From the Field
The TDP field staff travel the state to conduct trainings and provide assistance to candidates, county parties, Democratic clubs and grassroots activists.
Sondra Haltom - Political Director
Ken Bailey - Regional Field Director
Terrysa Guerra - Regional Field Director
Brian Pendleton - Regional Field Director
Below are reports "From the Field" from our field staff as they travel the state.
January 2008 - From Terrysa
RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR: CAMPAIGN STYLE
With just two months before the March primary, campaigns are under way to get a spot in the general election. I spent most of this month working with local candidates throughout West Texas, giving them training and advice on getting out the vote. I also conducted my second mini candidate training in Mason, Texas for local area candidates from surrounding counties. Candidates traveled from McCulloch, San Saba, Menard and Llano County to participate. Check out the pictures below.
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December 2007-From Brian
FILING SEASON AND AN ELECTION SURPRISE...
Well, I figured the month of December will be filled with candidate filings, holiday parties and maybe a training or two. However, there was a big surprise in November when Dan Barrett received most of the votes in the November election. Barrett got more votes than six Republicans in the HD 97 Special Election. This election was caused when the incumbent State Representative, Anna Mowery, resigned several months ago. Barrett didn't receive the 51% majority needed to win outright so a special election runoff was in play.
So, just when I was ready to put it on cruise control, here I go again, my fifth special election in three years. Wow! On December 3rd, I was off to Fort Worth for the special election runoff on Dec 18th. However, before I left, I was able to see most of the first day candidate filings in the office. Rick Noriega and Congressman Al Green from the 9th Congressional District were a few of the candidates on hand to file for office.
The first week of the campaign was getting ready for Early Vote the following week. Taylor, Dee Jay, and Chris were the brains behind the Barrett operation. We met and discussed strategy for the next few weeks. The Tarrant County Democratic Party was gracious enough to allow me to use their internet during my time there. The staff was great as well. That weekend, I drove to Weatherford and conducted a training for the locals there. I had this date on my schedule prior to the HD Special election. I appreciate the attendance and assistance of the Parker County Dems.
With the arrival of Early Vote, it was time for GOTV. The phone banks were in full operation and the field plan was in effect. Dan and his wife helped out with block walking, phone banking and even bringing by food for the volunteers at times. We felt pretty good after EV but you just never know.
Finally, election day arrived! The campaign volunteers had arrived from other state representative offices and locally as well. The office was buzzing from start to finish. I had block walked for a couple hours in the midday while other field operation was moving forward. 7pm finally came and we moved to the E-night party. After the Early Vote numbers were posted, we were excited about our operation. Around 9:30pm, we finally declared victory and folks were jubliant after the upset victory. Folks cried, hugged and gave high fives as we pulled a great victory to end the year. This victory was truly sweet for Dan and his family after losing in the 2006 election. This was truly a TEAM effort from start to finish.
With the special election over, I traveled to Houston for their annual Holiday party. Then, I traveled to Decatur for a meeting of the Wise County Democrats. Finally, back to Austin before I left for the Holiday.
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December 2007 - From Terrysa
‘TIS THE FILING SEASON
Filing season began on Dec. 3rd, with many candidates ready to get on that March ballot and with delegate selection training underway, it proved to be a very busy month. I traveled in the beginning of the month to Fort Stockton, Texas where I conducted a Delegate Selection Training for the folks of SD 19 and training over the voter file. The next weekend Sondra Haltom and I traveled to El Paso, Texas to conduct one of our first mini candidate camps held through out the state. It was a day of trainings on all things candidate related and we topped off the day with a Delegate Selection Training. Check out the picture below.
I also did some traveling around West Texas for candidate recruitment, including attending a forum for potential candidates in Kerr County and meeting with folks in Ector and Midland Counties.
---------------------------------------------------------------November 2007-From Brian
ONE YEAR AWAY!
Just think about it, One Year Away from the November 2008 elections. So much at stake here in Texas as well as nationwide. The beginning of the month started with "One Year Out" events across my region. I attended an event in Austin that was attended by approximately 20+ people. The next week, I conducted a VAN training at the TDP Campaign Camp. There, I met many candidates who I will be working with over the next year. The following week, I went to Dallas for their County Executive Meeting and my first Delegate Selection Training. SDEC16 committeemember, Theresa Daniel, was on hand to conduct the training. I appreciate the help of Theresa and the Dallas County party staff who made the day a success.
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November 2007 - From Terrysa
TODAY WE TRAIN, IN ONE YEAR WE WIN
This month was full of trainings and preparation for the upcoming election. We kicked off the month with various One Year Out House parties across Texas. Kerr County had a good crowd for their Year Out House Party, held November 10th, where many attendees signed pledges to our new Neighborhood Leader Program. They also got on the ground and knocked on door after the house party. What a great day for Democrats in Kerr County! At the same time, I was out in Tom Green County holding a precinct chair and VAN training session in San Angelo. Those who were in attendance were eager to learn more about our voter file. The following week was equally as eventful. We held our campaign camp here in Austin. We had many candidates running for all levels of office from all across Texas in attendance for this three day event held at St. Edwards University. I conducted trainings over the VAN and cutting walk lists on the VAN. Just a few short days later, I was in Burnet County conducting a GOTV and Van training. Senate district member Dian Ruud was on hand helping out with the training. So goes, “train today, win tomorrow.”
