2022 Democratic Primary Recommendations

Early voting in the Texas Primary has started, you’ve got nearly 10 days of early voting left then election day so really no excuse not to cast a ballot. Whether or not you think Democrats have a chance at winning statewide positions like Governor, there are two really important seats with districts that Democrats can and should continue to hold. One of those is the Texas 28^th Congressional District which I’ve already written about and hope you’ll vote for Jessica Cisneros. The other seat is State Board of Education District 5 in which Rebecca Bell-Metereau is the excellent incumbent, she’s a career educator, a professor at Texas State University in San Marcos and a strong advocate for teaching historical truth and real science as well as replacing Texas’ high stakes testing which benefits the test making companies and not the students. Our children deserve the continued efforts of her leadership and scholarship.

In the statewide races the race for Governor has five candidates but the only one with a track record on public policy issues and running for election is Beto O'Rourke. O’Rourke had a strong run against Ted Cruz four years ago and is our best chance to beat whoever Republicans put up including the incumbent who is backed by corporate funds including the very power companies that he failed to hold accountable for last year’s statewide power outage during the snow storm. The power companies got off the hook and those of us who pay our electric bills were left holding the bag, many of us will be paying extra on our electric bills for many years to come in order to cover it.

There are three outstanding candidates for Lieutenant Governor and I’m siding with Mike Collier who has worked tirelessly for years working to unseat the unscrupulous incumbent. Collier ran for the spot previously and has built name recognition around the state. He faces Carla Brailey, a university professor and social justice advocate. Also running for the seat is Michelle Beckley who won a state house seat in District 65 in 2018 beating the Republican incumbent, she’s an advocate for expanding Medicaid in Texas and fixing the power grid among other widely supported Democratic priorities.

There are five contenders for the Attorney General nomination. Joe Jaworski made a strong impression on me when I had the opportunity to listen to his pitch and ask him questions. Jaworski is a practicing attorney in Galveston and has held various local political offices over the years. His platform includes starting a Civil Rights division within the Attorney General’s office to insure that Texans are able to count on the Office of the Texas Attorney General to protect civil rights in employment, education, housing, voting, the courts, physical access to accommodations and above all interaction with our criminal justice system.

Comptroller of Public Accounts is a position that most of us don’t even recognize but is a truly important job. Janet Dudding is a CPA who began her governmental accounting career with the Office of the State Auditor investigating allegations that governmental officials had embezzled taxpayer money or taken kickbacks. She’s spent her professional life holding government officials accountable to the citizens, not special interests. Dudding is ready to hit the ground running and deserves your support.

There are four contenders for Commissioner of the General Land Office provides funding for Texas public schools. Jinny Suh is a community organizer, former patent litigator, and when I spoke to her expressed her determination to use the office to protect the environment while expanding funding for education.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - February 16, 2022

Democrats Must Do Better Than Biden

I’m convinced that Donald Trump can be beaten in the 2020 election by several of the potential nominees. Recent polling even shows that Joe Biden can beat him here in Texas. Biden currently has the highest national ranking among Democrats who are running for the nomination. I’m just not sure he can actually win because this will be an election much like 2016 where turning out voters is more important that persuading so called swing voters and Biden isn’t that inspiring to the folks who too often don’t vote.

I don’t see him getting support from the people who we need to get to the polls in Texas in order to win a majority for president or possibly more importantly providing the coat tails to win the federal and state legislature. His support is primarily older voters who already turn out to vote in most elections. The people Democrats need in order to win the majority in the state and federal legislature are the young and minority voters. Many of those voters find Biden too middle of the road and his recent statements claiming that Republicans will work with him as well as telling business executives that not much will change just prove he’s not the change so many were looking for when they voted for Obama then Trump. That’s not to say Biden won’t get the nomination or even win in 2020 but if he does I worry he’ll end up with a Republican controlled Senate which will prevent him from achieving even slight reforms and that will lead to another Trump like president in 2024 as voters continue to look for change.

Even if Biden wins and gets to work with a majority in both houses of Congress his own statement that not much will change suggest his administration won’t provide the push to move forward on climate change, social justice, or any of the other reforms our nation so sorely needs. Yes, it would be more minority friendly, more LGBTQ friendly, less reactionary, and a better international partner but that won’t be enough for people who don’t see our government as responsive to their needs. It won’t be enough to inspire them to vote again in 2022 and 2024 and if they do vote it won’t keep them from turning to another charlatan selling snake oil in the hope that they’ll shake things up.

