Burnt Orange Report


News, Politics, and Fun From Deep in the Heart of Texas






Ad Policies



Support the TDP!



Get Firefox!


January 20, 2006

40/40: The Race in HD47 is about Electability, Experience and Effective Leadership

By Phillip Martin

Ed. note: The following is an op-ed piece written by Valinda Bolton, one of two Democratic candidates we're featuring this week from the HD 47 race. To read the op-ed by Jason Earle, click here.

It’s time for Democrats to start winning elections. Right now it’s likely that Alito will be confirmed, Roe v Wade challenged and the wealthiest will continue to get tax giveaways. Texans will continue to have the highest homeowner’s insurance rates in the country, school vouchers will still threaten to pull money away from our public schools, and the revolving door from legislator to lobbyist will still be open. If we want the mainstream Democratic ideals held by the majority of our citizens represented in the policies we adopt, then it’s time to be pragmatic in our approach to campaigning against Republicans. It’s time to unite as Democrats and choose the candidate who is not only most qualified, but who can defeat the Republican nominee in November.

District 47 is one of the most winnable races in Texas and I was honored that experienced people that I respect and admire asked me to run. While HD47 leans Republican, rapid growth has brought an influx of voters who are independent thinkers.

• There was only a 6% differential between Kerry and Bush in 2004. Bush won.
• Down ballot, Democratic women won against Republican men.
• District 47 defeated Constitutional Amendment #2 by 5%.
• There is no Republican incumbent.

This tells us that HD47 is a swing district. That means Democrats have a real shot at winning. It doesn’t mean it’s a slam dunk. The Democratic nominee going into the November election must be able to capture 6-7% of the swing vote. We have to have those independent and disaffected voters come out to the polls, and a candidate with a targeted name will only polarize those folks and keep them from swinging our way. The absolute bottom line is to put a Democrat from this district back in the House

Since being asked to run and kicking off my grassroots campaign I have experienced a groundswell of support that reaches across District 47. The campaign has attracted many of the politically active and energized a whole new group of voters who’ve joined the effort to take back district 47. I’m proud to have their support and I will honor it by doing the work necessary to win the election and add a Democrat to the House.

I know what it is to tackle tough issues, to take a stand in the face of resistance and to build bridges to find solutions. My work has always been about building stronger and safer communities. Through this work I’ve gained a wealth of experience and established a proven track record of leadership that has prepared me to serve effectively in the Legislature.

• I’m a nationally recognized trainer for law enforcement on building community collaborations.
• I served for 3 years with the Congressionally-mandated Defense Dept. Task Force on Domestic Violence.
• I’ve served in leadership roles with local non-profits, state-wide and national organizations
• I co-founded an organization that provides transitional housing for women and their children. I’ve worked with several state agencies to develop training programs to improve services to clients.
• I’ve been a community and school volunteer and have served in leadership roles in my church.

My effectiveness as a leader is proven. My ability to get people from diverse backgrounds to work together is demonstrated. My electability is undeniable. Let’s ADD a Democrat from HD47 to the House this year.

Posted by Phillip Martin at January 20, 2006 10:14 PM | TrackBack

Comments
Post a comment









Remember personal info?






BOA.JPG


January 2006
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31        


About Us
About BOR
Advertising Policies

Karl-Thomas M. - Owner
Byron L. - Founder
Alex H. - Contact
Andrea M. - Contact
Andrew D. - Contact
Damon M. - Contact
Drew C. - Contact
Jim D. - Contact
John P. - Contact
Katie N. - Contact
Kirk M. - Contact
Matt H. - Contact
Phillip M. - Contact
Vince L. - Contact
Zach N. - Conact

Donate

Tip Jar!



Archives
Recent Entries
Categories
BOR Edu.
University of Texas
University Democrats

BOR News
The Daily Texan
The Statesman
The Chronicle

BOR Politics
DNC
DNC Blog: Kicking Ass
DSCC
DSCC Blog: From the Roots
DCCC
DCCC Blog: The Stakeholder
Texas Dems
Travis County Dems
Dallas Young Democrats

