Bio:
I am a 24 year old Govt graduate of UT-Austin. Inspired by Al Gore, I became politically active due to Howard Dean. I've worked for the 2006 Travis Coordinated Campaign, Rick Noriega, Mark Strama, and ActBlue.
It's not often that you get to see such screaming headlines like this, but it's an appropriate response to a press release from Farouk Shami's campaign sent out yesterday by the same name. The staff has had multiple opinions and responses to the release but I think it fair to point out some major technical and factual failures behind the argument of Shami's release.
To do so, I'll reprint portions of that release with commentary below.
Attention Democrats: Bill White Can't Win In November
A Rasmussen Poll released Wednesday shows that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White can't win against any of the Republican gubernatorial candidates this November.
White can't even muster enough points in the pool to defeat Debra Medina, the darling of the Tea Party movement in Texas. Medina struggles to get 16% support in the Republican polls, but still bests the establishment-anointed "Democratic Frontrunner" Bill White. Medina now edges White 41% to 38%. Last month, White had a 44% to 38% lead on her.
This is the crux of the Shami campaign's argument- that since White is losing head to head polls against the Republican candidates in February of 2010 there is no way for him to beat the GOP nominee in November.
+ Nevermind the fact that at the time of the poll White hadn't aired a single TV ad while Perry, Hutchison, and Medina have spent millions.
+ Nevermind the fact that in the last two weeks White gained a point in the spread between himself and Perry, and gained two points in the spread between himself and Hutchison- the only two candidates with a chance at being the nominee.
But the reason why this line of attack is so incredulous is that there is no comparative polling that shows Shami performing any better. If the Shami campaign had polling that proved their point (and there is no shortage of money to pay for it in his campaign), they'd have released it. They haven't and that speaks volumes.
While the Democratic Party establishment focuses on a career politician, Farouk Shami has been gaining support among rank-and-file Democratic Primary voters across the state.
"It is time to end politics as usual. This poll is proof positive that the Texas Democratic establishment couldn't lead a silent prayer, much less designate our party's standard bearer," Farouk Shami said when he saw these results.
It's truly skillful how in the same sentence you can attack the Democratic Party establishment for supporting your opponent and then claim to have support of the Democratic Party rank-and-file. The rank-and-file in a traditional small primary turnout is the establishment. The rank-and-file are the precinct chairs, the activists, the people who spend their time analyzing party primary press releases. They are the people that vote in local club or organizational endorsements- which have nearly unanimously endorsed Bill White.
And come on- if the Texas Democratic establishment could designate the party's standard bearer in a race, then Linda Chavez-Thompson would have blown Ronnie Earle and Marc Katz out of the water by now in the Lt. Governor's race. The only thing being blown in that race is my mind for how mind-numbingly boring it has been between the "leading" candidates.
"While career politicians like Bill White focus on their next political office, I'm focused on Texans and bringing jobs to this state," he said. "I may be an unconventional candidate but Texans are ready for some fresh ideas. That's evident in how Debra Medina's numbers are improving. The establishment needs to listen up, because Texas Democrats aren't buying the goods they are selling anymore," Shami said during a swing through the Rio Grande Valley today.
Calling Bill White a career politician bends reality to such a point that it nearly breaks the truth. White has held one elected political office, Mayor of Houston, and served in that capacity a total of 3 terms. By that measure, my father, who last year was re-elected for his third term as a Fredericksburg City Councilman is a career politician. Please.
And if Farouk Shami is using Debra Medina as the measuring stick for "fresh ideas" I'll be more than happy to help him find his marbles because he has clearly lost them. Eliminating the property tax in favor of a regressive sales tax that increases taxes on lower and middle income Texas isn't "fresh". Making Texas Sovereignty a thinly veiled cover for support of pro-secessionist beliefs isn't a "fresh idea". That idea is about 150 years old and settled by a war that killed more Americans than any war in our nation's history.
And finally...
"We need real courage, real leadership and a candidate that's out there listening to the voters, not pandering to donors and reciting tired talking points. That's the kind of campaign Farouk Shami is running. We look forward to a healthy debate on February 8," Vince Leibowitz, Campaign Director added.
