(Helping get more help. - promoted by Matt Glazer)
JD Gins needs one last round of help.
He thanks all the people who (literally) sweated it out yesterday getting most of the 816 Congress office moved out to the new TCDP Coordinated Campaign space at 12th and I-35.
The big desks and tables are all done, but lots of odds-and-ends remain.
PRIORITIES:
20-30 new boxes
Rolls of bubble wrap
your labor
meet at noon or after at 816 congress.
Show up, email him or call him if you can help.
JD Gins 512-636-4457 512-476-2002
jgins@barackobama.com
(I've already started helping move things in. If you are around, come join the fun! - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Hey Austin folks
Obama HQ has to vacate the lovely and cavernous 816 Congress, immediately, as in Tuesday, starting at noon!
Much of the office is being transferred to a new location in the new TCDP coordinated campaign office at 12th and I-35, which is great news.
PRIORITY NEEDS
-People with trucks to ferry loads between the two spaces.
-Packing supplies (boxes, peanuts, tape, newspapers, etc)
-Labor, Labor, Labor.
It is not mountains of material, but it is more than the last-working Austin field director JD Gins can do on his own.
Show up, email him or call him if you can help.
JD Gins 512-636-4457 512-476-2002
jgins@barackobama.com
Through Texans for Obama, Mario Champion helped bring Senator Obama and his message to Texas, inspiring thousands of people like me to shed our cynicism and join a campaign that will represent all Americans. Without his energy and dedication, I might never have become involved this campaign, so I support Mario Champion for national delegate.
- Sam Summerlin, State Delegate, SD 25
Mario represents the best of what we could ask for in a national delegate - hardworking, intelligent and dedicated. Mario and I worked tirelessly together to help Obama win the Texas caucus and I can attest that he will be an excellent representative to support Senator Obama on our behalf at the National Convention.
- Karen Clifford, State Delegate, SD 25
Mario Champion will make an ideal delegate for Obama at the national convention. As the statewide coordinator for TexansforObama I know firsthand that our grassroots and netroots success in Texas would not have been possible without his tireless leadership, energy, and dedication.
- Ken Flippin, Statewide Coordinator, TexansforObama
Hey all you SD14 and SD25 Clinton and Obama delegates that want to get in front of some folks: You are more than welcome to come to the LFT meetup on Tuesday. Like at DFT meetup, we'll do a quick 'why vote for me' spiel, among other things.
Meet your fellow Democrats, and buy them a drink, why don't ya?
Tuesday,May 20, 7pm at El Mercado (1302 S 1st St, Austin 78704) join us for a few margaritas, a taco or two, and great political discussion with friends. This month's agenda includes:
Carlos Barrera. Latinos For Texas PAC will present the soon-to-be next Hispanic Judge to sit on a Travis County Court of Law, Carlos Barrera, with a donation to help him take the bench in County Court #8. LFT PAC will also be taking contributions to futher our mission.
Meet the National Delegate Candidates. There's an army of activists in SD-14 and SD-25, and we all want to do more for the Democrats. Meet those running at the State Convention for the SDEC, committees, national delegate, and even elector, so you can make an informed choice.
Travis County Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign. Working on the TCDP Coordinated Campaign is the #1 thing activists can do locally because we aren't just helping to elect down-ballot Democrats, we're also giving our state-wide candidates the margins they need to help put them into office. Meet Kate Murrow, Field Director for Rep. Valinda Bolton
Just wanted to say I am running for National Delegate for Obama for SD-25. I have a 1-pager up at http://championforobama.com which i hopes makes the case for my being elected.
Training for Obama Delegation Chairs
Training for ANYONE who has or will have any leadership role in your precinct!!!
Greetings!
If you have attended a training, have contacted your delegates from your precinct, know who is being nominated and who is assigned to vote for those nominees, then you need not join us.
If you don't know what I'm talking about in the first paragraph, then you REALLY need to either come to this meeting or contact the Obama Staffers to get trained.
Training Time & Location:
Saturday, March 22nd, 5:00 pm
816 Congress, 2nd Floor
We'll stay until every question is answered and we'll assist you with understanding the strategy you need to use in YOUR precinct.
Every precinct MUST meet before the Saturday convention to decide their precinct's strategy. If your precinct is NOT meeting, you can expect that you will lose in your elections and/or will have a real problem dealing with the Precinct Caucus on the 29th!
Please do the following:
1) Get yourself trained.
2) Get your Obama delegates and alternates together to plan your strategy
3) Tell us if you are NOT able to organize your precinct so that someone who is trained and can do so can step up to the plate.
