Texas Democratic Party: Moving Texas Forward

Austin—The State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) of the Texas Democratic Party held their quarterly meeting over the weekend. The SDEC voted to include two referendums on the 2012 primary ballot as well as to bring a question to Democratic voters.

The SDEC voted to put a question on the ballot for Texas Democratic Party voters asking if they would support legalizing casino gambling to fund public education.

Should the Texas Legislature allow the people of Texas to vote to legalize casino gambling with all funds generated being used only for education?

“We want to see where Texans stand on this issue,” said TDP spokesperson Anthony Gutierrez. “The Republican legislature left our state with a devastating budget that will hurt our children and our schools. Rather than decimate public education, we want to examine all potential sources of revenue.”

The SDEC unanimously voted to add a referendum in support of the federal DREAM Act and in-state tuition for DREAM Act eligible students.

Any graduate of a Texas high school, who has lived in the state for at least three years and lived here continuously for the last year, should be eligible for in-state tuition at state supported colleges and universities and given the opportunity to earn legal status through a higher education or military service.

“An educated workforce is the only sustainable economic position for the future of Texas and our support for educational opportunities for students who grew up in Texas stands in sharp contrast to the Republican Party,” added Gutierrez. “Republicans continues to use immigrant students as scapegoats. We recognize that young students who have grown up here and want to pursue college or serve this nation in the military are an asset to our state and our country.”

The SDEC also voted to include a referendum in support of college affordability for Texas students.

“Because a college education is increasingly necessary for jobs that allow our citizens to achieve middle class lifestyles and become the entrepreneurs who create the jobs that our economy relies on, we call on the Texas Legislature to fund colleges and universities such that tuition and fees can be affordable to all Texans.”

“Since Republicans deregulated tuition, tuition rates at public universities have skyrocketed,” said Gutierrez. “Tea Party extremists put a higher education even further out of reach by slashing state aid to students from every day families. We need to look forward, not continue to move backwards. College achievement is imperative for a strong middle class and a prosperous state.”

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