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October 2007-From Brian
MOVING FORWARD
Seems like the month of October came and went in a flash. But, we are less than a month away from the start of the filing period for candidates. I am looking forward to meeting candidates in my region, whether they are in a contested primary or not. On the other hand, the filing period for precinct chairs started this month. I hope to see every precinct chair position in the region filled by the end of filing in January. The precinct chair position is so important in our Party to ensure Democratic victories and continue party activity year after year.
The first week of the month for me began with a Delegate Selection training in SD14 on the 3rd. The event was held at Scholtz Garden in Austin. Also, I had a VAN training in Bastrop sponsored by the local party the following day. During the event, the Party unveiled their new website (http://www.bastropcountydemocraticparty.com/). Check out the website! Bastrop County is working hard to get ready for 2008. Kudos to Bastrop County!
During the weekend, I attended two events several miles away. That morning, I attended the Bell County Fall Festival in Belton. There were many items for donation available at the event. I received a nice coffee mug with candy inside and a Bill Clinton cookbook of recipes from his childhood in Arkansas. Dian Ruud-SD24 Committeewoman, Woodie Jones, 3rd Court of Appeals-Chief Justice candidate, and former CD31 candidate, Mary Beth Harrell were in attendance at the festival. In addition to the many items available, there were hamburgers and hot dogs along with refreshments to quench your hunger and thirst. Kudos to the Bell County Party!
The final event of the day was 3 hours away in Weatherford, the Parker County Democratic Party Rally. The guest of honor was former U.S. House Speaker, Jim Wright. Unfortunately, I missed his speech but I heard it was outstanding and lifted the spirits of everyone in the room (and on the road). There were many candidates and elected officials in attendance, such as Rep. Mark Veasey of Fort Worth who made the trip to Weatherford. Of course, after a long trip, it was nice to sit down and eat some delicious food made by the volunteers who made the event happen. Kudos to the Parker County Party!
The next week started with a VAN training in Hillsboro sponsored by the Hill County Democratic Party on the 8th. Kudos to the Hill County Party! Later in the week, I drove to Huntsville and spoke to the Walker County Democratic Club and a few members of the Sam Houston Young Democrats about voter registration and organizing for 2008. I shared some ideas from past campaigns and listened to the group as they shared thoughts and ideas about winning in Walker County. Kudos to the Walker County Party!
The next day, I drove to Denton and attended their Executive Committee meeting. The meeting space was packed in Lewisville as they conducted their county business. I introduced myself to the group and encouraged everyone to keep up the good work in the county. Afterwards, I joined a few Dems at the IHOP for fellowship and thoughts on the upcoming year. Kudos to the Denton County Party!
Again, I had another busy weekend. Friday and most of Saturday, I attended the SOS/County Chair training in Austin. All but three of the county chairs in my region attended the training. However, they sent representatives from their local party to the training. I enjoyed seeing my friends in the region at the training. That afternoon, I drove to Houston and attended the annual Harris County Tejano "Roast-n-Toast", honoring Congressmember Sheila Jackson-Lee. The night was filled with laughs. Chris Bell was the MC of the night and kept the jokes coming to the end. Some of the folks who honored Congresswoman Jackson-Lee were State Rep. Sylvester Turner, Senator Mario Gallegos, and City Councilmember Carol Alvarado. Kudos to the Harris County Tejano Dems for another great event!
The next week was busy once again. I conducted a VAN training in Bastrop, spoke at the San Jacinto Dems meeting, attended the Dallas County Fish Fry and the Hood County Picnic. The VAN training in Bastrop was well attended by the party faithful. Kudos to the Bastrop County Party! The San Jac meeting was out of my region however my colleague was unable to attend. I enjoyed meeting the good Dems in San Jacinto as well as the elected officials in attendance. Kudos to the San Jacinto Party! The Dallas County Fish Fry was the biggest the local Party has planned ever. I saw most of the elected officials, especially the ones who won last year. There were also many candidates in attendance looking to join those elected officials in 2009. Besides the delicious fish and french fries, there were alot of yummy desserts of all types available at the Fish Fry. Kudos to the Dallas County Party for a great event! Finally, the next day, I attended the picnic hosted by the Hood County Democrats. Again, I was treated to great food, hamburgers and hot dogs, along with more great desserts. The weather at the park in Granbury was outstanding even though the wind got a little rough near the end. One of the ladies had a Presidential straw poll available at the picnic. Senator John Edwards won the straw poll by the way. Kudos to the Hood County Party!
My month ended with a visit to Decatur to speak to the Wise County Dems, a staff retreat in Archer City, a VAN presentation at the TDW Campaign School, and a visit to El Campo to speak to the Wharton County Dems. Kudos to all for a great and busy month!
