I just learned on the coordinators conference call that Glen Maxey will be joining the Bell campaign as the Field Director. A formal press release will be issued tomorrow, June 27th. This will bring a jolt to grassroots energy to the Bell campaign and be a unifying force as we head into the fall.
I can confirm that the rumors are true having just gotten off the phone with Mr. Maxey himself. He will be coming on board the Chris Bell campaign to direct the statewide field program supporting the development of online tools (many of which got my nerdy side grin like a schoolboy when described).
And anyone who knows Glen knows that it will be a field program that turns out base voters for Democratic candidates like Chris Bell and will be a campaign that helps and aides Democrats to win at the statewide level and down the ballot. (Personally, it sure sounded like the beginnings of a field program that could serve as the core of the Texas coordinated campaign...) Speaking of coordinated campaigns, Glen will still be co-chairing the Travis effort as well as supporting in a couple other places; it's more of a natural fit as most tools are scalable and integrated with county campaigns.
While I know I'm not a "sunshine, puppies, and unicorns" type of blogger I near giddy to see another piece of the unity puzzle be put together with this e-mail going out to many Democrats today.
Dear Fellow Democrat,
As Chairman of our Party and the Democratic Nominee for Governor, we are writing you today to ask you to help our friend Glen Maxey.
Glen ran a spirited campaign for Chair of our party, and spurred a serious discussion about the future for Democrats in our state. We thank Glen for his many contributions to our state, and for all he's done to elect Democrats and make our Party stronger. We need Glen's talents and energy working for our ticket.
Today, we are asking you to contribute to Glen's campaign account to pay the final outstanding bills from his State Chair campaign. Glen would like to put this campaign debt behind him as quickly as possible so he can go full steam on some exciting new endeavors benefiting our Party and our November, 2006 ticket.
(SD24 is my home district where I was elected as a national convention delegate in 2004. Mike Cable actually expressed interest in writing for BOR months ago and he may be coming on board for the summer. Never though we'd have some Abilene area coverage now did ya? - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
This was our first convention as well. Both Camille and I became delegates specifically to work for Glen Maxey, so we definitely experienced some disappointment, but we also came back fired up to win in 06 and 08.
In the early afternoon on Thursday, I was on the road from the Anson Summer School Program back to Abilene, eager to head out for Fort Worth. I already was proudly wearing my Maxey lapel sticker. My niece Jenny was with me, and she immediately asked about the sticker. I tried to explain, as best I could to a seven-year-old, why we were going and how we wanted Glen to win. Jenny got a very serious look on her, and asked “What are you going to do if he loses?” I told her that her Aunt Camille and I would be sad for a little while, but we’d get over it. She still looked serious, and said "Uncle Mike, you know people do lose sometimes, right?"
Yes, Jenny, I know. We were sad for a while, but now we’re over it. I’ve already sent out important emails, worked on our county party website and blog, and started planning grassroots outreach for our Democratic Party 4th of July picnic. And I finally got around to writing this brief piece on our convention experience.
(I'll be writing up some thoughts in the coming days as I get unpacked and finish some overdue papers. But here in his own words, Glen Maxey. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
The race is over. Ya Basta
My friend Boyd Richie has my support, my prayers, and my help to move our Party forward. I hope everyone has moved on to the work of winning for our candidates this fall and in the future. I have, for sure.
Charlie Urbina Jones became a special friend. He’s an asset to this Party, and I know he joins me in the sentiment that we are now on a road toward building county and local infrastructure that can win elections.
To everyone who supported me and my vision of the Texas Democratic Party of the future, thank you. I’m proud of your work and commitment. I’ll cherish it for all my years.
I sincerely hope that everything articulated during our campaign is achieved for our Party. While I won’t have the platform to do these things from within the Party Chair’s office, they still should be done. I don’t think Chairman Richie ever disagreed with a single idea or concept we advanced.
So I want to encourage everyone engaged in this discussion, no matter who you supported, to begin work today to assist our leadership in rebuilding our Party.
I always have said to whomever starts a sentence with, “Somebody out to….”, that the person who “ought to” is the person with the idea. I said a lot of “somebody out to” types of things in this campaign, and I’m ready to assist in doing them. So I want Chairman Richie, the SDEC and the staff of the State Party, to know that I’m encouraging everyone to step up to the plate to make the Texas Democratic Party the best state operation in the nation.
Together we can make a difference.
I've included Maxey's floor speech and concession speech in the extended entry. -KT
Well, it seems that some people can't read instructions on this site but what can I say, this race has brought a lot of people out of the woodwork. =)
While tomorrow may prove me wrong when official convention business gets underway, indications are that this convention may not be the most organized, nor will the TDP Chair election be calm or pretty. There is a reason that in the last two days, everyone from David Van Os, myself, Charlie Urbina-Jones, Glen Maxey and others offline have called for a reasonable reduction in divisiveness.