At least Bill White has donors he could pander to if he wanted. As noted yesterday, while White raised over $750,000 last month, more than any Democratic or Republican candidate, Shami raised $2,778- slightly more than Hank Gilbert has spent on suits in his Ag Commissioner race.
In closing, and now that I have your attention Democrats, remember... Farouk Shami Can't Win in November because not a single poll published to date shows that he can.
The Austin Chronicle has Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell's full State of the City Address posted here and I encourage you to read it through in full. Austin truly is an amazing place to live and there is a lot to be proud of both in our past and current leadership. While I encourage everyone to read it in full, I've pulled a few choice sections out that I found particularly memorable, beginning with some classic Leffingwell humor. There is a lot more though talking about economy, jobs, incentives, water treatment, traffic, and energy which are not highlighted here. I was especially excited to see Austin Urban Rail mentioned multiple times.
I understand from Janice and Keith that we have a sold-out event here today. So in order to help RECA out a bit, I've agreed to be the keynote speaker at every monthly luncheon from now on. We all know that the reason I'm such a popular keynote speaker is my intense personal charisma and my dynamic and inspiring oratory. So in case you find yourself overcome with emotion during my speech, please, don't be embarrassed to weep openly.
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I've spent practically my whole life in this city. I grew up just about a mile from here. Where we're enjoying our lunch today was - a hill. I went to Austin public schools, and graduated from UT. When I retired as a pilot, I became a full-time volunteer in Austin, for five years. Then I served on the City Council for four years before I became mayor.
After all of that, there's at least one thing I know about Austin. And that is that we do believe in the power a creative mind and a determined spirit to solve any problem. Austin is full of smart, driven people who make things happen. And lots of times, we even do it for the right reasons. That's exactly who's in this room around you right now. Look around. You're all a bunch of over-achievers.
So, if just for that reason - because we believe in Austin that we can solve any problem; because we believe that we can transform any challenge into opportunity - even during this monumentally difficult moment in history, the state of our city is strong.
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Folks, balancing your City budget this year was not a pleasant exercise for anyone. The bottom line was a $30 million funding gap in a $600 million budget. It's testament to the City management team, to the members of your City Council, but most of all to the 10,000 employees of City government, that we closed that gap and still maintained all core City services at their current levels.
Most significantly, there were no cuts to police, fire, or EMS services - which I promised there would not be. While our budget did include an increase in our tax rate and some utility charges, we still have the lowest municipal tax rate of any large Texas city. So - to beat a dead horse - we're proud of what we were able to achieve with this year's City budget. We can only hope to do as well next year.
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Finally, everything happening with web-based services, mobile computing, and social networking also holds great promise for our city. This is where I believe we have a unique opportunity to marry our tech-savvy culture, and labor force, with the next generation of growth. In particular, I'd very much like to see some of the largest social media companies, like Twitter, establish a significant presence in Austin in the near future. Maybe Mike Martinez could get an internship there.
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Austin is a diverse city. Much more so than it has ever been. We should be proud of that. We should celebrate it. And, we should be sure that it's always reflected in our decision-making, and our actions, as a community.
Austin is also a caring and compassionate city. A lot of people in this town wear their hearts on sleeves. That's a big part of what makes Austin special - and a big part of what we need to preserve to keep Austin special. The hungry, the poor, the homeless, the sick, the disadvantaged: They have a friend in a true Austinite. As Austin grows and changes, I hope and trust that we'll never lose what my friend Rev. Joseph Parker calls our "moral center" - our drive to do good, to be fair, and to be giving.
Let me end where I began. Friends, the state of our city is strong, even at this incredibly challenging time, because here in Austin, we believe in our own ability to make things better. We know we can create solutions to problems. In an uncertain world, these are our secret weapons: Our ingenuity and our conviction. Our creative minds, and our determined spirits.
If you want to play a role in shaping our best possible future - in protecting our quality of life for the next generation - then I encourage you to leave here today and go do what you do best: Create. Solve a problem. Do a deal. Be bold. Make a difference for somebody.