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October 2007 - From TerrysaONE YEAR OUT, ONE YEAR AGO
It was this time one year ago that many of us were out in all corners of Texas working and campaigning hard, just days away from election night, to get Democrats in office. We took back the US House, the Senate, TX 22 and TX 23 and gained 6 seats in the Texas House - a good year for Texas Democrats indeed. With just one year before election night 2008, Democratic activists and leaders are working hard early in preparation for a battle to take back the Texas House. This past month, once again, the Hill Country was alive and thriving. Bandera County held a Constitutional Forum over the 16 propositions we will be voting on this year. It was a great event with close to 70 people in attendance. The featured speaker was former statewide candidate David Van Os, who did a great job on explaining each proposition and the pros vs the cons.
The Hill Country also held a Democratic Forum for Candidates in Fredericksburg at Lady Bird Park. This was a great event with close to 100 people in attendance from all over the Hill Country area, including folks from Kerr, Bandera, Burnet, Mason, Lampasas, Kendall and Tom Green counties. Many candidates were on hand to speak their message and answer questions (picture below).
In addition to these great events, we also continued with our trainings and election protection project. We held a compliance and VAN training during the SOS Election Law Seminar in Austin. The TDW also held a campaign school in Austin where I conducted a GOTV training. We also have Year Out Kick Off Parties happening all across Texas. Please visit the DNC website to find an event near you. The TDP staff also ventured on a retreat this past month and we actually managed to get a group picture out of it (minus Bill Brannon ). Check out the picture below and find your favorite TDP staffer.
So we are one year out and with all the hard work we have put in so far, I have no doubt that a year from now we will be victorious on election night 2008.
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September 2007-From Brian
MOVING FORWARD
Besides the arrival of football season, I have been working with many counties in my region to get ready for the 2008 campaign season. Several of my counties have assisted on the Election Protection Project. This project has been educational on all levels. I have even conducted some interviews myself. I appreciate the assistance of the county chairs with regard to this project. In addition, I have assisted some of my counties with their 2008 coordinated campaign plans. I am excited to see so much party activity this early in the '08 campaign.
I was invited to be a guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Sun City Democrats in Williamson County. The Sun City Democrats are an active group with a membership of close to 250+. The topic of my speech was preparing for the 2008 elections. I had just found out that the Williamson County Commissioner's Court has recently voted to add additional precincts to the growing Sun City area. So, during my speech, I encouraged everyone in attendance to become a precinct chair or recruit someone to be a precinct chair. Kudos to the Sun City Dems!
Also, I was invited to be a guest speaker for the Montgomery County Democratic Party Executive Committee meeting in Conroe. There were approximately 40+ folks at the meeting. Again, I spoke about preparing for the 2008 campaign, gave a brief presentation on the VAN and then answered questions. Also, there was a presentation on the new precincts boundaries in Montgomery County. Before the meeting, County Chair Wendy Melton, hosted a social gathering at her place. I had a chance to meet and speak with all of the guests in attendance. Kudos to the Montgomery County Democrats!
The third Saturday was a very busy travelling day. That morning, I attended the SD18 summit in Schulenburg on the Blinn College campus. At the summit, I spoke to six of the county chairs along with Democrats from the other counties in my region. The turnout for the summit was great. I attended one of the morning sessions of the summit. After that session, I drove to Seguin for the South Central Texas Democratic Pachanga sponsored by the Young Democrats of Texas Lutheran University and the Democratic Party of Guadalupe County . Since I left SD18 summit before lunch, I was hungry. At the Pachanga, there were free hot dogs available for everyone as well as lots of baked goods (and there were lots of goodies!). There were many candidates and guests that attended the event, including the US Senate candidates. Kudos to the Guadalupe County Dems and the YDs at Texas Lutheran University. The final event of the day occured in Lee County that night. The Lee County Democratic Party sponsored a Hamburger Fest in Lincoln at the home of Jeff & Stacey Ormsby. There were plenty of juicy hamburgers with toppings and snacks. 3rd Court of Appeals-Chief Justice candidate, Woody Jones was in attendance as well as the Lee County Treasurer and Sheriff. Kudos to the Lee County Democrats!
The next day, I attended the annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Bryan. I saw a few of the statewide candidates in attendance at the dinner. Ben Sargent, cartoonist from the Austin American Statesmen was the guest speaker for the dinner. He presented some of his work on a power point presentation and everyone enjoyed it as well as got a laugh or two (maybe many laughs). Kudos to the Brazos County Democrats!
Later that week, I attended a special event in Madisonville. The event was the Poor Man's Dinner. Interesting name, huh? The Madison County Democratic Party has organized this dinner for the past couple of years. House Minority Leader, Jim Dunnam, was in attendance and spoke to the crowd at the Kimbro Convention Center. Also, SD 5 Committeemembers, Kay Sweat and Bill Holcomb, were in attendance along with a representative from Congressmember's Chet Edwards' office and other special guests. Kudos to the Madison County Democrats!
