​Below is what I said this past weekend speaking at a Southern Brazoria County Democrats community-building event in Angleton & at the monthly Democrats of La Porte meeting. This is all part of my work on the Houston Democracy Project. I'd be happy to speak at your club or organization meeting. 

My name is Neil Aquino. I founded the Houston Democracy Project & I’m a co-organizer of the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest. I'm on the radio each Thursday morning from 6 to 7 on the Egberto Willies' Politics Done Right show on KPFT.

(Above--The Old La Porte City Hall where Democrats of La Porte meet each month.) 

It’s a real kindness for a strong group of rank and file Democrats & pro-democracy people to ask me to speak. Thank you. I’m someone just like you. I’m an active rank and file Democrat who votes, who believes people should be able to afford daily life and that people should be free.

I’m going to talk today, working hard to not mention the name of any elected official or candidate for office. We are the main act. We see it clearly—The institutions and elected officials cannot adequately protect democracy or themselves. How can they fully protect us?

* The way to be correct about what the right intends is to envision the worst. We must continue to say it out loud for everyone to hear & to remind ourselves even in moments when it is difficult to hear:
They know A.I. is coming for people’s jobs and view people who won’t be able to find work as excess population.

They believe in climate change-No matter what they tell you- and feel people in a disaster zone should not choose to live in such a place. It is their fault.

They only want white people-and just certain white people at that-in the United States. The minute they got back into office, they started to expel Cubans who have often been supportive of Republicans. They just want white people here.

They don’t care if you live or die.

ICE is a secret police with a goal of taking our rights.

* Realizing this, we must be open with ourselves and one another that this all is a tremendous mental health crisis. Anyone, including U.S. citizens, can be disappeared, and sent to the Alligator terror camp or the El Salvador torture prison.

Let’s treat each other with grace. Let’s ask each other how we are & make certain we extend grace and rest to ourselves.

* The Houston Democracy Project focuses on local issues—The City of Houston, all Harris County and the metro region. Almost every issue has a local angle. We should find that angle and act on it every time. We must find our way to one another. The person next door or down the street may be afraid to put up a sign or go to a rally. Find them. Speak to them. Encourage them.

* June 14th No Kings protests were well-attended in Katy, League City in Galveston County, Jersey Village, Kingwood, Sugar Land, Conroe, and Huntsville as well downtown Houston. These successful protests were rank-and-file organized.

We need to talk about and be confident in the work we are doing.

The work and risks of maintaining the failing systems that sustain elected officials and their networks, is taken up in good part by the rank and file. We often don’t get much support. And at this point our activism often involves physical risk.

* I mentioned I’m part of protest each week at Senator Cornyn’s Houston Office. It is each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr. Next week will be our 440th week, which is 8 years and 24 weeks. We are there so that people can see others like themselves willing to stand openly and confidently for democracy, no matter the aggression of the right.

Most reactions are strongly positive. However, things we’ve had thrown at us are eggs, a softball, batteries, lit cigarettes, lit cigars and potatoes. A car once swerved towards one of our team crossing the street & once someone came over with a gun in a holster.

People will sometimes ask if attending a protest or being visible in our support of freedom is safe. I tell them we are opposing an authoritarian, white supremacist foe and it will never be fully safe. Again, we must be honest with ourselves and others about the challenge ahead.

We must have frank discussions in our homes and with the people in our lives about what self-defense looks like as we. As we’ve been told over and over and over all our lives, we have a right to self-defense.

* What else can we do?

* We must define responsibility in a way that holds elected officials accountable and identify the local officials who have responsibility. Every elected official takes an oath to the Constitution. Local elected officials must protect democracy and the rule of law.

Local and municipal politics matter. Authoritarianism will require a local infrastructure of compliant officials. Some local officials may surprise us with bravery. Let’s get them on the record for where they stand on protecting our freedom.