I can't stand up here today and tell you that the worst of what's happening around us is over. The truth is, it may not be. But, after a lifetime in this city, I know the fiber of Austin, Texas. I know the character of the people who live here. And I can stand up here today and tell you - with great confidence - that for us, the best is yet to come. Thank you very much.
While public corruption in Texas has been most noticeably tied to the Republican Party in recent years, we should not stand for it no matter what Party it appears in. Today, Democratic State Representative Terri Hodge of HD-100 announced that she will plead guilty to a felony charge for failing to report personal income on her taxes. Her statement is below.
"I have reached an agreement with the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas whereby I will enter a plea of guilty to one criminal charge alleging that I made false statements by failing to report income on my personal tax returns. I freely admit that I violated the federal income tax laws in this regard, and I am prepared and willing to accept the consequences of my actions.
"As a result of my guilty plea to a criminal tax violation, I will not be able to continue to serve in the Texas House of Representatives. Therefore, I cannot in good conscience continue to seek reelection and I believe that the only appropriate action for me to take is to immediately terminate all of my campaign activities. I will immediately begin the process of closing the affairs of my district office in an orderly manner, and will resign my seat in the Texas House of Representatives effective at the time I am sentenced by the court.
"I want to take this opportunity to express my remorse to my colleagues in the Legislature, my friends, and my family for my actions. Most of all, I want to apologize to all the citizens of District 100 for letting them down. It has been an honor to serve you for these last 14 years and I am truly sorry that my actions will prevent me from providing a voice for you in the Legislature. My prayer is that my successor will stand up and fight for the people of our District in the future."
Hodge plans to close down her office and resign from office at the time of sentencing. This will leave her name on the primary ballot along with Eric Johnson who has been running an aggressive campaign and had posted good fundraising numbers prior to this announcement. There is a risk that she could still be elected in the primary but her guilty plea would disqualify her from the November ballot, kicking the decision to replace the party's nominee to the districts' precinct chairs.
Currently there is no Republican candidate filed in HD-100.
Last night the Austin Lesbian/Gay Political Caucus (ALGPC) and Stonewall Democrats of Austin (SDA) made their endorsements for the upcoming Primary elections. The endorsements were as follows (endorsements were the same for both clubs except as noted):
US House of Representatives CD10 - Ted Ankrum
US House of Representatives CD21 - Lainey Melnick
US House of Representatives CD25 - Lloyd Doggett
Governor - Bill White
Lt. Gov - Ronnie Earle
Attorney General - Barbara Ann Radnofsky
Agriculture Commissioner - Hank Gilbert
Land Commissioner - Hector Uribe
Railroad Commissioner - Jeff Weems
SBOE District 5 - Rebecca Bell-Metereau
SBOE District 10 - Judy Jennings
State Rep District 48 - Donna Howard
State Rep Distict 49 - Elliott Naishtat
Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals - Kurt Kuhn
Judge, 147th District - Cliff Brown
Judge, 201st District - Amy Clark Meachum
Judge, 299th District - Karen Sage (SDA)
Judge, 299th District (dual) - Karen Sage, Mindy Montford (ALGPC)
Judge, 331st District - David Crain
Judge, 353rd District - Tim Sulak
Travis County District Clerk - Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza
Travis County Clerk - Dana Debeauvoir
Travis County Treasurer - Dolores Ortega Carter
Commissioner Precinct 2 - Sarah Eckhardt
Commissioner Precinct 4 (dual) - Raul Alvarez, Margaret Gomez
County Court at Law 3 - John Lipscombe
County Court at Law 6 - Brandy Mueller
JP, Precinct 1 - Daniel Bradford
JP, Precinct 2 - Karin Crump
JP, Precinct 3 - Susan Steeg
JP, Precinct 5 - Herb Evans
Tonight at 7pm will be the second and final GOP Gubernatorial debate between Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Debra Medina. Sponsored by BELO, the debate will air on WFAA in Dallas, KHOU in Houston, KENS in San Antonio, and KVUE in Austin (check your local listings for other markets).