The next morning, I drove to Houston to attend the SD15 Precinct Appreciation breakfast. Many of the Harris County judicial candidates were present at the event. State Senator John Whitmire, SD15 Committeemembers, Lenora Sorola-Pohlman and Ken Yarbrough, County Chair Gerry Birnberg, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, and a host of the others were in attendance at this event. I had several cups of coffee and a few breakfast tacos there as well. Kudos to SD15!
October was a busy month!
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September 2007 - From Terrysa
LET FALL BEGIN
Not only are coordinated campaigns well on their way, but county parties have also been in the works to develop strong plans for this election cycle. This past month, I conducted precinct organizing, GOTV and VAN trainings in Kerr, Burnet and Val Verde counties. Each of these counties has strong leadership at the grassroots level and each is building a program that I can see being very successful for next year's election. In addition to these trainings, the county chairs in each of these counties have gone the extra mile and helped out with the Election Protection Project. These surveys have allowed us at the state and national level to have a better understanding of the election process in these smaller rural counties. I also did my fair share of surveys this month as well: Lampasas, Reagan, Glasscock, Mills and Presidio counties. Much like August, September was packed with events. I attended the El Paso TDP fundraiser in late September with the Chairman. What a successful event! We had over 100 people in attendance and many elected officials, including Congressman Reyes, Senator Shapleigh, Representative Quintanilla and Representative Chavez. Before the fundraiser we also met with elected officials to really get a sense of El Paso and what we can do to make sure we have a successful year in 2008. Check out the pictures below.
I also went back to my old stomping ground in Brazos Valley. I was in attendance, with Brian, at their organizing meeting. I was there offering some input on what worked and what didn't work in the 2006 cycle. As some of you remember from my bio, I have deep roots in Brazos Valley, from my years there as a student at Texas A&M, then working for DCCC in 2004 and then for Congressman Chet Edward's re-election campaign in 2006.
This month has showed me one thing; there are great Democrats in every part of Texas.
---------------------------------------------------------------August 2007-From Brian
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
August was a busy month for me. The first week of the month, I travelled to Houston. There, I met with Sherrie Matula, candidate for State Representative HD129. In 2006, Sherrie ran a strong campaign and received 43% of the vote. Not to be denied, Sherrie is starting her campaign plan earlier than the previous cycle. With a strong campaign team in place, Sherrie looks toward victory in 2008.
Also that week, I attended the monthly Bay Area New Democrats (BAND) meeting. BAND has been active over the past few years, especially assisting Nick Lampson in CD 22 last year. Some of the candidates that were in attendance at the meeting were State Senate-District 11 Joe Jaworski, State Representative-HD144 Bob Sonnier, Sherrie Matula, Houston City Council-District E Manisha Mehta, and a few Harris County judicial candidates.
On August 11th, I travelled to Brazoria County for a precinct chair/VAN training. During the morning session at the County Commissioners-Pct 4 building in Brazoria (southern end of the county), I started the training by giving a short report about TDP activities and then doing an hour presentation on precinct organization and activation. My presentation was followed by Party Secretary and tech guru, Dan McClure, who trained everyone on the voter file database, VAN. With 47 counties in my region, it is huge help to have someone on the local level performing VAN trainings so that I can assist other counties with VAN and other county party needs. During the afternoon session in Pearland, Dan and I gave the same presentations to precinct chairs and activists in the northern end of the county. I was happy to see good attendance in both sessions. Kudos to County Chair-Sue Funkhouser, Dan McClure, Cty Commissioner-Pct 4 Mary Ruth Rhodenbaugh and the Brazoria County Democrats for their planning and organization of the training sessions. I look forward to more Democratic victories in Brazoria in the near future.
The next week, I travelled to Cleveland, Ohio for the DNC Summit, just like my other colleagues. I met other DNC and State Field Staffers from across the nation. If you check out the pic below from Terrysa, I am located on the left hand side, third person in the back row.
The following week I returned to Houston and spoke at a ROAD women monthly meeting. The ROAD women have been very active for many years, especially assisting Ellen Cohen in the HD134 election last year. They have started a Women's Task Force project that will be a difference in next year's election. Kudos to the ROAD women!
I also attended our quarterly SDEC meeting in Austin. I enjoyed seeing our SDEC members along with the County Chairs and other activists. The Friday night fundraiser at our new headquarters was a HUGE success.
The next day, I travelled to Hays County to attend the Annual Hays County Democratic Party LBJ Celebration. This year's celebration took on a greater importance since the death of Lady Bird Johnson recently. There were auction items available, especially memorabilia of LBJ and Lady Bird Johnson. Many of the Hays County area electeds were in attendance, such as, County Judge Liz Sumpter, District Attorney Sherri Tibbe, and State Representative Patrick Rose-HD45, and San Marcos City Councilmember Chris Jones. Of course, the food was outstanding as always. Kudos to the County Chair Gloria Whitehead and the Hays County Dems for an outstanding event.
August 2007 - From Terrysa
THE ONE WHERE I FLEW - A LOT!