* Political campaigns are an extractive industry. Like a strip mine. They take volunteer time and donations and often don’t leave much in return. In Harris County this is very much the case because there are so many races. We all have the U.S. Senate and other statewide primaries ahead. We don’t always feel that our statewide Democratic candidates care very much about connecting with us. These candidates come and go & our problems remain. Don’t give your support without asking how candidates how they will show up for us.
Here are some things we can ask:

Campaign for the winner of the primary no matter who it is.

Commit to being on the right side of the police line if/when Trump suspends civil liberties.

Demand due process for anyone picked up by ICE with the assistance of county-funded law enforcement agencies & monitor what happens to people picked up in the county for human rights violations.
Commit to aggressively campaign for the 2028 Democratic ticket if elected.

*When an opportunity comes to act in solidarity with someone in your community—Take it. We did this in Harris County earlier this year. There was a local activist named Sarah Terrell arrested and dragged out of a Houston Independent School Board meeting for no fair reason at all. This is the district that has been taken over by the state. I asked people to contact Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare calling for charges to be dropped The charges were dropped. I got a call from the DA’s office saying they’d seen the e-mails. Harris County is a big place and rank & file action got attention. We have power. Don’t forget it. We have power. Let’s have the backs of people who stand up for us, even if they are strangers or from a community you are not part of.

*When an opportunity comes to act in solidarity with others across the country--Take it. This is why so many took part in the February 28th economic blackout. It did have some financial impact. Even more important than that, we saw we can work together across racial, class and geographical barriers. All our actions are a test run for the weeks and months ahead. How about a general strike next?

*The next protest is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. The next block walk or meet the candidate event is when you organize it.

*We must each ask ourselves what we want to accomplish—Winning elections, building community, holding elected officials accountable, protest. What works for you?

The electeds and the political class on our side of the aisle, will soon enough turn to us even more so to protect them from the systems they helped create, prospered from and did not fight from the get go when it was clear they were off the rails.
​
We’ll take up that fight. But we must do it with our power and our connection in mind. Even if we make substantial gains in 2026 and 2028 elections—and there is no guarantee of free elections anymore—the underlying conflict remains. I’ve not not heard anyone I vote for tell me what will avoid years of ongoing conflict with the right. Business as usual took us here. It won’t get us out. Let’s look to ourselves.

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​​​

​The Houston Democracy Project has been on the go with speaking appearances over the weekend in Angleton, Brazoria County & La Porte.

Above is the Gulf of Mexico in Freeport just south of Angleton & below is Galveston Bay seen from La Porte. 

In the past few days, I've met with Houston City Council candidates for both the upcoming November election to replace Letitia Plummer and for 2027, been on a statewide call of grassroots activists, been briefed on the full slate of HISD Board candidates running in 2025, attended an organizing event for Democrats in 2026 to see what was going on, been on my regular Thursday-morning Houston Democracy Project hour on KPFT's Politics Done Right, talked to my Congressional District 38 Chair & maintained an active social media presence. 

I'll be reporting on some of all that right here on the Houston Democracy Project blog. Thanks for reading the blog & for your support of the Project. 

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A few scheduling notes--

I am a speaker at this event tomorrow, 7/12, in Angleton, Brazoria County. I’m not going to mention the name of any elected official or candidate. I’m going to talk about our power. We are the main act. This is part of my work with the Houston Democracy Project. Thanks to the Southern Brazoria County Democrats Club for inviting me. 

I'm also the speaker at the Democrats of La Porte meeting on Sunday, July 13. The meeting is at 3 PM at 111 S. 2nd St.

I'm also on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

​I also take part in the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr. We've been at the corner of Memorial and Detering for 440 weeks so far and still going strong. It's essential that people see others like themselves willing to stand only and confidently for freedom no matter the aggression of the right. 

​The Houston Democracy Project is always on the go. 

​​





I’m going to make an effort to not mention any elected official or candidate on social media or here on the Houston Democracy Project Blog in the week ahead. We are the main act.

(Above--A picture of Houston today. There is a photography section on this website.) 