We'll start to Cover it Live as soon as we get situated so as early as 6:45pm tonight. Come back here and join us so you'll be able to submit your own comments (moderated), and take part in snap polls every 15 minutes into the event.
You can watch our archive of the debate and conversation below.
Last night, nearly a dozen Democratic clubs were represented at the Travis County Democratic Candidates' Forum in East Austin. Of those clubs, seven issued endorsements in statewide and local races.
Below are the results; a key is located at the bottom to decode the club acronyms. Also to note, the Austin Tejano Democrats do not endorse in statewide races which is left to the statewide organization which supports White, Chavez-Thompson, Uribe and Gilbert.. Circle C Democrats do not endorse in the JP or County Commissioner races in which they are not located.
Governor
Bill White: BAD, CAAAD, CAPD, CCAD, CCYD, NETCO, TED
Lt. Governor
Ronnie Earle: BAD, CAAAD, CAPD, CCAD, TED (dual)
Linda Chavez-Thompson: CCYD, NETCO, TED (dual)
For the statewide candidates, I don't think there was ever a question that these informed Democrats were every going to endorse anyone other than White & Gilbert. In the two low information races, it's interesting that Hector Uribe also took a clean sweep while the Lt. Gov primary was a mixed bag. Chavez-Thompson may be the pick of statewide insiders, but Earle seems to be more comfortable choice for Austin voters which won't be surprising since he's an Austin boy.
331st District Court David Crain: ATD, BAD, CAAAD, CAPD, CCAD, CCYD, NETCO, TED
County Court at Law #3 John Lipscombe: BAD, CAAAD, CAPD, CCYD, NETCO, TED
As we head farther down ballot, a couple of candidates are breathing easier tonight. Rebecca Bell-Metereau is going to feel better coming away with a clean sweep in order to help maximize her ability to avoid a runoff in her 4-way race in massive district with little money. Brown & Crain's clean sweeps are reassuring against last minute opponents. Sage won back some momentum in the 299th race (and won a runoff with Leonard Martinez in the ATD group) but it's likely that the 299th will be a runoff between Sage and Montford regardless.
The big winner of the judicial races is John Lipscombe who was not expected to win an majority of endorsements tonight but swept the 5 that did endorse. Lipscombe tied among the Austin Tejano Democrats- a club that Seelig should have won outright. Circle C was split by a vote or two and doesn't endorse in those situations.
Travis County Commissioner, Pct 4
Margaret Gomez: BAD
Raul Alvarez: ATD, CAAAD, CCYD, NETCO, TED
In this race, CAPD issued no endorsement and Circle C did not have it on the ballot. This was a needed series of wins for Alvarez.
Justice of the Peace, Pct 1 Yvonne Williams: ATD, BAD, CAAAD, CAPD, NETCO, TED
Daniel Bradford: CCYD
Justice of the Peace, Pct 2 Karin Crump: ATD, BAD, CAAAD, CAPD, CCYD, NETCO, TED
Justice of the Peace, Pct 5 Herb Evans: ATD, CAAAD, CAPD, CCYD, NETCO, TED
Nothing unexpected here. BAD had no endorsement in JP5 because of a ballot error and may re-endorse later. Bradford failed to make much of a dent in the JP1 open seat even though this was the first time many people had actually heard from his opponent.
One final note on this set of endorsements. One thing that is pretty clear is how efficient the Austin Democratic Machine can be. You can tell where it is engaged or disengaged. For instance, Shami can't buy off any of it and probably won't win a single endorsement in Austin anyways. The Machine doesn't care about the Lt. Governor's race and that was the most split race tonight. The Machine is fully lined up behind Cliff Brown & David Crain. It has blessed Amy Clark Meachum to steamroll over Jan Patterson and that is happening perfectly.
The biggest test was County Court at Law #3 and tonight's results will give comfort to any wobbly players to go with Lipscombe. The Machine isn't in full agreement or engagement yet in the 299th District Court race because of the last minute array of candidates but will probably organize itself in the runoff. And in the JP races- the Machine recognizes that Williams is the chosen African American replacement for that district and while she's relatively unknown, she's got the nod of support. There are a couple of different machines in the Commissioner 4 race which are pulling in different directions (and without much direction).