I’ll vote for whoever is the Democratic nominee in 2020 because none of the candidates can be worse than Trump or for that matter anyone who could possibly win the Republican nomination. I simply fear that having a “moderate” win our nomination and then the presidency invites disaster for the future of our nation. Next Wednesday and Thursday on NBC the public will have a chance to hear from twenty of the candidates and I hope that readers will take that opportunity to begin getting to know the candidates.

Wednesday, June 26, will start at 8pm and the candidates on stage will be: Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Rep. John Delaney, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former US Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, Rep. Tim Ryan, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

The following night, Thursday June 27, also starting at 8pm, the lineup will be: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris, former Vice President Joe Biden, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Michael Bennet, author Marianne Williamson, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - June 21, 2019

2018 Election Results Not Bad - Hint at Better 2020

Although nothing much changed in the makeup of Guadalupe County government Texas Republicans shouldn't get too cocky given that Beto O'Rourke lost by just 220,000 votes, the narrowest margin of any state-wide candidate in well over a decade. Overall turnout in this election was nearly twice what it was just four years ago and only 8% less than the 2016 presidential election turnout. O’Rourke got 200,000 votes more than Hillary Clinton did just two years ago while Ted Cruz got 400,000 fewer than Donald Trump.

Beto wasn't alone as Lt. Governor candidate Mike Collier, Attorney General candidate Justin Nelson and Agriculture Commissioner Kim Olson all performed nearly as well. While not every state-wide Democratic candidate performed to those standards it wasn’t just Beto O’Rourke pulling the train. Good candidates running strong campaigns got within striking difference in the mid-terms for the first time in 20 years.

Those aren't the only signs that Texas is changing, two incumbent Republican congressmen, Pete Sessions and John Culberson, lost their seats, and four others are only won by 5% or less. One of those is District 23 running from northwestern San Antonio nearly to El Paso, currently held by Will Hurd, at under 700 votes difference is so close that it may require a recount to confirm the winner.

In the state legislature 2 incumbent Republican state senators, John Huffines and Konni Burton, lost to Democrats along with a dozen Republican held state house members. Other signs that Texas is changing include a switch to a Democratic majority on the State Board of Education and four Courts of Appeal districts also flipped to Democratic majorities due to wins against 18 incumbent Republican judges.

Results like Tuesday’s suggest that the 2020 election will be even more hotly contested than was 2016 if for no other reason that it indicates that Texas could be in play in a presidential election instead of being a considered a guaranteed Republican stronghold. That means a lot more spending of time, money and other resources by both presidential candidates and probably more funds available to candidates from both parties in at least the additional for really close congressional races from this election. If you thought there were a lot of television and radio commercials, mailers, phone calls and text messages this election just wait until 2020.

It won’t just be federal races drawing more funding either as there are 11 more Republican House seats that were close enough to be considered in play in the next election. With the Democrats now holding 67 state House seats it will only take 9 more to for them to attain a majority and be able to choose the Speaker of the House who would set the House agenda. A Democratic House majority would also have a lot more to say about redistricting which will be a major issue to be addressed by the legislature when it then meets in 2021. The main goal of Democrats would be to prevent the outrageous gerrymandering that currently gives Republicans the huge advantages they have with the current maps. You know there’s something fishy when state-wide Democratic candidates received 45-48% of the vote and yet even with this year’s wins they only hold 13 of 36 congressional seats instead of the 16-18 a reasonably drawn map would likely provide.

All this means is that 2020 is likely to be an even more hotly contested election cycle in Texas than even 2018 and within months of today party volunteers will start working once again on registering new voters and identifying likely supporters all over again.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - November 9, 2018

Remind them their votes can change lives

At this point in the election cycle attempts by candidates to persuade people that they are the best choice are largely over and now their efforts are focused on persuading registered voters to take the time to go to the polls and mark their ballots. Volunteers are working full bore calling voters and knocking on their doors in the hope that they can turn out just a few more votes and that will be the difference between their preferred candidate winning and losing.