This weekend I have two speaking engagements and I’m figuring out what to say. On Saturday, I’m a speaker in Angleton, Brazoria County at an event run by the Southern Brazoria County Democrats Club, & on Sunday I’m the guest at the monthly Democrats of La Porte meeting. This is part of my work on the Democracy Project.

I’m going to discuss us as rank and file people being ready for the challenge ahead. I’m going to talk about our need to find one another across all barriers.

The way to be correct about what the right intends is to envision the worst things:

* They know A.I. is coming for people’s jobs and view people who won’t be able to find work as excess population.
* They believe in climate change-No matter what they tell you- and feel people in a disaster zone should not choose to live in such a place. It is their fault.
* They only want white people-and just certain white people at that-in the United States.
* They don’t care if you live or die.
* ICE is a secret police with a larger goal of taking our rights.

We need to find everyone inside the 610 Loop, the entire City of Houston, all of Harris County and all neighboring counties who is ready for the fight, or looking for ways to join the fight. We can't leave out anybody.

People need to know the ally across the street, across town and across the region.

Most of all we need to know our own power. We must develop our own skills and abilities. Let’s create the climate and structures where we can accomplish. 

More to come....

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​​

​Letitia Plummer resigning from Houston City Council to run for Harris County Judge, lessens the Democratic majority on Council from 10-6 to 9-6. It opens up the prospect of a 4th Republican holding one of the five at-large seats. Dr. Plummer is leaving At-Large seat #4. 

The majority of the current term remains. The current Council term ends at the end of 2027. Whoever wins the special election to replace Dr. Plummer will have an advantage of incumbency. This election could strengthen Mayor Whitmire's influence on Council.

It’s important to remember that no matter if you know an elected official or think they do a good job, they will do what they want to do. As elected officials play musical chairs,-costing Houston a vote in Congress for much of 2025-we hope that we'll just be able to live in a free society as we fight off the white supremacists & authoritarians.

I'm not saying to not vote for Dr. Plummer. People will assess what matters to them. I might end up voting for her. I'm saying that we have so many fights in front of us and it is frustrating to have another fight to deal with. I find it exhausting. 

The Houston Democracy Project will press Dr. Plummer to commit time and resources to keep the seat Democratic. You'll hear more about that effort soon. Dr. Plummer is clearly free to run for anything she wants. But these seats belong to the public rather than to the political class. 

Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. 
​
​I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​​

​





​ICE and other federal troops stormed through MacArthur Park in Los Angeles today. The Houston Democracy Project tries to keep it local, but ICE's powers are nation-wide and no city is safe. So it is a local story. 

​From Fox Channel 11 in Los Angeles: (Picture above from same source) 

" (Mayor Karen Bass) explained a group of children were there as part of their summer camp program before federal agents moved in...."In my opinion, it's a political agenda of invoking fear and terror," she said. "No plan other than fear, chaos, and politics."....FOX News' Bill Melugin spoke to Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino who, like Secretary Noem, said agents aren't going anymore...."I don't work for Karen Bass," Bovino said. "Better get used to us now, cause this is going to be normal very soon. We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles." 

​Reports say no arrests were made. It seems it was just a stunt to terrorize people and put on a show. 

Here are some additional details on the incursion and some history of MacArthur Park from the Associated Press. 

They are testing what they can get away with in our cities. We must not accept it. 

Here are some questions for Houston City Councilmembers and future Council candidates that we can all ask about ICE and our rights: 
​
* With HPD cooperating with ICE, what process is in place to make certain Houstonians will receive due process if sized by ICE? 

* Is the city tracking what happens to people HPD hands over to ICE? Given the clear human rights implications of how ICE is operating, the City of Houston should be certain it is not contributing to unlawful conduct.

* If/When the Trump Administration moves forward with threats to civil liberties such as the suspension of habeas corpus, will HPD resources be used to assist Trump?

* When will Council Republicans advocate with federal Republican officeholders about budget cuts that impact Houston & how much longer will they be silent on the bigotry and cruelty we are seeing from the right? When will Council Democrats & Democratic Council candidates hold them accountable?

