(Don't forget that you can help this weekend in Dan Barrett's special election. The campaign can make best of you if you can help in person at any of the events listed below or in the comments. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
There is one week left. In 7 days, Democrats have an opportunity to win a very special election runoff and now Dan Barrett needs your help getting out the vote.
When someone asks if a Democratic presidential ticket can win in Texas...
When someone opines whether dismal Junior Senator John Cornyn can be taken out...
When someone asks if Harris County will sweep it's county wide races...
You can say, "Well, if House District 97 and Dan Barrett can take back a 'Republican' district in Tarrant County, it can happen anywhere!"
The Fort Worth Star Telegram endorsed Barrett this past Sunday because he is a unique candidate who is ready to change the Texas House and end the auto-craddick rule. Help take back the Texas House. Help Dan Barrett today and every day until December 18th.
Update: From Todd in the comments.
Many of us will also be doing GOTV block walking on Saturday as well.
You can meet at the TCDP HQ at 3004 W. Lancaster in downtown Fort Worth. We'll be heading out about 10am to start hanging GOTV lit on doors throughout HD 97.
Mid-Cities has carpooling running from all areas of our territory to get folks downtown to help walk. Check out the details here.
And a real-world phonebank on Saturday.
The phone bank will run Saturday and Sunday 1-5 p.m. at the Law Offices of Art Brender (600 8th Avenue Fort Worth). Beverages and snacks will be provided.
The Dan Barrett campaign wants your help getting out the vote for Dan.
This weekend and next weekend the campaign will be block walking in the mornings and phone banking in the afternoons and Dan needs your help. Rep. Lon Burnam is coordinating the efforts and said all he wants for the holiday's is your help.
The information of when and where to blockwalk and phonebank is below the fold, but please contact the campaign via e-mail or by phone (817-332-2580).
For those of you that do not want to block walk there will be phone banking going on all day at several locations. In short they can put to work anyone who comes.
We can of course also provide them with ample quantities of food and drink.
With a special election run-off now set for December 18th, the race for HD-97 continues to heat up. In addition to the recent endorsements of Texas Parent PAC and the United Educators Association, Democratic nominee Dan Barrett has picked up the endorsement of the Texas League of Conservation Voters. From Kuff...
The Texas League of Conservation Voters (TLCV), a coalition of Texans committed to clean air, clean water, and access to public lands, water, fish and wildlife, has endorsed Dan Barrett for state Representative in the District 97 Special Election run-off.
"Dan Barrett is the candidate most committed to cleaning up Fort Worth's air, holding polluters accountable, and ensuring that Texas leads the way toward an independent, clean, and sustainable energy future ," said TLCV's executive director, Colin Leyden.
"Unlike his opponent, Dan Barrett has pledged to support a new vision of Texas politics. He rejects the dangerous and extreme ideology that claims we can't have cleaner air, that climate change isn't real, and that we can't have both a strong economy and healthy environment," said Leyden.
An additional reminder- the Fort Worth City Council runoff has moved their election date to the 18th as well. It had originally been set for the 11th but followed Perry's decision to place the HD-97 race on the 18th. Nice try Gov. Good Hair. There are two Democrats facing off in the city council run-off with precincts that overlap that of the HD-97 race.
"Dan Barrett is a skilled, experienced advocate who will stand up for the needs of schoolchildren and their parents," said Texas Parent PAC board member Pam Meyercord of Dallas. "He will be a courageous, independent legislator who acts in the public interest and steers clear of divisive partisan politics."
Texas Parent PAC joins United Educators Association in supporting Barrett because of his strong stance in fighting for teachers and students.
Meyercord said Barrett will work to change the way the state house does business so there is real progress on solving problems and less political bickering in Austin.
[…]
"Unlike his opponent, Dan Barrett opposes taking money away from public schools to fund private school tuition vouchers," said Ellen Jones of Euless, a Texas Parent PAC board member. "Barrett understands that Texas taxpayers cannot afford to subsidize private schooling through voucher schemes. Our limited state and local funds must be used to strengthen public schools in every neighborhood so children can succeed academically and their communities and families prosper."
As the release points out, Barrett put himself through the University of Texas and Texas Tech Law School. His mother was an administrative assistant at an Austin elementary school and his father was on staff at the University of Texas. He has been an advocate in the courtroom fighting for municipalities and school districts in litigation in areas ranging from construction, insurance claims, and boundary disputes.
While Shelton is out arguing against CHIP and protecting Craddick, Barrett has been a leader in the community.
In Fort Worth, Barrett is known for his collegial leadership style and ability to bring people together to accomplish goals. He has been active in Leadership Fort Worth for the last 10 years, served as a member of the Board for Volunteers of America, and was president of four Tarrant County legal professional associations. From 1990 to 1997 he was a trustee on the board of Shakespeare in the Park.