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett
State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes
State Rep. Elliott Naishtat
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez
State Rep. Mark Strama
Traffic Ratings
Alexa Rating
Marketleap
Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem
Technoranti Link Cosmos
Blogstreet Blogback
Polling
American Research Group
Annenberg Election Survey
Gallup
Polling Report
Rasmussen Reports
Survey USA
Zogby
Texas Stuff
A Little Pollyana
Austin Bloggers
D Magazine
DFW Bogs
DMN Blog
In the Pink Texas
Inside the Texas Capitol
The Lasso
Pol State TX Archives
Quorum Report Daily Buzz
George Strong Political Analysis
Texas Law Blog
Texas Monthly
Texas Observer
TX Dem Blogs
100 Monkeys Typing
Alandwilliams.com
Alt 7
Annatopia
Appalachia Alumni Association
Barefoot and Naked
BAN News
Betamax Guillotine
Blue Texas
Border Ass News
The Daily DeLay
The Daily Texican
DemLog
Dos Centavos
Drive Democracy Easter Lemming
Esoterically
Get Donkey
Greg's Opinion
Half the Sins of Mankind
Jim Hightower
Houtopia
Hugo Zoom
Latinos for Texas
Off the Kuff
Ones and Zeros
Panhandle Truth Squad
Aaron Peña's Blog
People's Republic of Seabrook
Pink Dome
The Red State
Rhetoric & Rhythm
Rio Grande Valley Politics
Save Texas Reps
Skeptical Notion
Something's Got to Break
Southpaw
Stout Dem Blog
The Scarlet Left
Tex Prodigy
ToT
View From the Left
Yellow Doggeral Democrat
TX GOP Blogs
Beldar Blog
Blogs of War
Boots and Sabers
Dallas Arena
Jessica's Well
Lone Star Times
Publius TX
Safety for Dummies
The Sake of Arguement
Slightly Rough
Daily Reads
&c.
ABC's The Note
Atrios
BOP News
Daily Kos
Media Matters
MyDD
NBC's First Read
Political State Report
Political Animal
Political Wire
Talking Points Memo
Wonkette
Matthew Yglesias
College Blogs
CDA Blog
Get More Ass (Brown)
Dem Apples (Harvard)
KU Dems
U-Delaware Dems
UNO Dems
Stanford Dems
GLBT Blogs
American Blog
BlogActive
Boi From Troy
Margaret Cho
Downtown Lad
Gay Patriot
Raw Story
Stonewall Dems
Andrew Sullivan
More Reads
Living Indefinitely
Blogroll Burnt Orange!
BOR Webrings
< ? Texas Blogs # >
<< ? austinbloggers # >>
« ? MT blog # »
« ? MT # »
« ? Verbosity # »
Election Returns
CNN 1998 Returns
CNN 2000 Returns
CNN 2002 Returns
CNN 2004 Returns

state elections 1992-2005

bexar county elections
collin county elections
dallas county elections
denton county elections
el paso county elections
fort bend county elections
galveston county elections
harris county elections
jefferson county elections
tarrant county elections
travis county elections


Texas Media
abilene
abilene reporter news

alpine
alpine avalanche

amarillo
amarillo globe news

austin
austin american statesman
austin chronicle
daily texan online
keye news (cbs)
kut (npr)
kvue news (abc)
kxan news (nbc)
news 8 austin

beaumont
beaumont enterprise

brownsville
brownsville herald

college station
the battalion (texas a&m)

corpus christi
corpus christi caller times
kris news (fox)
kztv news (cbs)

crawford
crawford lone star iconoclast

dallas-fort worth
dallas morning news
dallas observer
dallas voice
fort worth star-telegram
kdfw news (fox)
kera (npr)
ktvt news (cbs)
nbc5 news
wfaa news (abc)

del rio
del rio news herald

el paso
el paso times
kdbc news (cbs)
kfox news (fox)
ktsm (nbc)
kvia news (abc)

fredericksburg
standard-radio post

galveston
galveston county daily news

harlingen
valley morning star

houston
houston chronicle
houston press
khou news (cbs)
kprc news (nbc)
ktrk news (abc)

kerrville
kerrville daily times

laredo
laredo morning times

lockhart
lockhart post-register

lubbock
lubbock avalanche journal

lufkin
lufkin daily news

marshall
marshall news messenger

mcallen
the monitor

midland - odessa
midland reporter telegram
odessa american

san antonio
san antonio express-news

seguin
seguin gazette-enterprise

texarkana
texarkana gazette

tyler
tyler morning telegraph

victoria
victoria advocate

waco
kxxv news (abc)
kwtx news (cbs)
waco tribune-herald

weslaco
krgv news (nbc)

statewide
texas cable news
texas triangle


World News
ABC News
All Africa News
Arab News
Atlanta Constitution-Journal
News.com Australia
BBC News
Bloomberg
Boston Globe
CBS News
Chicago Tribune
Christian Science Monitor
CNN
Denver Post
FOX News
Google News
The Guardian
Inside China Today
International Herald Tribune
Japan Times
LA Times
Mexico Daily
Miami Herald
MSNBC
New Orleans Times-Picayune
New York Times
El Pais (Spanish)
Salon
San Francisco Chronicle
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Slate
Times of India
Toronto Star
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post



Powered by
Movable Type 3.2b1