| Dear Readers, Starting tomorrow, I'll no longer hold the title of "Senior Adviser" and I will step back from the editorial and day-to-day writing duties of BOR. Four years and one month ago, I started writing for Burnt Orange Report. In my very first post, I wrote: I want what I say to mean something. I want to open up the mind's of those who are resigned to believe that nothing's going to change their world. Passionate persuasion -- that's my gig, because the devil's in the details, but our faith's in what we feel. Our faith asks us to be honest with ourselves, and share what we believe with those we can get to listen.
Today, I wanted to tell you about my latest efforts to engage in "passionate persuasion" and talk about what I'll be doing between now and November 2010. I moved back to Austin to do consulting work for the Texas Democratic Trust. My work will focus, among other things, on how to help develop online outreach and communications strategies for Texas Democrats, in a way that will support our candidates, our county parties, and our statewide groups and organizations. The opportunity to move back to my hometown and do work I love is incredible. While in school at Boston, I really missed home. I just missed the heck out of Texas, and especially Austin. My biggest consolation while I was in Boston was that I could always write for Burnt Orange Report. It was my home away from home, keeping me connected not only with the news and stories from down here, but with the family and friends from home. Writing for Burnt Orange Report, especially in these last two years, has allowed me to continually express my passion for Texas politics. However, now that I am home -- and given the new job that I have -- I don't think it would be fair to continue writing for Burnt Orange Report in my current capacity. Starting tomorrow, I'll no longer hold the title of "Senior Adviser" and I will step back from the editorial and day-to-day writing duties of BOR. Beyond the obvious personal reasons for this decision, there are some site-related reasons that made me think that now was the right time to change my role at Burnt Orange Report. KT has hinted at this before: in the coming months, there will be some changes to BOR that will help grow the site significantly -- both in terms of the content we offer, and the audience it reaches. As we make that transition, there will be a growth in the kind of editorial decisions that must be made on a regular basis, as well as a concentrated effort to market the site that I, quite honestly, should not play a direct role in. Additionally, I think it would be unfair if others continued to expect me to post on a daily basis -- something I just can't commit to at this time. That being said -- you won't be able to get rid of me that easily. For a while, now, I've enjoyed writing larger, big picture posts. Some of those included: Much like Glenn Smith will write big-picture analysis pieces on Burnt Orange Report from time-to-time, I will continue posting ideas, reports, and analysis that are imortant to the understanding of Texas Democratic politics. There may be an opportunity for me to do even better research than I have in the past -- or, at least, to share some of the better research done by others, which could ultimately help all of our conversations about Texas Democratic politics. Therefore, I'm not completely leaving the BOR community. Like a contributing columnist, I'll still write on BOR. My posts will begin to take a new direction, and I will be posting less frequently -- stepping back from all editorial decisions and embracing a different role in the coming months through the 2010 election cycle. But I'll still be around. As long as failed and corrupt men and women like Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison are in charge of this state, I'm going to be around -- practicing passionate persuasion, and doing everything I can to share what I believe with anyone I can get to listen. Thanks, as always, for reading. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll see you around. ---Phillip |