The past 5 days TexBlog PAC has been raising money for Dan Barrett. Barrett won a plurality in this Fort Worth House seat against Republican Mark Shelton, and momentum is on the Democratic side.
We have already raised $764 of our $1200 goal and we still have until Wednesday to raise the rest. But don't support Dan because we tell you, let's talk about the race for House District 97 in Fort Worth. The importance of this runoff extends far beyond the districts boundaries.
Mark Shelton is Tom Craddick's guy. A candidate willing to sacrifice the needs of his district to protect a man who believes the Speaker has absolute power over the House. Just last Thursday, Tom Craddick had an afternoon fundraiser for Shelton at the Austin Club. While we are raising small donations from every Texan, Shelton only seems to be raising large donations from Republican lobbyists ready to pay to play.
As if to show the stark differences between the candidates, the United Educators Association has already endorsed Dan Barrett. So Shelton has support from one of the most corrupt Speakers in Texas history and Barrett has the support of Texas teachers. The release puts it simply:
The United Educators Association announced today their endorsement of Dan Barrett for Texas House of Representatives in District 97. The United Educators Association is an independent association representing more than 16,000 Texas public school employees in North Texas.
"Dan Barrett earned the endorsement of UEA through his commitment to the students, teachers and the Texas public education system" said Executive Director of UEA Larry Shaw.
Democrat Dan Barrett was the top vote getter in the November 6th Special Election to replace retiring State Representative Anna Mowery. He is facing Republican Mark Shelton in a run-off election expected to be held December 11th. Support of public education is expected to be a major issue in the election, with Barrett supporting public education and opposing vouchers and Shelton endorsing the use of public tax dollars to support a voucher program for private unregulated schools.
"We have to improve our public education system so it is second to none," stated Barrett whose mother was a secretary in the public school system for many years.
Other groups appear to be lining up to support Barrett as well. Rumors are circulating that many big name PACs, unions and organizations will be joining TexBlog PAC and UEA once the Election Date is set.
While education groups are lining up to support Barrett in the Fort Worth special election, Dr. Mark Shelton shows how naïve he is about public policy and his own profession. In a recent forum, Shelton talks about chips… not sure what chips is (other than what I eat during the game on Thanksgiving). As a doctor and a pediatrician, you would think Shelton would know that SCHIP (not chips) is a program designed to help uninsured children get the medical attention they need. Shelton opposes the State Children's Insurance Program saying the incentives are "wrong and perverse".
This is one of the few times you really need to click a link. So please watch the League of Women Voters forum here.
Here are some of the highlights that show that Shelton is just plain wrong:
That he has it exactly backwards, CHIP creates incentives for children to see their doctor before getting so sick they end up in the emergency room;
That CHIP has nothing to do with Medicaid, principally because working families (who can't afford private insurance) are actually buying insurance while Medicaid is a benefit for the needy;
That the man he backs for Speaker is behind all the cuts and mismanagement that cost 200,000 children their access to health care;
That it's amazing, of all people, a pediatrician is, as he might put it, so "wrong in the perverse."
Shelton is clearly bad for his district and the state of Texas. He plays dirty political tricks to win elections and has no clue about the biggest issues of our day.
We have raised almost $200 for Dan Barrett so far, that is just $300 away from getting the Mid-City Democrats to fully match our efforts. So as you donate for the HD-97 special election, tell us what races you are watching.
This is your chance to talk U.S. Senate, Congressional, Rail Road Commissioner, or any other race that inspires you!
State Rep. Anna Mowery (R) confirmed Friday night that she is retiring from the Texas House and won't seek re-election in 2008. The Fort Worth Republican is the first to acknowledge plans to retire. Mowery is a supporter of Speaker Tom Craddick. In facing Democrat Dan Barrett last November, she pulled only 56% of the vote, under performing the 61% top of the ticket average. Given the successes of Dallas area Democrats in 2006, expect Mowery's HD-97 to be on the target list as an open seat.
Word comes today that there may be a retirement on the Democratic side of the aisle as well. Rep. Arron Pena (D) who has been the point of discussion at BOR the last weeks of the session, has told the Valley Morning Star that he may seek to retire as well.
Rep. Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg, strongly suggested in an interview Friday evening that he might not run again for the Legislature now that his six-year quest to have a drug treatment center built in the Valley is coming to a close.
...
"When I first ran, my commitment was to build a drug-treatment center, and now that it’s done, I feel like my work is done here," Pena said. Pena, 47, said he did not know when he would decide definitively whether to run for another two-year term. His term ends in January 2009.
"It’s like you run a race and you’ve finished," he said. "I never expected to finish this quickly. I don’t need to run again. I’m going to go home and reflect and enjoy my time with family and decide whether I want to do this again."
Of course, the actions of Craddick and the treatment of the House Rules may of course be playing into members' decisions. Why would anyone want to come back for another session to see the process tortured in such inconceivable ways?