I’d be willing to bet that nearly everyone reading this column has either already voted or has plans to vote on a specific day and probably a specific time. As a citizen in a democratic republic in addition to your right and responsibility to vote you have a duty to encourage others to vote as well. Some folks need encouragement to make the effort, some more than others.

Here are a few reasons you can offer that might make them feel it is worth their effort:

Ask the prospective voter if they or someone they care about lacks access to healthcare because they can’t afford health insurance. If they do, then let them know that Democrats like gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez are all are fighting for increasing access to healthcare by expanding Medicaid. Mention that Republicans Governor Greg Abbott has the power to do so with the federal government paying for 90% of it and chooses to let Texans suffer and die instead. Remind them that their vote for Lupe Valdez can make that happen.

Ask a prospective voter if they believe that everyone who works a full time job deserves the dignity of being to live on their own without worrying where their next meal will come from. If they do, then let them know that Democrats like US Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke are fighting to raise the minimum wage to a living wage because no one who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty. Remind them that their vote for Beto O’Rourke can insure the dignity of every worker.

Ask a prospective voter if their children or grandchildren or nieces and nephews deserve a good quality education that will prepare them to provide for themselves and their future families. If they do, point out that Democrats like Texas House District 44 candidate John Rodgers is committed to protecting public education and fully funding public schools so that every child no matter where they live in Texas and no matter how much or how little their parents earn has the opportunity to get a high quality education. Remind them that their vote for John Rodgers can change lives.

What it all boils down to is that those who vote choose the way our government works and who it benefits. Anyone not voting cedes their right to have a voice and allows those who don’t respect the dignity of working Texans, don’t share the belief that every child deserves a high quality education, and only the well of and those with good employer based health insurance deserve medical care for themselves and their families will continue to set the direction of our state and the nation.

Be a leader, be an activist and offer to drive your family, friends and neighbors to the polls if that’s what it takes to get them to vote.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - November 2, 2018

Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies

Recently Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a bill called the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop BEZOS) Act. The bill proposes to tax employers on the amount of public assistance their full time employees receive on a dollar for dollar basis. A prime example is an Amazon warehouse employee earning minimum wage or thereabouts which could qualify them for as much as $3,000 in public assistance. Since this essentially subsidizes the highly profitable company with taxpayer funds, money collected from you and me, Sanders’ bill would tax Amazon $3,000.

Of course the simple solution would be for Amazon, Walmart and other low wage employers to simply pay their employees a living wage which is in fact the goal of the bill as stated in the bill itself and pointed out by its author and supporters. The Stop BEZOS Act isn’t so much an attempt to tax low wage employers as it is an attention getting device intended to push for higher minimum wages and corporations taking responsibility for their employees. Congressman Ro Khanna filed companion legislation in the House known as the Corporate Responsibility and Taxpayer Protection Act and makes the point that “we need to make sure that everyone is participating in the economic success”.

Low pay isn’t the only area where Amazon, Walmart and numerous other highly profitable corporations need shaming. Amazon has been reported to keep ambulances on standby at warehouses where temperatures are so high that workers routinely pass out with heat stroke. Walmart has been cited repeatedly for cheating their employees on overtime by requiring them to clock out but locking them in the store until floors are clean and shelves are stocked. It isn’t just mammoth companies that make these unjust and often illegal demands of their employees, there are many small and medium size companies which use similar tactics to increase profits at the cost of their employees.

It’s not that Amazon or Walmart are inherently evil but they’ve been allowed to become major factors in the economy and the well-being of our nation without requiring them to be responsible corporate citizens. In the 1950s and 1960s the auto industry was a major factor in the economy and while they didn’t willing act responsibly the fact that much of their workforce was unionized put a leash on their worst behaviors which enabled assembly line workers and others to enjoy a good and healthy life with a decent retirement. Amazon, Walmart and so many others operate off the union leash and their stockholders are the only beneficiaries. You and I are forced to pick up the tab to keep those employees fed while Jeff Bezos spends his unjustly accumulated riches building rockets to take him into space.

