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [Emphasis added].
[...]
The wind power agreement for Southwestern was the result of initiative by Students for Environmental Activism and Knowledge, an environmental student group at Southwestern. The students met with Assistant City Manager Jim Briggs and Southwestern administrators to investigate the idea of powering Southwestern with renewable energy.
At the announcement, President Schrum recognized the key role of Southwestern students from SEAK who were in the council chamber. “What’s driving this [agreement] are these bright, moral, and courageous students. They were the ones that came down here and met with you. Our students have been leading this effort.”
Great news!! Text of press release[.pdf] from the Texas State Teachers Association:
This weekend, the Texas State Teachers Association Political Action Committee (TSTA-PAC) endorsed Bill White for Governor. TSTA President Rita Haecker issued the following statement regarding the TSTA endorsement.
“Education was the first topic Bill White addressed in his speech declaring his candidacy for Governor, and Bill White will put public education front and center when he takes office as Governor of Texas.
“Having been raised by two parents who were schoolteachers, Bill White fully understands the challenges facing Texas teachers.
“Bill White will take steps to increase teacher salaries, aggressively attack the high rate of dropouts, logically address the damaging and degrading accountability system, and advocate for letting teachers teach instead of teaching to the test. Bill White believes in accountability but knows that high-stakes testing is part of the problem, and not a solution.
“Bill White has declared his commitment to putting our educational system under a microscope – not only to identify problems, but also to strategically implement solutions that will finally correct the ills that have plagued our public education system for over a decade.
“In 2008, Texas was 33rd in the country in teacher salaries and 44th in per pupil spending for instruction. Educational outcomes are affected by how much we invest, and we cannot create a first class school system without the resources required to educate a rapidly growing Texas student population.
“Bill White understands that Texas must attract and retain highly qualified teachers to give Texas students the skills needed to compete in the global marketplace. TSTA believes Bill White will usher in a new age of bipartisan educational reform in the State of Texas, and we greatly welcome the opportunity to effect that change alongside our next Governor.”
Linda Chavez-Thompson, a national leader within the AFL-CIO and the Democratic Party, plans to enter the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor on Monday, according to a source familiar with her plans.
She will join Ronnie Earle and Marc Katz in the race. I agree with Kuff.
This may be the most interesting primary of them all. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what she has to say, and to see how she and Ronnie Earle make the case for themselves. (Sorry, Marc, but these are my top two choices for this race.)
I know next to nothing about Chavez-Thompson but have heard nothing but good things about her. I look forward to learning more. And hopefully a race like this will bring even more interest to Democratic politics in Texas this cycle.