Much like Anthony, I have been traveling to all corners of West Texas during the month of August. In the first round of surveys for the election Protection Project, I ventured out to Sutton, Crockett and Terrell counties. There I met with the election administrators and voter registrars to help complete the questionnaire and at the same time recruit some potential county chair candidates for our vacant seats. My next stop was visiting the Burnet Democratic Club and speaking at their meeting. There were about 20 people in attendance and I have to tell you, they have some great plans in store for Labor Day Weekend and new shirts and literature on the horizon.
My next outing flew me to El Paso, TX. My third go-head in this area and well worth it. We had a successful day long training for El Paso-ans, where we held 8 simultaneous trainings in two different classrooms; everything from the Convention, to the new TDP website to VAN 4.0 was reviewed. Special thanks to the candidates and their staff for also attending and of course the El Paso Democratic Party. The flying didn't stop there, as Anthony mentioned all SPP staff was in Cleveland for a few days for a summit. Below is a picture of the SPP staff with Governor Dean smack in the middle, right next to me.
Upon return to Texas, I headed off to Midland and Ector counties for another round of training. It was held at the Midland HQ and we reviewed some ides for GOTV and trained on VAN 4.0. There were local candidates and activists in attendance, including some from Ector County. I spent the next morning with Commissioner Barbara Graff, helping her get trained on the 4.0. She has a great campaign ahead. I flew back Friday afternoon, with just enough time to fancy up for our new office opening. For those of you who couldn't make it, I have to tell you...it was fantastic! The place was packed. It was great to see so many Democrats in one place, really sharing in the success we've had as a party in the last year. Check out the pictures below - I am at my desk. (Pictures courtesy of SDEC member Mike Apodaca)
The next day was the SDEC meeting and it was very eventful. I got to sit in during some committee meetings and caucus meetings afterwards and there was an inspirational skit during the general assembly about our forefathers. Pictured below is SDEC member, Mike Apodaca, giving a presentation to the Texas Democratic County Chairs Association.
All in all, August has been good.
---------------------------------------------------------------Saturday, August 25th - From Anthony
Crisscrossing My RegionSan Antonio Town Hall was June 9th and we had a very good group of electeds and activists in attendance. Eighteen weeks and almost 10,000 miles after the first town hall in Del Rio, we finished our tour of the state with the final Town Hall in Edinburg on June 23rd. Again, another good crowd and lots of productive dialogue that came from getting all the local Party leaders and activists together.
In addition to the town hall trips, I also made another trip to the Rio Grande Valley to meet with some of our Party leaders, made stops on various dates in Victoria, Comal, Maverick, Kinney, Uvalde and Calhoun. That stop in Calhoun was notable in that it just happened to coincide with the 17th anniversary of the Calhoun County Democrats Club. Happy Birthday CCD!
The tour continued with a VAN training in Nueces on July 28th, which was officially my final training on the VAN system we used last cycle. Did another VAN training at the Senate District 25 Conference in New Braunfels on August 11th, which was officially my first training on the spiffy new VAN4 system (also threw into that training an overview of some of the nifty new features on our brand spanking new website).
In the middle of August I ventured a bit north of my region to Cleveland (yes, that Cleveland) for the State Partnership Project National Organizing Summit where the TDP Field Staff + Greg got to meet our counterparts from all the other states.
---------------------------------------------------------------Saturday, July 14th - From Terrysa
BANDERA = BEEN THERE-A
It was your typical summer Saturday in the Hill Country and I was on my way to Bandera, Texas to speak at the Bandera Democratic Club. Beforehand, I met with the Bandera County Chair, Janelle Rath, at a local donut shop where we talked "shop" (Democratic shop that is). We moved on to the senior citizen's center, where the club meeting was being held. Elections were held for new club officers (Congrats to the new officers) and I made a small presentation about what we can offer in trainings. In the middle of it all, the rain started to pound down and thunder was outside a-roarin', but it didn't stop this Democrat or these Democrats from continuing on with the meeting. When we wrapped up, the skies were clear again and we had weathered another day.
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June 2007 - From Terrysa
WHAT JUNE HAD IN STORE
June definitely kept the party and myself busy, thusly, I decided to wrap it in one long report with highlights. There were several events going on, including the winding down of Town Halls. We had the Austin Town Hall (which Brian talks about in his report) and the San Antonio Town Hall. The San Antonio TH had a really good turnout with over 100 people in attendance, including some former statewide candidates and a current US Senate candidate. It was Senator Van de Putte's speech that really riled up the folks at the start of the Town Hall.
In between Town Halls, I did manage to meet with CD 11 candidate Dr. Brad Vincent. We talked awhile about his prospects in the district and he really was a stand up man. I also grabbed some lunch with Dale Henry's (who you may remember from my Lampasas in a Day report) daughter, Susan Sutton. This month I also grabbed lunch, before we headed to the county clerk's office, with the Burnet Democratic Chair, Shirley Schmidt, in Burnet, TX. We took the opportunity to get some good names for possible precinct chairs and gather election result information.