The six Council Republicans are Julian Ramirez, Willie Davis, Twila Carter, Amy Peck, Fred Flickinger & Mary Nan Huffman. Use the resources below to contact them and demand they do much better. 

​Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. 
​
​I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​

​





Weather disasters are political.

Houstonians know this well. Hurricane response and the politics of who gets disaster relief and who does not are political even if it should be otherwise. 

The right will happily use natural disasters to hurt people they don’t like and to spread lies. And of course we can have no meaningful discussion of how climate change causes big rain events. 

With the missing still not accounted for from the ongoing Kerrville flood, Marjorie Taylor Green says people  are altering the weather. This echoes claims in the 2024 Presidential campaign that Democrats were directing hurricanes to Republican areas. 

​We can't just dismiss this stuff no matter how it sounds to us. If we don't assert ourselves right off, we'll be stuck (Or more deeply stuck.) in exchanges about Jews and trans people with weather machines and how excessive rainfall means we should hire more ICE agents. It's not how it should be. But we know from the endless calls to "not politicize" mass-shootings, that little from the right is said with true concern for victims. 

The right also likes to shift blame. The State of Texas blamed the National Weather Service for a forecast the state says did not accurately project the Kerrville/Central Texas floods. 

Channel 13/KTRK meteorologist Travis Herzog tells the accurate story:

"I have looked back at the timeline of warnings issued by the National Weather Service…. and I agree with assessments I’ve seen from other meteorologists that the National Weather Service issued timely warnings.… The first Flash Flood Warning for Kerr County was issued around 1 a.m., and the first Flash Flood Emergency (highest level of flood warning issued..) was issued around 4AM, which automatically triggers a “Wireless Emergency Alert” to all cell phones within the warned area (unless users have elected to turn off those alerts). I’m also told by Houston’s former NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Dan Reilly that flash flood warnings issued hours earlier also contained a “considerable tag” that would’ve also triggered cell phone alerts in the middle of the night where cell service was available….It certainly didn’t help the situation that the Austin/San Antonio NWS weather forecast office is understaffed by 22% and without a Warning Coordination Meteorologist, but I see no evidence yet that it hurt the situation either with what I know." 

I’m glad Mr. Herzog is speaking quickly to fight misinformation and to highlight reckless federal cuts. You know it is just a matter of time until someone falsely says that since the National Weather Service missed the floods, it should be privatized or sold off.

Weather journalist Herzog has been willing to speak up before which is very much appreciated. 

State Representative Christina Morales from Houston has also been quick to join the fight. 

Here is part of a Facebook post from Rep. Morales:

Our region is facing increasingly extreme weather—yet we’re rejecting common‑sense investments in public safety. We can deploy sensors, live water‑level gauges, and automated alerts today, as so many experts have long recommended.

The ask:

 1. Hold leaders accountable—Texans deserve answers from Lt. Gov. Patrick on why these commonsense bills were shelved.
 2. Push for infrastructure now—support equitable flood protection in every vulnerable county.
 3. Raise your voice—tweet, write, call to demand transparency and action: Why isn’t flood safety a top priority?

Here is a post Rep. Morales linked to from Texas Rural Reporter about productive policy legislation that would help keep people safe in floods. 

It's exhausting to be on the opposite political and societal side from consistently terrible people. You'd like to be able to disagree without the knowledge the person you're talking to is content to take your rights and ruin people's lives. Until a better day however, we must be relentless in our advocacy and not feel that somehow we are above the fight. 

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​

Almost every issue has a local angle. We should find that angle and act on it every time. 

We must define responsibility in a way that holds people accountable and identify the local officials who have responsibility. 

Every elected official takes an oath to the Constitution. Local elected officials must protect democracy and the rule of law. 

The Republican Party is united behind Trump and cruelty. Local elected Republicans must be directly questioned about ICE in our region, and about devastating funding cuts impacting research, jobs and local health and safety at the Texas Medical Center, FEMA and the National Weather Service. 

