MY LETTER TO HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY ELECTED DEMOCRATS about the need to offer leadership in opposing donald trump---we don't ask nearly enough of these people

I've been considering  the need for local Democrats to strongly oppose Donald Trump. Below is a letter I've sent to my elected Democrats in Houston & Harris County regarding this subject.

After the letter is a list of my elected Democrats. 

Here is the letter----
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I’m writing as a citizen of Houston and Harris County who takes President Donald Trump at face value in his disturbing words and actions. 

To highlight just a portion of Donald Trump’s alarming conduct, he has said many Mexican immigrants are rapists, has used Twitter to harass private citizens including a Gold Star family and has hired white nationalist Steve Bannon to a top White House position. 

Mr. Trump’s racially biased views and authoritarian actions strike hard at the greatest strengths of our diverse and open community. 

I have no political representation beyond the local level. In the current angry and polarized political climate, which Republican could I trust to safeguard my freedoms and safety? 

This is why I am sending this letter to the elected Democrats who represent me in Houston and Harris County. 
My view is that in two regards local Democratic officeholders now hold national responsibilities.
 
The first is that local elected Democrats are one of the few lines of defense against possible unconstitutional and repressive actions of the Trump administration. The selection of Jeffery Sessions, once rejected for a judgeship due to racist words and conduct, as Attorney General further suggests a Trump Administration actively hostile to minority communities and to basic freedoms. 

Resistance to unlawful and authoritarian acts by the federal government must be centered out of the areas where the people who will be most affected live. 

Second, local elected Democrats must mobilize people. Low turnout in urban elections cripples our ability to respond to hostile state and now federal actions. The success of Harris County Democrats in 2016 should not obscure the fact that only a fraction of the real political power of our citizenry has been utilized. 

We cannot have a hopeful and broad response to the significant threat represented by Donald Trump’s Presidency, if at the same time local campaigns in Houston are decided by low turnout and a few big donors.
 
We’ve become accustomed to asking little of our local elected Democrats other that they not be Republicans. That course has never been satisfactory in terms of either winning elections or improving the lives of our citizens. 

It is quite likely that the same forces that have so successfully funded and elected far right-wing officials across the nation will now turn their attentions to cities by backing so-called unconventional or non-traditional candidates who will pursue extreme agendas. 

We now face an unprecedented challenge that demands both imagination and effort from elected officials in Houston and Harris County who support a diverse and open vision of our society. 

Local officials must realize that national circumstances have expanded their already considerable responsibilities to include protecting Harris County residents from Donald Trump and his actions.

I ask you to please consider your part in standing ready to resist the policies and social climate from Washington that put the people of Harris County at risk, as well as building the coalitions and culture of electoral involvement and participation needed to protect our citizens today and in the years ahead. 

Sincerely, 
Neil Aquino

Here is the list of my elected Democrats---Community College Board Member Zach Capo, County Dept of Ed. Board Member Diane Trautman, HISD Trustee Anne Sung, Councilmembers Ellen Cohen, David Robinson & Amanda Edwards, City Controller Chris Brown, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Constable Alan Rosen, County Attorney Vince Ryan, Tax Assessor-Voter Registrar Anne Harris Bennett, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, District Attorney Kim Ogg & State Senator John Whitmire.

​Please consider asking yourself if you know who your local elected Democrats are and what it is you hope for from these folks in our difficult new circumstances.

Please follow me on Instagram. My user name is Neil_Aquino. Please read all of NeilAquino.com​​​​. ​​ ​If you've seen a guy walking around Houston with a sign, that possibly was me. Here is my Zazzle store where I sell items that have slogans on them from my signs and some other phrases as well.