Another good month in the summer.
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June 19, 2007 - From Brian
TARRANT COUNTY YOUNG DEMOCRATS
A couple weeks ago, I was asked by the Young Democrats President at the Tarrant County Community College-South Campus to speak at the upcoming meeting. I met her when I was organizing the Fort Worth Town Hall meeting. She was a great help to me in making that town hall a success. So, it was easy for me to say YES to speak at the meeting.
During my speech, I talked mostly about the roles young Democrats can contribute on a local level like, serving as a precinct chair, serving on a committee, being the contact for a Presidential campaign, etc..
Kudos to the Tarrant County Young Democrats for inviting me to speak at their meeting.
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June 16, 2007 - From Brian
WACO TOWN HALL
Waco was the site of the final town hall in my region (yea!). Although our President's ranch is located in McLennan County, he is still represented by Democrat Chet Edwards in Congress (yea again!).
Approximately 40+ folks attended the meeting at the McLennan County headquarters. This is one of biggest county party headquarters I've seen in my region.
Even though Chairman Richie had some voice troubles, he still greeted everyone personally. Everyone seemed to enjoy the VAN training presentation before the town hall.
With Chairman Richie unable to speak, the TDP had to go to the bullpen and ask our Executive Director, Ruben Hernandez, to give the presentation at the town hall. Prior to the presentation, both Chris Turner of Congressmember Chet Edwards' office and State Representative & House Minority Leader Jim Dunnam encouraged everyone to keep working to elect Democrats on all levels. Finally, my colleague, Bill Brannon gave a brief presentation on why Democrats should be Sustaining Members of the TDP.
After the town hall, McLennan District Clerk, Karen Matkin, entertained us at her home. She had alot of various types of goodies for everyone in attendance.
Kudos to County Chairman John Cullar, Karen Matkin and the McLennan County Democrats for their hospitality during our town hall.
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June 5, 2007 - From Brian
WALLER COUNTY CEC MEETING
My visit to Hempstead made Waller County the 30th county I travelled to as Regional Field Director. Newly elected county chair, Rosa Harris and the six precinct chairs were outstanding hosts. I trained them on the voter file and encouraged them to fill vacant precinct chair slots.
Kudos to the Waller County Democrats for their hospitality, especially the brownies and punch. I look forward to Democratic victories there in the future.
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June 4, 2007 - From Brian
MONTGOMERY COUNTY VAN TRAINING
Precinct chair, Bill Traylor hosted a VAN training at his home off Lake Conroe. Six other precinct chairs attended the training. Bill had a wireless setup where folks could access VAN and follow along.
Kudos to Bill and the Montgomery County Democrats for their hospitality.
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June 2, 2007
AUSTIN TOWN HALL MEETING
Travis County has always been a strong Democratic area of Texas. Currently, there are three Republicans left countywide in the county and they better watch out. Travis County Democrats are VERY hungry for more victories.
The attendance at the AFL-CIO building was filled to capacity. State Representative Elliott Naishtat started the town hall by giving an update on the divisiveness of the past legislative session. He encouraged everyone to work hard to elect more Democrats on all levels. He hopes to return next session to a Democratic majority in the State House. After the town hall, I attended a fundraiser at Threadgill's. Kudos to the Texas AFL-CIO for allowing us the use of their facility and everyone, including elected officials, for attending this town hall.
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May 31, 2007 - From Terrysa
Midand/Odessa Town Hall Meeting
The Midland/Odessa Town Hall Meeting proved to be a very successful event. It was the third town hall held in my region and the results were something to be proud of. We had close to 100 people in attendance. The auditorium was filled with local Democratic activists from Ector, Midland, Crane, Loving, Ward and other surrounding counties. Many elected officials came early to talk with Chairman Richie about the prospects in their counties, including SDEC member Bob Dean, the County Chairs Chris McCormack (Midland), John Wilkins (Ector), Fred Wilkinson (Crane) and Treva Oxedine (Ward). The success of this event has us now gearing up for VAN and grassroots training sessions in the area.
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May 30, 2007 - From Brian
BASTROP COUNTY CEC MEETING
Due to the resignation of the previous county chair, there was a meeting to elect a new county chair in Bastrop. Last year, Bastrop Democrats won a majority of their countywide offices. The new leader of the Bastrop County Democrats will be counted to keep Bastrop BLUE for 2008.
At the meeting, SDEC 18 Committeewoman, Vickie Vogel, talked about the role of the County Chair and the CEC. I gave a brief update on TDP activities as well as getting organized for 2008. The precinct chairs unanimously elected Mitzi Van Sant as County Chair. Afterwards, she outlined her vision for the local party.
Kudos to the Bastrop County Democrats and I look forward working with the new county chair.
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May 19, 2007 - From Brian
HOUSTON TOWN HALL MEETING
Harris County is expected to equal or better the success of Dallas County in 2008. The VAN training and the Town Hall was very well attended. At the "Meet and Greet", Chairman Richie spoke about his excitement for the Harris County Democratic Party in 2008. Galveston County Chair, Lloyd Criss spoke in detail about what his county did to win countywide in 200
After the town hall, I attended the fundraiser at Cafe Brasil. Kudos to the Young Democrats at the University of Houston for organizing the town hall and everyone who attended.