I’m not so partisan as to say that Republicans are solely responsible for skewed distribution of wealth in this country as I’m quite aware that Democrats, in particular Bill Clinton, have done their fair share to yank the wheels off the cart. Nevertheless at least many Democratic officials recognize the problem and want to address it while I’ve never heard a Republican even admit that a problem exists. I think we all know that Alcoholics Anonymous maxim – the first step is recognizing you have a problem. So given that Democrats are beginning to recognize we have a problem it is in the best interests of all to insure they’re elected this November.

You can start by voting for Beto O’Rourke for US Senate and picking every Democrat down the list.

Protecting A Million Texans Requires Your Vote

As if you needed another reason to make time to vote in November think about this, Texas is one of 20 states suing the federal government to take away healthcare from millions of Americans especially middle and lower income Texans. Our Republican Attorney General, Ken Paxton, joined the suit earlier this year in an effort to use the courts to do what Congress chose not to. Paxton is empowered by the fact that Republicans control both houses of the legislature and every statewide office.

The cynical ploy used by the Attorneys General is the claim that since the individual mandate was central to the Affordable Care Act, the fact that Congress repealed it invalidates the entire law. Since 1.2 million Texans are covered through plans purchased via the Exchange created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) having the court decide in favor of killing it will endanger the lives and health of all of them. Of course it won’t have any effect on the 4.5 million Texans denied coverage by Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision not to accept the 90% federally funded Medicaid expansion.

Whether or not Democrats can beat Paxton directly by electing Justin Nelson to replace him or indirectly through electing a majority in one or both houses of the legislature and cutting his budget, it can be done. Readers have three or four ways to protect the healthcare of over a million Texans. They can vote to replace the current Attorney General with Justin Nelson who if elected will certainly withdraw from the suit. They can vote to replace the Governor with Lupe Valdez who can make it known to the legislature that she will veto any budget that continues to fund attacks on the Affordable Care Act. They can vote to replace the incumbent in the House with John Rodgers who would fight to force Paxton to drop the suit by cutting his budget. Rodgers would also demand that the state take the federal money to expand Medicaid which would not only be a boon to those 4.5 million Texans not currently insured, it would also stimulate the economy of the entire state leading to many more jobs and higher paying jobs as well. If you live in the part of Guadalupe County which is in Senate District 25 you can replace the incumbent who is widely recognized one of the worst legislators in Texas with Steve Kling.

On the federal side we have an opportunity to put a stop to Republican efforts to repeal the ACA in whole or in part by taking back one or both houses of Congress. We need to hold onto a House seat by voting for Vicente González so that in other districts where Republican incumbents are in jeopardy of losing their seats we can gain enough to achieve a majority there. This is really important as Republicans in the House are still working to undermine the ACA by any means available. They are also plotting to cut Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid benefits claiming that they are causing a deficit; when in fact that deficit is caused mostly by the tax breaks they just gave big banks and billionaires. A Democratic House majority insures that Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the ACA all continue to be adequately funded.

There is also the very real possibility of replacing one of the Senate’s most unpopular members if we all get out and vote for Beto O’Rourke. If Texas voters flip that seat it will go a long way toward making it possible to win a majority in the Senate.

Vote! Vote! Vote!

Trump Takes Overtime Away

This week 100,000 Americans lost the right to overtime pay and what’s worse is that they are just the tip of the iceberg. Monday’s Supreme Court decision in the case Encino Motorcars v. Navarro was all about whether or not service advisors at auto dealerships are exempt from overtime provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act which was originally passed in the 1930’s. The result was disappointing though unsurprising as the Supreme Court had ruled much the same way two years ago when sending the same case back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals with orders to rethink their prior decision in favor of the service advisors.

The five conservatives on the court claim that “if you ask the average customer who services his car, the primary, and perhaps only, person he is likely to identify is his service advisor.” The four liberals disagree, and I’ve got to say while I’ve never spoken to a mechanic at any dealer where I’ve had my car repaired I know darn well that the service advisor isn’t the one doing the work if for no other reason than they’re sitting in an air conditioned room talking to customers like the receptionist at the doctor’s office. I’ll bet you’re not fooled for a minute either.

While it’s frustrating that anyone loses their right to overtime pay you might think, “well it’s only service advisors at auto dealerships so this is a really limited issue”, but you’d be wrong. You see when Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the decision he made a point of also declaring that prior decisions which were based on narrow interpretations of exemptions to requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act were also wrong. This means that a lot more people stand to lose not only overtime protections but any number of other protections of the law. Experts believe that we’ll be seeing new court cases over employers seeking to cut their employees pay, benefits, and other protections of the law for years to come.

