About a week ago, Democratic candidate for Lt. Gov, Linda Chavez-Thompson spoke to a very friendly room at the Texas AFL-CIO convention. A friendly room to say the least. Chavez-Thompson has a rich history within the labor movement.
In December 1967, she was hired as a Secretary at the Constitution Laborer's Union in Lubbock, Texas. Over the next forty years, Chavez-Thompson kept working to build a long and impressive career working on behalf of working people, fighting to bring fairness and opportunity to Texans in communities across the state. Her work with unions culminated in 1995, when she was elected Executive Vice-President of the National AFL-CIO, the first woman and the first person of color to hold that position.
Having seen her on the campaign trail a few times, Chavez-Thompson always gives a good, fiery speech. This however, is a particularly comfortable and exciting one.
My favorite line is, "it's easier to secede than admit that you rank #48, 49, or 50 in almost every state ranking." (a line first reported on twitter). It is easy to see her comfort with the room and her eagerness to campaign. Most importantly, her passion for her life's work is evident. Chavez-Thompson will have a tough few weeks ahead of her, especially in Austin, but with such a low information campaign being waged for one of the most important job in Texas, every vote, video, new article, etc. will matter.
Chavez-Thompson is running along with former Austin District Attorney Ronnie Earle, and Marc Katz an Austin Deli guru.
(disclosure: GNI Strategies did LCT's quick, temporary website for the primary)