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May 9, 3007 - From Terrysa
Lampasas in a Day
This was the 16th county I have visited within my region, which is approximately 1/3 of my area. I met up with SDEC committee woman Dian Ruud at the My Girl Café in Lampasas, TX for a Democratic Women’s Association meeting. There, Mrs. Ruud talked about current legislation and I talked about our goals and plans to move Texas forward. It was a great place to meet active Democratic women. On my way back to Austin, I stopped by and visited with Dale Henry, candidate for Railroad Commissioner. He, his wife, Ruth, and I discussed last year’s election and his plans for the upcoming cycle. They also took me on a tour of their beautiful home. I came away from this trip with some great new allies in Democratic politics and a plant that sits on the window sill of my office/conference room.
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May 3, 2007
Lufkin Town Hall
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May 1, 2007 - From Terrysa
Meeting Barbara Ann Radnofsky and the Kerr County Democratic Women
The Kerr county area TDW monthly luncheon at the Inn of the Hills in Kerrville on May 1st had Barbara Ann Radnofsky as their featured guest speaker. She was motivating the Democratic troops and offered inspiring words and humorous anecdotes about her life on the campaign. The former US Senate candidate also was on hand to swear in the newly elected Kerr County TDW officers: Marie Brown, Assistant Treasurer, Martha Meisch, Secretary, Gerri Wolfe, Vice President, and Barbara Young, President (pictured below).
Also at the luncheon, the Kerr County TDW gave special recognition to Beverly Nation as their Outstanding TDW Member of the Year. This was my second visit to Kerr County in a month and I am sure I’ll be visiting with them often as the upcoming election cycle approaches.
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April 26, 2007 - From Terrysa
El P to the A to the S to the O
My second verse in El Paso was action packed with meetings and a nice house salad at the LULAC banquet. I began by having a lunch meeting with SDEC members Mike Apodaca, Yolanda Clay, County Chair Danny Anchondo and other activists. We laid out some plans and ideas for the next election cycle. Afterwards, Mike took me around El Paso to meet elected officials and/or their staff, which included campaign representatives for Congressman Reyes and Senator Shapleigh. I also met with Judge Moody, Judge Spieczny and recently elected Commissioner Veronica Escobar. In the evening, I attended a LULAC Banquet with enough time to meet some current and past Democratic activists and to sit down and eat my house salad before I ran to catch my plane back to Austin.
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April 25, 2007 - From Terrysa
A 3 Hour Tour to Fort Davis
The meeting in Fort Davis was part of a tri-county party effort by Jeff Davis, Brewster and Presidio counties. It was a great event that began with a social, with nearly 40 people in attendance.
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April 21, 2007 - From Anthony
Corpus Townhall
Of all the townhalls I've attended, Corpus Christi managed to bring out the largest crowd so far. Over a hundred people showed up and packed the IBEW Hall to participate. There was an insightful discussion among the many elected officials in attendance followed by an engaging and energetic townhall. The whole idea behind these events is simply to provide Democrats across the state with the opportunity to hear what the TDP has been doing and what we have in the works but most importantly, to give everyone a chance to ask questions, voice opinions, offer criticisms - basically to take part in a dialogue focused on the direction of the Party. At this event, that dialogue was incredibly productive and packed with valuable feedback.
It truly is a great thing to see all the Party activity going on across the Coastal Bend area. For me this was my second trip to Corpus in the past week and I'll be back in the very near future to conduct a VAN training. I'm anxious to make many more trips back to ensure that we at the TDP are there to help all our County Parties in every possible way to reach their potential for big gains this cycle.
A huge thanks to our host, Nueces County Party Chairman Alex Garcia and to Mike Caranco of the IBEW for use of their facility. Also thanks to Lencho Rendon for supplying food and drinks for the event and finally, thanks to all the elected officials and activists in attendance who made this a tremendously successful event.
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April 18, 3007 - From Terrysa
Gillespie County Night
On this Wednesday night I went into Fredericksburg to attend a county party meeting that was well attended. I was able to meet with County Chair George Keller, city Councilman Tom Musselman (father of Karl-Thomas Musselman from the BOR) and other activists. I enjoyed this meeting because the county party has been focusing each monthly meeting on a different Democratic Presidential candidate. In this particular meeting, a DVD from the Barak Obama camp was featured. Afterwards there was a short social that was fun and had delicious goods to eat. I look forward to my next trip back!!!
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April 17, 2007 - From Sondra
Eight Town Halls down, ten to go. We've had great attendance everywhere we've been so far, gotten some good press, meet a lot of new people, and recruited many new Sustaining Members. Thanks to all the SDEC members, County Chairs, Elected Officials and others who have helped make these events a success.
