Democrat State Senator Leticia Van de Putte had an amazing feature in this week's San Antonio Current. The piece highlights her focus on an agenda this session that is more aggressive -- "Julian's Agenda" -- and how well she works in a pragmatic fashion to deliver real change to Texas families.
Van de Putte, 54, seems to sense that this is her political moment, and she’s capitalizing on it with a flurry of legislative proposals — including tax exemptions for the sale and installation of solar panels — demonstrating a new-found urgency on environmental issues. She explains her legislative aggressiveness with a story about a “transforming moment” during a September 2007 visit with her then 3-and-a-half-month-old grandson, Julian, to the grave of her beloved grandfather.
“It was a beautiful day, early in the morning, and I had [Julian] in the carrier,” she says. “I noticed the baby was hungry, so I got the bottle and I was feeding him. A breeze comes through and then it hits me: ‘I am at my grandparents’ grave and I am holding my grandson.’ And it clicked. I had this huge feeling of responsibility and awe and total fear that in 20 years I may not be around.
“I know I’m not going to be around for the majority of this child’s life, even if I lead a very healthy life. My fear is that in 20 years he’ll say, ‘You were part of it. Why didn’t you invest, why didn’t you protect the environment?’ I just balled. I stayed there about an hour trying to compose myself, and saying, ‘Oh, my God!’”
Van de Putte says that shortly after her graveside epiphany, she began meeting with members of her staff, telling them that she hadn’t been vocal enough in pushing for change. She told them she needed “rock stars” who could work tirelessly and create legislative miracles. In response, Van de Putte’s staff members began calling her 2009 legislative proposals “the Julian Agenda.”