When we elect a president we aren’t just getting that one person or just their ideas and actions, we’re getting a whole list of appointees both in the cabinet and in the courts. When we elect members of Congress we aren’t just getting one person to act on our behalf, we’re getting the entire party they belong to for good or ill. In this case Ted Cruz and John Cornyn are just as responsible for taking away overtime protection from the service advisors and others who will lose those and other benefits in the coming years as Donald Trump. They were active participants in stealing the Supreme Court seat that allowed Trump to appoint Neil Gorsuch when they withheld hearings on President Obama’s nominee claiming that a year was too close to an election to name a new Supreme Court Justice.

The next time a friend or family member tells you they aren’t political so they don’t vote or that it doesn’t matter who is elected, remind them that overtime, family leave, sick pay and any number of other benefits they take for granted can be taken away due to who gets elected. In November Texans have an opportunity to forcibly retire Ted Cruz by electing Beto O’Rourke to the United States Senate. That will go a long way toward stopping further Trump appointees who would stand for corporations and billionaires at the expense of every day working people like you and me.

I wonder how many service advisors are rethinking their vote for Trump now.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - May 6, 2018

Five Great Reasons to Vote in the Primary

As of the end of early voting more Democrats than Republicans had voted in the primary in the 15 largest counties and that’s unusual. It’s a sign of Democratic voter enthusiasm that follows trends set in special elections across the country over the last 12 months. The Democratic wave that is building across the country has the potential to remake the House of Representatives and the Senate but that won’t happen if Texans don’t get out and vote.

There are important races in this primary which will determine who challenges Republican incumbents like the governor and US Senate. In the U.S. Senate race Texas Democrats have a terrific opportunity with Congressman Beto O’Rourke from El Paso. It’s important to vote in this race because in the past unknowns with no political experience, no support, and no campaign have won primaries against candidates like O’Rourke leaving Democrats with non-viable candidates in November.

A few years after O’Rourke graduated from college he moved back to El Paso and started a small tech company which soon became successful. O’Rourke also became deeply involved in the civic, business and community efforts in El Paso. He ran for El Paso City Council in 2005 and served for two terms before running for U.S. Congress in 2012, taking on an eight-term incumbent and winning. He knocked on thousands of doors and had real conversations, face-to-face, with the voters in El Paso. In Congress, O’Rourke serves on the House Committees for Armed Services and Veterans Affairs.

Mike Collier has been building his campaign for Lt. Governor for nearly 3 years and has developed name recognition across the electorate. Collier is a career accountant who has worked for some of the largest companies in the world and helped build a successful Texas oil company while serving as its Chief Financial Officer. Collier built a reputation for rigorous financial analysis, independent decision-making, and a commitment to telling the truth, no matter what. If we’re going to hold politicians accountable, that’s exactly what Texas needs right now. He hopes to challenge Dan Patrick in November and is one of the statewide candidates that actually stands a chance to win.

Joi Chevalier is running for Comptroller. Chevalier is an entrepeneur whose experience in corporate planning and product development could provide valuable prep for the job of a state comptroller, a position that serves as Texas’ chief financial officer and revenue forecaster. Chevalier has an impressive understanding of the state’s challenges. She’s endorsed by Progress Texas and she speaks regularly on entrepreneurship, food and tech, product management, and the opportunity for women and African-Americans in technology and through food entrepreneurship.

Miguel Suazo is running for Land Commissioner. Suazo is an energy and natural resources attorney with a decade of experience in energy, natural resources, government, and business. When I met Suazo a few weeks ago, he told me he's running for this office because he's incensed at the poor job George P. Bush has done handling of the hurricane recovery efforts along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Steve Kling is running for Senate District 25. He’s a former Army Captain decorated for his service in Afghanistan and Iraq who now works in the tech industry. One of Kling’s top issues is public education and he summarizes his views this way; “Meaningful finance reform only will occur when we reduce the dependence on our local school property taxes, streamline the host of unfunded mandates for teachers and districts, eliminate high-stakes consequences for students and provide support for a well-rounded education for all Texas students.”

You can vote today or Tuesday, make your voice heard.