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April 14, 2007 - From Terrysa
A Saturday in Kerr County
This was a great day to spend in Kerrville, TX and not just for the view but because there are great Democrats in the area. I met with Democratic Club President Tom Clark, County Party Chair Dot Larimer, Texas Democratic Women Kerr County Chapter President Barbara Young and other activists for lunch. We talked about the great things we can do in Kerr County for the next election. Afterwards, I spoke at the Democratic Club Meeting about grassroots and our top notch VAN system. I stayed for the CEC meeting afterwards to give input about how we can help the local grassroots. It was a good day to be a Democrat and be among friends in Kerr County. I will be returning on May 1st for a TDW luncheon.
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April 14, 2007 - From Anthony
Texas Young Democrats Convention
There's a question that almost invariably comes up regardless of where in the state I am and regardless of what topic I'm speaking on. The question is - how do we get young people involved in the Party?
Particularly in non-urban areas, the disconnect between the older and younger generations of Democrats is a problem that desperately needs to be solved in order to ensure that the Party continues to grow both in influence as well as in sheer numbers.
This was an issue I was really excited to have an opportunity to address when I received the invitation to speak at the 2007 Young Democrats Convention.
It was deeply encouraging to be able to talk to so many young Democrats who are already active in the Party and I'm confident that we'll be seeing great things from quite of few of the young people who were in attendance. The points I tried to make about helping to build Party infrastructure and about working to grow the YD organization were well received and I'm hopeful that the result will be, to whatever small degree, an increased effort to close that gap between the generations within the Party.
Finally, I can't begin to say how vital a role several of the YD chapters played among campaigns I've been involved with so it was exciting to meet YD's from places you might not expect like New Braunfels and College Station. I'm hopeful that the next year sees even more growth and leads to many, many more YD chapters.
Thanks to the YD Executive VP Katie Naranjo for the invitation, congratulations to all the newly elected YD officers and a special thanks to the now ex-President of the Texas YD's Michael Apodaca for everything you've done for the YD organization (and congrats on the graduation too mike).---------------------------------------------------------------
April 10th – 11th, 2007 - From Terrysa
Midland, Sterling and Menard…Oh My!!!
As part of my ongoing project to visit with every county in my region, I made a trip to Midland, Glasscock, Sterling and Menard Counties. I met with Glasscock County Chair, A.M. Nunely, at his law office in Midland. Later that evening, I spoke at the Midland County Democratic Party Meeting, where I met County Chair Chris McCormack, SDEC member John James and other activists. The next day, I also spent some time in Sterling City where I had breakfast with Sterling County Chair, Rusty Noletubby. The later part of the afternoon was spent in Menard with County Chair Richard McTaggart. Mr. McTaggart gave me the grand tour of the area and took me around town to meet with elected officials and precinct chairs.
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April 3, 2007 - From Anthony
Comal County Democrats
Comal is one of those counties where you might not expect to find a large number of active Democrats. Quite to the contrary, when I recently visited the Comal County Democrats there was a large group of about thirty very active Democrats including former County Chairman Larry Horton, former and future candidate for State Representative Dan Boone, newly elected President of CCD Robbi Boone and most notably, former U.S. Congressman, former U.S. Senator and former U.S. Ambassador Bob Krueger along with his wife, current New Braunfels City Councilwoman Kathleen Krueger.
I had the opportunity to address the group and talk about some of the things the TDP has in the works and also to answer questions and hear criticisms from the group. There's no substitute for visiting groups like this in person and whether the feedback I receive is positive or negative (it's usually a little of both), it's always valuable and always helps to move closer to achieving an increased feeling of cooperation amongst all Democrats everywhere.
Oddly enough, I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the featured speaker at the meeting was my old Politics of the Middle East professor from UTSA, Dr. Mansour El-Kikhia, who delivered a fascinating presentation on the current situation in the Middle East (though it served as a reminder of the ‘B' I got in his class...still a little sore about that).
Lots of things in the works with the Comal County Democrats and I'm looking forward to many more visits to this area which looks like it's going to be the site of some very intriguing races in this next election cycle.
Thanks again to Robbi Boone for the invitation and to all the Comal County Democrats for their participation and their hospitality.
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April 2nd – 3rd, 2007 - From Terrysa
My First Trip Out – San Angelo, Llano, Brady & Marble Falls
My first trip to West Texas proved to be a very motivational one, where I met some good people and good Democrats. I was the guest speaker at the Tom Green County Democratic Club meeting at El Mejor Restaurant. We had over 60 people in attendance fired up and ready for the 2008 election cycle. Also in attendance were the Mayor of San Angelo J.W. Lown, Councilwoman Charlotte Farmer, Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Jesse Martinez, Constable for Precinct 1 J.B. Hall and the Schleicher County Chair Phyllis Sauer. A special thanks to the Tom Green Democratic Club President Frank Simpson and the Tom Green County Chair, Linda Shoemaker. Additionally, I want to give CONGRATULATIONS to Dot and Richard Patterson from San Angelo for your 60 years of marriage and being Democrats!
Along the way I also met with Llano County Ch