I fear this weekend will get uglier before it gets better and I pledge personally to report (when I can) on what is simply going on without personal analysis. It may be drier, but come Sunday we will have a chairman elected of the delegates of the convention.
Notes and stories today-
1) The inner convention hall looks awesome, far better than the Houston floor plan and there is wireless everywhere.
2) Apparently 40 rooms for SDEC members at the Hilton across from the convention center were somehow not taken care of and lost. Reportedly, many have transferred to a hotel 7 miles away and are not particularly happy.
3) Word from the SDEC meeting also leaked that Chairman Richie's personal assistant for the Party quit/resigned yesterday due to issues with organizing the convention. A fiery letter was sent to all SDEC members. Reportedly the locks of the Austin TDP offices were changed by the TDP Executive Director following her departure.
4) A comparison of the Chair candidate's rooms could be described as follows. Chairman Richie has a pretty swank pad on the backside of the convention hall with windows. Maxey's room is nearer the entrance but about 1/3 the size. No rooms were reported for Urbina-Jones or Rogers at this writing.
5) The first mini-issue erupted around 10 pm tonight. The convention center staff notified the campaigns that signs may not be attached to the walls with tape or any adhesive in order to maintain the paint. Maxey's campaign confirmed confirmation from the convention center staff and director that hanging signs with sting over protruding object on the wall would be allowable. Needless to say, certain TDP/Richie staff members were not excited to learn of this news seeing as how all the sign locations have now been filled. Tomorrow morning will tell what happens to the signs.
6) There is word that hundreds of copies of yesterday's Austin American smear piece on Democrats, specifically Glen Maxey are sitting in Richie's HQ. No confirmation on plans for distribution if at all. Going hard negative may win Richie a campaign, but it doesn't do a single thing to build or unite the party (which is what all candidates are here to talk about). Negativity coming directly from the campaign, rather than surrogates as both campaign have in he past, may be the most effective, but most prone to backfire as delegates look for forward thinking solution over ad hominem attacks. Hopefully all sides will refrain from these over the next two days.
7) The LaRouche people are here as usual handing out their material. While the Party has officially requested / made a requirement that Lakesha cannot talk about LaRouche in her convention speech or official material, I pretty sure no one expects her to actually follow that guideline. The Richie, Maxey, and Urbina-Jones campaigns' reaction is pretty much a non reaction, as each one of them looks to try to pick up the few scattered Lakesha delegate votes for a likely runoff.
From Eye on Williamson, this historical perspective as well as an additional report.
The last time state delegates to the convention were asked to decide the party’s leader, Ronald Reagan was President and Bill Clements was Governor. The delegates met that year 30 miles away in Dallas, and were joined by a “Pillsbury Bake-off” of Democratic Presidential hopefuls for the 1984 campaign: then-U.S. Sens. Gary Hart of Colorado, Alan Cranston of California and Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina, former Florida Gov. Reuben Askew and former Vice President Walter Mondale appeared to make speeches and test the political waters for a Presidential run.
This post has been a long time in coming, so I figured I would do it at the last minute. I am technically a delegate to the Texas Democratic Convention, though I don’t have the money right now to actually make it up to Fort Worth. I am disappointed, as I hoped to see many old friends, have some fun and play a part in making Texas a better state by electing party officers who will do what it takes to elect some Democrats here. The Texas GOP has gone so far off the deep end as to represent little more than a band of radicals and anarchists hell-bent on doing away with the few gems left in our state while ignoring plights on the horizon. The Texas Democratic Party is a culturally, politically, philosophically diverse party united by our commitment to the people who actually do the work that makes Texas great: the millions of struggling families that live here.
For that reason, we must elect Glen Maxey as Chairman. Any other vote is a step in a dramatically wrong direction.
My opinion comes from my experience of working for the party from January of 2004 until October of 2005. I worked daily at the party for the entire 2004 election cycle, the 79th legislature (minus a special session) and the beginnings of 2006. During this time I saw the party go from a growing force in state politics to a shell of what it could have been. I saw who and what caused the dramatic drop in optimism for 2006, and I firmly believe that Glen Maxey is the antithesis of these forces and exactly what our party needs to survive.
A very interesting e-mail today, via Dos Centavos.
We, Charlie Urbina Jones and Glen Maxey, are writing you together because we want to avoid as much bloodletting and divisiveness in our party as humanly possible during this vote for Party Chair.
That’s why we encourage you to send someone from your Senate District to the Nominations Committee who will vote “No Recommendation” for TDP Chair.
Delegates will vote upon the next Chair of our party on Saturday afternoon. Whoever wins a majority of votes in this election will become the next Chair. All candidates running for Chair will be nominated on Saturday. Redundantly, the Nominations Committee comprised of one member from each Senate District and three add-ons appointed by the Interim Chair, could pick one of those candidates as a "reccomended" candidate. Generally the Nominations Committee serves a useful role in recommending folks to the entire convention for party offices and to be National Delegates.