The six Republicans on Houston City Council are Amy Peck, Mary Nan Huffman, Fred Flickinger, Julian Ramirez, Willie Davis & Twila Carter. Acting locally, we know their names and can speak to them directly. 

Local officials and candidates must campaign everywhere and not just where comfortable or where a consultant says to go. Politically active rank-and-file advocates must also see everyone. Connect people today who did not know each other yesterday.   

Local is regional. Inside-the-loop-Houston often has a clear voice. There is also Houston as a whole with neighborhoods and communities that don’t have the input and power they merit. Our region includes Harris County outside the city, Fort Bend County and more. 

There is strong work being done in Brazoria, Galveston & Montgomery counties. We need those allies. There are rank-and-file voters and advocates in these counties who don’t realize there are others on the same street who feel the same way about the erosion of democracy, or who are afraid to make their views public. They need our support. 

June 14th No Kings protests were well attended in Katy, League City, Jersey Village, Kingwood, Sugar Land, Conroe, and Huntsville as well downtown Houston. These successful protests were rank-and-file organized. People everywhere in the Houston area want to be free, are willing to do the work and will show up for themselves. 

Make it local.  Use knowledge of your neighborhood, people you know and issues you care about as tools to establish connection with the person next door or 50 miles away.

Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. 
​
​I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​

Just some observations as the terrible bill is passed in Washington. It's depressing and Knicks me off my stride for a. minute. But it's also a day to assess where we are & be certain about the urgent need to move forward. 

* We are at the point where all the various factions and divides between people who stand united in opposition to what is taking place, need to find one another. The intent on the right is clearly to take our rights & to have the option to disappear us and kill us. 

* If you are a rank & file person on our side of pro-democracy aisle acting in good faith, then you are okay with me even if we have disagreements. I’ll work to be okay in your eyes as we proceed. We have to work together to fight this nightmare.

* The passing of the bill doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t know about the Republicans & about the people in our lives who support it or who are silent. (I’m always open to anyone who wants to choose a better path if you want to stop enabling all this.)

I’m going to keep at it as best I can & I ask you to do the same if you are able. This all is a massive mental health crisis for decent people. It’s a full betrayal of anything good or hopeful.

* Tomorrow, July 4, is just another day which means another day to find our way to one another for the very difficult challenge ahead.​ It's also though a day to find our bearings after a defeat and still move forward. 

​Above is information about a Fourth of July event in Conroe, Montgomery County for Democrats and folks on the left & below is information about a pro-democracy rally on July 12th in Angleton, Brazoria County. I am one of the speakers on July 12. The Angleton event is put on by the Southern Brazoria Democrats Club.

It's essential that the fight for democracy extend far from the city center. In the recent June 14th No Kings protests, there were well-attended events in Katy, League City, Jersey Village, Kingwood, Conroe and Huntsville. 

These successful protests were volunteer-organized by rank & file folks just like you and me. (As was for the most part the No Kings rally in Downtown Houston that drew 26,000 people.) This volunteering and community participation also involves assuming the physical risks of challenging an authoritarian, white supremacist opponent. The Patriot Front showed up at the Kingwood No Kings event. 

There is a lot of energy and great work being done throughout Houston away from the center city & well out into Harris County and neighboring counties.

There is a weekly protest each Friday at noon at the Social Security office at 13302 Westheimer. (No protest on Friday the Fourth.) This protest at an outside the loop location gets a great response from young Black and brown motorists. You wish our local political establishment had a real interest in harnessing that energy. 

My experiences and observations with the Houston Democracy Project suggest to me that people on our side of the aisle outside Houston's 610 Loop, are sometimes less connected to established power and more engaged with different ways of doing things. This is a generalization. But I feel it has some truth. 

We need everyone we can get for the challenge ahead. We've got to find all our people. There are allies everywhere. Folks in strongly-Republican areas and in parts of Houston/Harris County often left behind by conventional politics are essential in our struggle. 
​
I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​