Here are Houston Democracy Project Blog Notes & Observations for October 11th. Election Day is in 25 days on November 5th & Early Voting begins in 10 days on October 21st.
* The Texas Tribune recently ran an article about which Texas State House races are seen as competitive by Democrats and Republicans. None of the seats discussed are in Harris County. While Harris County House Democrats would like to be in the majority, that does not appear in the cards for 2024. There are also the fights over private school vouchers and who will be elected Speaker for the next legislative session. The number of seats held by each party will have a big impact on how those battles turn out. But at bottom line, taking part in the 2024 campaign is optional for the Harris County State Legislative delegation. Nobody will be losing a seat. This is just as true for State Senators as it is for House members. Due to gerrymandering, every state legislator in Harris County is safe. (This does not mean that Democrats running uphill races against Republicans in safe seats are not important. Chuck Crews running against a terrible Republican incumbent is a strong example of this. He is knocking doors, rallying voters and working to hold the incumbent accountable. Chuck's campaign and others like it merit support.) There are some Harris County legislators who show up on the campaign trail and others who do not. On the showing up list in my view are Senator Molly Cook, State Reps. Christina Morales, Senfronia Thompson, Jon Rosenthal, Gene Wu, and also Lauren Ashley Simmons who won the Democratic Primary in a strongly Democratic seat. This is based on lists of doors knocked and contributions to the coordinated Victory Campaign posted by the Harris County Democratic Party, and on my own conversations and observations. Candidates in challenging state legislative races running aggressive campaigns include Brett Robinson, Chase West and Doug Peterson in addition to Chuck Crews. (If I've left someone off these lists who merits inclusion, please leave a comment or e-mail me at [email protected] I'd be happy for input that would sharpen my grasp of the matter. ) I'm not--for the moment--offering a list of legislators not helping. I don't want to include people without being certain I have it right. But there are easy and visible ways for elected officials to make clear to active rank & file Democrats that they are properly meeting the realities of this nightmare we are living. It's the responsibility of elected officials to assist on campaigns beyond their own. Campaigns are extractive industries that take money and volunteer hours from the political and social ecosystem & most often leave little structure for the next election. Elected officials are people who have successfully navigated systems that have brought us to the brink of authoritarianism and mass deportations. They can help the full ticket & then they can show up as required after the election no matter no matter how far the the political right is prepared to go after November 5th. * The Presidential election has three possible outcomes-- 1. Harris wins & we prevail over the court cases and violence/threats. 2. Harris wins & then we lose it to the court cases and violence/threats. 3. Trump wins on Election Day. We need to be ready for all three outcomes and make certain our elected Democrats are fully present no matter what. Be prepared for whatever is on the way. * Regarding the death of Ethel Kennedy--In the summer of 1992, I flew with four others from Cincinnati to Boston to attend a fundraiser at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port for Congressman Joe Kennedy. Kennedy is the son of Ethel and Robert Kennedy. The trip was organized by Cincinnati Councilmember Tyrone Yates who was my boss at the time. My contribution to Kennedy was $250. I don’t think he had an opponent. I know the year was 1992 because the theme of the event was the 500th anniversary of Columbus arriving in the New World. Some of the Kennedy family people were wearing Ferdinand and Isabella 15th century type clothes. It was maximum colonizer stuff just a few miles from Plymouth Rock. We were served hot dogs, beans, soda, beer--That kind of stuff. I remember we were taken into the compound, which was behind a wall, by a bus that picked us up in Downtown Hyannis Port. There was a loud speaker announcement that a car was blocking the driveway of Mrs. Onassis. We were asked to wave in the direction of Rose Kennedy who we were told was in her house. There were like five or six houses in the compound. Ethel Kennedy came up to me during the event, looked at my name tag, extended her hand and greeted me by name like we were old friends. She thanked me for being there. I appreciated her offering me the respect back then and still do today. It was just 30 years ago. But it sure seems like a distant world--for better and worse--from today. Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what. Here is a fundraising pitch for Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County.
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