| State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) will be the featured speaker at tonight's University Democrats meeting at the University of Texas in Austin. More information on the event, which begins at 8pm and is open to the public, is available here. As a creator of the Draft Van de Putte for Governor group on Facebook, I have received messages from several people wondering if Sen. Van de Putte's presence at a UDems meeting is an indication she may be very seriously considering running for statewide office. After all, they reasoned, U.S. Senate candidate Bill White recently visited with UDems to boost his candidacy. While I do believe Sen. Van de Putte will be a candidate for statewide office, whether it is next year, in 2014 or further down the road, I would not read to much into this one appearance. A press release from the Senator's office says she will be "discussing changes to the Top Ten Percent plan [and] legislative efforts to limit the rising cost of tuition and textbooks. She will also participate in a question and answer session with those in attendance." Sen. Van de Putte's presence at tonight's UDems meeting is a consequence of her becoming one of our Party's unquestioned leaders and rising stars. Whether that will translate into a gubernatorial run next year remains to be seen, but it is great to see a Senator taking time to listen to the student concerns about higher education. |