The likely result is that no candidate will be able to win a majority on the committee. There is absolutely no value in members of the Nominations Committee staring each other down into the afternoon which would delay conducting important business on the floor of the convention. In such a competitive race with several qualified and competitive candidates, the Nominations Committee’s purpose is superfluous and divisive.
We also want to ensure that all current and potential candidates have an opportunity to be heard by the entire convention delegation when they are nominated. After all we are Democrats and every one of us has the right to be heard and run for office.
This discussion about the future of our party has been healthy and productive. We believe any prejudicial action other than “No Recommendation” by the Nominations Committee will merely add to the discord of our dialogue, instead of positively advancing the conversation.
Together, we are encouraging all delegates, regardless of who they support for Chair, to vote "No Recommendation." We hope you will join us in putting petty personal politics aside for the greater good of our party.
In the Spirit of True Democracy,
Charlie Urbina Jones
Glen Maxey
PS: Join us together Friday Night, upon adjournment, for our People-Powered Pachanga at the Rahr Brewery!
What: People-Powered Pachanga with Charlie and Glen When: Friday, June 9th, upon adjournment Where: Rahr Brewery 701 Galveston Ave
Snacks, Soft Drinks and Bottled Water
Beer on Tap (small contribution appreciated)
BBQ Sandwiches & Chips $5 (while they last)
Timely as yesterday and this weekend, I have been having discussions with friends about how to talk, discuss, debate, even argue, but not get lost in what we are really trying to accomplish -- get a great person elected to TDP Chair.
We CAN disagree on what makes a candidate great, and even what the job we are trying to fill. So ya know I like Glen for the job by a fair margin, though I don't think the world crumbles if Charlie or Boyd get the nod.
So, Maxey supporters here are some thoughts/strong suggestions you might ponder:
Capitol Annex reports on a supposed 5th candidate (candidate for Convention Chair) for State Party Chair. Mark Ted Weisgal down as the 4th reform oriented challenger (funny how that's everyone's message this year) though his announcement letter includes points that I don't think are part of the party requirements of running. No one has to collect signature to have their names placed into nominations from the floor...
Capitol Annex endorses Glen Maxey for Party chair. Dos Centavos supports Charlie Urbina-Jones though I'm not sure if an official endorsement post is on the way.
In an interesting development, Glen Maxey and Charlie Urbina-Jones have joined forces to throw their Friday night party together at the Rahr Brewary in Forth Worth. Apparently Urbina-Jones had a band but no place and Maxey had a place but no entertainment so they are joining forces for what they are calling the "People Powered Pachanga".
So what is a pachanga? Well there is a definition from wikipedia but my favorite is included in the Handbook of Texas online article about Hidalgo County.
It was alleged that the Reds kept control of the county by using the pachanga or block vote, which entailed rounding up men, filling them with food and liquor, and paying their poll tax. In Hidalgo County, Martin "Big Drunk" Norgraves, who served as first county clerk, was credited as organizer of block voting.
Certainly funny, though it should be noted that at the convention, no County or official can demand that a delegation block vote (unless they all support one candidate anyways). There is no winner gets all formula for winning delegates by county.
Boyd Richie apparently has never defeated a single Republican for all his talk about being elected County Attorney in 'red' Young County as reported by Eye on Williamson County.
According to documents available in the state archives and confirmed by Young County Clerk Shirley Choate, Richie has been on the ballot eight times and faced an opponent only in the 1976 Democratic primary.
Richie has been victorious in all eight campaigns in which he has been a candidate. However, he has faced an opponent only once, and has never gone head-to-head against a Republican.
* 01-May-1976 (Primary): defeated Dem incumbent DA in Texas’ 90th Judicial District * 02-Nov-1976 (General): unopposed for DA TX 90th JD * 12-Mar-1996 (Primary): unopposed for Young County Attorney * 05-Nov-1996 (General): unopposed for Young County Attorney * 14-Mar-2000 (Primary): unopposed for Young County Attorney * 07-Nov-2000 (General): unopposed for Young County Attorney * 09-Mar-2004 (Primary): unopposed for Young County Attorney * 02-Nov-2004 (General): unopposed for Young County Attorney
(I'm sure that those delegates among you have received the e-mail referred to here. While the "we shouldn't elect a James Carville chairman" line is quite the strawman, I do find some humor in that the TDP's landlord is endorsing the Chairman. Not that I'd expect Maxey or Urbina-Jones to move the HQ or anything... - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Ok, I like you Alfred Stanley, so dont take this personally. BUT I have some disagreements with how your email to TDP Convention delegates is presenting information, some of it small, but still telling, some of it larger, and questionable.
Perhaps its just a misunderstanding, in which case, someone, Alfred or Boyd or Ruben if you are reading, please fill me in.
