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Veteran Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle yesterday endorsed foreign policy expert Dan Grant in his race for the Democratic nomination in the 10th Congressional District, saying he is uniquely qualified to step into the seat once held by Lyndon B. Johnson and J.J. 'Jake' Pickle.
"Dan Grant has the wisdom and experience that we need to face the challenges of the future," Earle said. "He is too good an offer to pass up."
Earle, who last month announced his retirement after 31 years as the county's top prosecutor, announced his endorsement during a news conference at the Travis County Courthouse.
Grant, campaigning in Austin on the last day of Early Vote, said he is proud to have Earle's backing.
"Ronnie Earle has held a generation of public figures accountable, including the man who engineered the mid-decade redistricting scheme that put the seat I'm running for into Republican hands," Grant said.
CD-10's boundaries were redrawn in 2003 under pressure from then-U.S. Majority leader Tom DeLay, who has since been forced to resign in disgrace.
Grant spent much of the past decade working as a civilian under contract to the U.S. Government in trouble spots around the world. He returned to Texas last March from Iraq, where he served as part of the international civilian team in Baghdad. He helped the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq prepare and conduct the historic elections of 2005 and, as deputy director of Iraq's largest out-of-country voting program, oversaw the effort to register eligible voters in major U.S. cities for Iraq's Transitional National Assembly election.
A graduate of Georgetown University and the London School of Economics, Grant has put forward a detailed plan to help working families find economic security during the current downturn. He has called for universal health care, significant steps toward energy independence, an expansion of the pro-work, pro-family Earned Income Tax Credit, micro-lending programs to help local companies and entrepreneurs, and new investments in education to help the U.S. compete with China, India, and other emerging global economies.
Grant grew up in Austin and interned for legendary Congressman Jake Pickle while attending McCallum High School. |