Sincerely,
Glen Maxey 512-656-6337
Obama Staffers:
Ronnie or Victoria: 512-476-2008
(Volunteer if you can -- take a day off from work or school, let us know about your experience, and we'll feature your story on BOR after the election is over! - promoted by Phillip Martin)
Passed along from The Travis County Democratic Party (512) 477-7500 (info@traviscountydemocrats.org):
Here's the deal, if we don't get enough folks to work these precinct polling locations, THEY WILL HAVE TO BE COMBINED!! This will lead to much confusion, turning first-time voters off, and possible voter disenfranchisement for both the primary and caucus!
If you are an Election Judge worried about missing your own caucus, you can hand off the post-poll closing paperwork delivery to an alternate judge or clerk.
If you can work basically 7am-7pm on election day, please read more below...
By the time you are reading this:
Visibility volunteers are needed NOW for Thursday's big debate. I just got a text that Clinton supporters and cameras are gathering. You can count on 2 minute local news spots for morning shows and lunch time. If you can spare a morning or lunch hour or more please do!
The big CNN debate is tonight (2/21). This will be one of the most exciting events in Texas history, so let's welcome Sen. Obama to Austin.
We'll have two shifts of volunteers on Thursday:
1) Early Bird Volunteers, 2:00pm Meet behind Rec Center
2) Pre-Debate Volunteers, 4:30pm Meet at Scholz Garten
If you can be an "Early Bird" volunteer and hold up signs outside of the debate, then please meet us at 2:00pm. We'll gather at the parking lot on Robert Dedman Drive, behind the Rec Center. Please look for the Obama tent. This is a very important volunteer task, so please be prepared to volunteer for several hours.
If you can't make it at 2:00pm, then please join us at 4:30pm at Scholz Garten. We'll march over to the Rec Center at 4:45pm to help welcome Sen. Obama to Austin.
Updated schedule for Thursday's debate festivities: 2:00pm - Behind the Rec Center
4:30pm - Meet at Scholz Garten
4:45pm - March to the Rec Center
6:30pm - Return to Scholz Garten
7:00pm - Debate Watch Party begins at Scholz Garten
If you have any questions, please contact the campaign at texas@barackobama.com or (512) 476-2008. We need your help to make this event a success. Yes we can!
(Thank to Mario for posting this. Both Jim Coronado and Glen Maxey received unanimous endorsements. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Well, it was exciting, energizing, well-attended (and quite quick!) endorsement meeting. We opened with a few candidates from races we were not endorsing in (yet), and then straight to the 3-minute 'Why me' talk from the candidates. Most of these candidates have been dropping by meetings for literally months (Barrera, Lipscombe, Hatchcock, Hurley) and we have had excellent discussions, so these presentations were mostly re-caps of previous experiences. (There were a few brand new candidates who were welcomed to speak about why they merit the endorsement, but honestly it is a steep hill to match multiple discussions in one 3 minute deal.)
Then, the candidates left the room, and we had ourselves a caucus. That's right a good old-fashioned stand for your candidate, let's open the floor for anyone who wants to sway others to join them caucus.
This is probably my favorite part of the pre-season: its open, transparent, gets people literally to stand for their guy or gal, and gets people talking. All of which is both good practice for the presidential caucuses, or more importantly for when someone says 'What's the deal with so-and-so? should i vote for them?' you know its no big deal to throw in your two cents. And, before you know it, ordinary people are talking about why politics has an impact in their lives.
Also, it is important to know that we have many great candidates and while you can work to help a few, you still can only vote for one. This is, i think, a healthy competition, and, in the end, we are all on the same team.
So the results, with detailed descriptions of the discussion and analysis in a follow-on post:
427th District Court Judge Jim Coronado
Like I mentioned, look for an additional post or two about why these candidates prevailed, but feel free to leave your two cents on these candidates in the comments.
It has been great to have so many candidates come to talk about their vision for their office, about why they do what they do, and how it can affect and improve the communities in which they move. And now we have the difficult and exciting task of endorsing among the many qualified candidates.
We have chosen to endorse in the following races:
TCDP Chair (Fidel Acevedo or Andy Brown)
Travis County Court #8 (Carlos Barrera or John Lipscombe)
98th District Court (Andy Hatchcock or Rhonda Hurley)
CD 10 (Larry Joe Doherty or Dan Grant)
Travis County Tax Assessor Collector (Glen Maxey or Nelda Wells Spears)
