More news emanating from our new Congressional maps: Congressman Charlie Gonzalez announced today that he is retiring, and will not seek re-election to the 20th district. Now, former Congressman Ciro Rodriguez and State Representative Joaquin Castro are shuffling their intended seats to try and capitalize on the opportunity. From the San Antonio Express-News:
Rep. Charlie Gonzalez said Friday he will not seek re-election, a decision that will end the congressional tenure of a Democratic family whose name has been synonymous with the city of San Antonio for more than half a century. ...
It also presents a political opportunity to state Rep. Joaquín Castro, twin brother of San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro. The Democrat likely will seek Gonzalez's 20th Congressional District seat, his spokesman Cary Clack said.
Former U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, another Democrat, is eyeing the newly redrawn 35th district in which Castro originally intended to run.
"It's about having lived in this district almost my entire life," said Rodriguez, who previously served in the 28th district before being ousted by Rep. Henry Bonilla, D-Laredo, and in the 23rd district before losing to Rep. Quico Canseco, R-San Antonio.
Previously, Rodriguez had announced his intentions to contest the 23rd district, which he lost to Quico "I Vote Against Cops and Firefighters" Canseco in 2010. State Representative Pete Gallego had also announced intentions to run for the seat.
Let's look at the districts and the share of the vote each gave Barack Obama and Bill White, as well as the share of Spanish-surname voter registration:
Castro, in moving from the new 35th to the 20th, will now be running in a district that is more comfortably Democratic in both Presidential and Gubernatorial cycles. Ciro moves from a tough primary and tough general election battle to what is likely to be at least an easier November match-up and easier hold in non-Presidential cycles. This was a smart move for Ciro, who will no longer face a primary against State Representative Pete Gallego, who has represented much of the turf that makes up CD-23 in the Legislature as the 74th district for the past 20 years.
Gallego, who has already started fundraising for the 23rd, will face a general election opponent in Canseco. Arguably if Gallego can avoid a tough primary battle for what is still a swing district, that helps Democrats conserve resources and win even more seats next November.
Both the 20th and 35th should be solid Democratic seats. So it remains to be seen if either Castro or Rodriguez will draw a primary challenger. Any rumors?
Meanwhile, a special note of thanks to Congressman Gonzalez for his long service to San Antonio, following in the footsteps of his father, Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez. He also currently chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. It is exciting to see a new generation of leaders running for these seats, but it's also sad, in a way, to lose so much seniority and institutional memory. Best of luck to Gonzalez as he looks towards his future!
(If anyone from Congresaman Gonzalez' office wants to respond to this, e-mail me at phillip@burntorangereport.com. We'll absolutely honor the "right to respond" policy here to learn more about why he has taken the stance he has on this measure. - promoted by Phillip Martin)
According to a Bloomberg article this morning, San Antonio Representative Charlie Gonzalez has joined
a group of Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee (who) want to give utilities free permits for all their existing carbon emissions, according to people familiar with a plan sent to the committee's chairman.
The article continues:
Representative Rick Boucher of Virginia sent the four-page list of recommendations to Henry Waxman, the committee's chairman and the author of draft climate-change legislation that some of his fellow Democrats are seeking to temper, said the people, who declined to be identified before the plan is made public. Courtney Lamie, Boucher's spokeswoman, didn't respond to e-mail and phone messages.
Waxman's measure would establish a cap-and-trade system of pollution credits designed to cut carbon dioxide 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. He needs to win the support of Boucher and the other Democrats pushing for changes in his plan because no Republicans are likely to vote for it, Representative Gene Green, a Texas Democrat, said yesterday.
"It's all about the consumer," said Representative Charles Gonzalez of Texas, whose San Antonio-area district has oil and gas operations. "It's also the economic interests of a member's district or region."
Charlie Gonzalez just doesn't have his facts straight on this one. If you're really concerned about consumers, giving away pollution credits for free is about the worst way you can write this bill. Giving away allowances would force customers to pay for industry and utilities' right to pollute without even cutting carbon emissions. There is a right and a very wrong way to write a good climate change bill, and Charlie is supporting the wrong way.
EPA's most recent analysis say that giving away pollution credits is "highly regressive", meaning it hurts low-income families the most. At best, this is a bailout and a free ride for the polluters. At worst it will create windfall profits for huge energy companies at the expense of every lower and middle income family in Texas. However, an auction fixes these problems. EPA continues:
"Assuming that the bulk of the revenues from the program are returned to households, the cap-and-trade policy has a relatively modest impact on U.S. consumers. . . . Returning the revenues in this fashion could make the median household, and those living at lower ends of the income distribution, better off than they would be without the program"
A good climate change bill will create billions of dollars of revenue by charging large polluters for the dangerous pollutants they've been emitting for decades. This money could then be returned to taxpayers, particularly low-income households, to protect them from any price increases that energy industries may try to pass through to consumers. Another portion of the money could also be used to pursue aggressive energy efficiency programs, so that citizens can save even more money by using less electricity. Every dollar spent on energy efficiency will then also help reinvigorate local economy by putting people back to work doing energy audits and retrofitting inefficient homes.