So, I won't be returning to Texas tonight as planned due to getting stuck in a blizzard in Iowa. I should be back tomorrow night weather permitting so in the meantime, another video from the road.
I've been off and one the blog over the last week but for those of you who haven't been following my updates on twitter I've been up here in South Dakota visiting a friend of mine whom I originally met on the One Kalamazoo campaign last fall- Angie Buhl. She, like I, has now turned 25 and while you'll be hearing me talk about her later this spring for reasons not yet to be blogged, I wanted to check in with the BOR community tonight and let everyone know that I've been out of town.
So special for you, I threw together a little video of what has dominated much of the past week that I've been up here in Sioux Falls. Well, mostly dominated- there was of course a visit to the world's only Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.
This post is thanks entirely to a report posted by Texas Blogger Neil Aquino on his Texas Liberal blog where he was reporting on hearing Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami speak at an MLK Day event in Houston yesterday. You can read his full post for some additional details and tone, but his thoughts on one particularly aspect of the day's event is the reference point for this post's headline.
Above is a picture of Mr. Shami and myself. This picture was taken a few hours ago.
I heard Mr. Shami speak at Martin Luther King Day festivities here in Houston. He struck an economically populist tone in his remarks. He was clear that he viewed himself as a racially inclusive candidate. These are things that I want to hear.
Unfortunately, Mr. Shami was not disciplined in his remarks and I feel this absence of discipline will make it difficult for him to win the primary or move the agenda in Texas to the left.
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Please look at the picture at the top of this post. Mr. Shami is wearing a scarf. That is fine. You don't have to be Audrey Hepburn to pull off a scarf.
The problem is what the scarf says. On one side it says "Palestine" and on the other side it says "Jerusalem is ours." I read that scarf and I thought to myself-"Isn't this race difficult enough for you already?" You're a guy named Farouk Shami running for Governor of Texas against a strong primary opponent. So in addition to all that, you offer your views on an emotional issue that has nothing to do with Texas?
I wish Mr. Shami would run a focused campaign that would productively discuss issues that maybe an establishment candidate like former Houston Mayor Bill White will not likely discuss.
I am generally an advocate of campaigns where candidates give voice to unrepresented communities in politics. Sometimes candidates run, or issues are talked about in order to highlight their importance and give a platform where one would not otherwise exist. Farouk Shami should have no reason to be ashamed of his faith or of his heritage, but Neil is right in that things like this distract from issues that actually are relevant to Texas and that the Governor can do something about.
A new poll by Rasmussen in conjunction with Fox Television stations shows Debra Medina now polling in the double digits while Rick Perry continues to lead Kay Bailey Hutchison by a 10 point margin. Numbers in parenthesis indicate the prior Rasmussen poll conducted in November 2009.
Poll of 831 Likely Republican Voters
43% (46) Rick Perry
33% (35) Kay Bailey Hutchison
12% (4) Debra Medina
11% (14) Undecided
The next scheduled GOP gubernatorial debate is scheduled for next Friday the 29th. The sponsors, Belo, have said 15% will be their threshold for inclusion in the debate, a reachable goal for Medina assuming a least one more poll (internal or otherwise) will be released in the next two weeks.
If Medina is able to hold herself in the double digits, it's highly likely that she'll force the heavyweights to an April runoff. If Farouk Shami and Bill White end up in a runoff due to the seven-way Democratic primary for Governor, it would be the first time both parties had simultaneous runoffs for Governor in decades. (There hasn't even been simultaneous competitive campaigns for Governor in both parties in Texas since 1990).
"The Rasmussen poll released today shows Debra Medina is now at 12 percent, which is a substantial jump since the previous poll. Factoring in the margin of error (+/- 3.5 percent) and using reasonable news judgment, it appears Ms. Medina is a viable candidate and qualifies for the Belo Debate to be broadcast on January 29," Devlin said.