Congressman Charlie Gonzalez needs to hear that what consumers really need is energy efficiency, renewable energy, lower electric bills and less pollution - not more industry giveaways. So far, it looks like he's only heard from the lobbyists for the big polluters. We've heard that Congressman Gonzalez will cast a deciding vote on whether Texans will be given the tools to forge a new, green economy, or left unprotected from the worst effects of extreme weather and high energy prices.
Congressman Charlie Gonzalez is the swing vote on this issue. Please pick up the phone and call him. The phone number for his DC office is (202) 225-3236 and his office in San Antonio is (210) 472-6195. You can also email his office from his website.
***UPDATE*****
Looks like Charlie Gonzalez will actually be in San Antonio bright and early Saturday morning for the King William Parade. We'll be taking this opportunity to some pressure on the Congressman to support strong cap and trade legislation. If you'd like to participate, join us between 8 and 9 AM at the San Antonio Peace Center to pick up a sign, banner, or sign-on letter. For more information, visit Texas Vox.
The following U.S. House members endorsed Rep. Noriega in the U.S. Senate race: Reps. Al Green, Ruben Hinojosa, Silvestre Reyes, Chet Edwards, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Charlie Gonzalez, Nick Lampson, Ciro Rodriguez, Lloyd Doggett, Solomon P. Ortiz, Gene Green, and Eddie Bernice Johnson.
"Rick Noriega is the candidate in this race whose entire life represents his commitment to profound service to our nation ... military service and public service," said the members of the Texas Delegation. "From the halls of the University of Houston under an ROTC scholarship, to the halls of Harvard, to the Texas National Guard, to the halls of the State Capitol, to the mountains of Afghanistan after 9-11, and to the Texas border with Operation Jumpstart - we know that Rick Noriega is the candidate to best serve Texans in the United States Senate."
"On the defining issues of the day - national security, border security, health insurance for our children, and fiscal responsibility - Rick is uniquely positioned, by virtue of his life experience, to best serve Texas interests in the U.S. Senate," the members agreed. "U.S. military policy will long command the attention of future Congresses. Rick's understanding of on-the-ground logistics - as well as abilities and limitations - of our military will be a fresh and important voice in the Senate on military issues."
Charles Kuffner adds some insight as to why this is really pretty awesome and a success for Team Noriega.
Excellent. It may not seem like a big deal for a bunch of Democratic members of Congress to endorse a Democrat running for Senate, but 1) it's never a trivial thing to get a bunch of Democrats to agree on anything; 2) the more unified Noriega's support is here, the more likely he'll get support from the national folks; and 3) this is still a contested primary, however loosely that's being defined.
You may be wondering about that thirteenth member of Congress. That would be Rep. Henry Cuellar, and as usual, he's doing his own thing.
Various members of Congress also taped video statements of support which the campaign will be distributing over the coming days.
Presidential hopeful John Edwards picked up two Texas endorsements this week. In his quest to capture one of the largest pool of delegates, he earned the backing of Congressman Charlie Gonzalez (CD-20) and former Congressman Chris Bell.
Congressman Gonzalez had this to say about his decision:
...John Edwards and I share a commitment to improving the lives of working families. He understands, as I do, that the key to economic development is making sure that our society honors and rewards hard work. Any American who is willing to work hard should have the opportunity to create a better life for his or her family, and John Edwards has spent his life fighting to make this happen....
Chris Bell echoed the sentiment:
I am pleased to announce my endorsement of John Edwards for President. Having traveled the state in my run for governor in 2006, I know what Texas Democrats are looking for in a candidate and a leader, and John Edwards is it. If we want to take back the White House, we need a candidate who can fight and win everywhere in the country, including here in Texas. I am convinced that nobody will work harder for the values that Texas Democrats believe in, especially by fighting every day for people who work for a living.
And just as a side note, Edwards also now has the support of the NC Democratic delegation in Congress. No surprise there, but it is good to have support from your own home state.
One of our segments will be dedicated to the net neutrality debate that we are having in America right now. I've invited Sanford Nowlin of the San Antonio Express-News to be on the show (and he accepted).
I've also extended an invitation to Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX) to be on the show. They haven't declined but they are wary of appearing on the show becuase of my position in the net neutrality debate. I understand their concerns. But I think I've made it very clear through this blog and my many, many radio appearances that I am most interested in having a fair, open and honest debate. So, I want to have Rep. Gonzalez on the show to give his side of the story as to why he opposes net neutrality.
Why won't he come on the show? He can call in or come into the studio and sit with me face to face. I'll clear out the whole hour to have the debate if he wants. Give his office a call and ask him to appear on the show: (202)225-3236 or local (210)472-6195.
So, it is my hope that Rep. Gonzalez will accept my invitation onto the show and prove that he is a good faith actor in this debate.
Let's look at the districts and the share of the vote each gave Barack Obama and Bill White, as well as the share of Spanish-surname voter registration:
