DCs Final Thoughts...
Republatinos: Roy Morales and Poli Acosta are proving something. Sure, they may be a couple of repugs. Sure, they may be everything that is bad about Latino Republicans. And now they are losers. But they're running for office and they are getting the attention of voters--even worse, from a few Republican voters. Why? Because they are on the ballot, beyond the typical Hispanic areas of town. They ran at-large. Luckily, there are still some white Repugs that just will not vote for a brown repug. So, when are we going to see Latino Democrats in Houston running at-large? Until we get some experience running against Republicans, win or lose, we'll never get the attention of voters--Latino, Black, Asian AND White. Simply running against each other in our own comfy areas will get us nowhere, and the negativity in these races based on past histories of factions will only make turnout worse. And there's more to this, which I will blog about later this week (It has much to do with the TDP Chair and Latinos situation that has been blogged about elsewhere, as well as a blog posting about a "concerted GOTV" project that is needed).
District I: When I first started emailing John Parras, he told me about his ideas of getting young voters involved, etc. It sounded great and it is definitely something that I've tried to work on in the last year or so--but it's a challenge and it takes more than one race to achieve success, if you run your race correctly. One of the first questions I asked him: "Don't you want to run At-Large? We have no Latinos running At-Large on the ballot." Unfortunately, he decided to keep on against Carol. Well, with his ideas of getting "new" voters into the mix, I remained interested. Then came "Diploma-Gate". Hey, if you want to go negative, that's your prerogative, but there's a way of exploiting it without necessarily looking like an attack-dog. In the end, I didn't like the way things were addressed by either campaign. In the end, Alvarado deserved to be re-elected based on her record on the Council alone--and anyone who believed she could actually lose was definitely wrong (and in fantasy-land). But it could have been a good shot to get some recognition for a future campaign (maybe an At-Large one?). The 2007 race is definitely open. Anyone interested needs to start running today (to win AND to increase turnout!). For now, Carol Alvarado gets to solidify her future by promoting and passing good public policy. Congrats to Alvarado.
District 143: Ana and Laura. I knew a girl in high school named Ana Laura. I think she's a Republican now. Anyway, I'm proud of Rick Molina for running an uncompromised campaign, and much like other truly grassroots candidates I've known and worked with, he earned every one of his votes. Taking on two and a half (half = Al Flores) Democratic political machines is a challenge. Now we're left with Ana Hernandez and Laura Salinas. All I can say is that the HCDP CEC meeting on Thursday is going to be interesting. Congrats to both, nonetheless.
* Who will DC endorse? Let me tell you this much, since marriage is so important in Texas and to Latinos, I'll support (even send a $20 check--sorry, I'm poor!) the first one that will push legislation to make ADULTERY a state jail felony. Let's see how conservative Texas really is...
Prop 2 Bruises: Looks like us liberals are bit bruised after Prop 2. The bottom line: A lot of Democrats voted for it, too. I was looking at South Texas counties and saw more 80%-plus outcomes than I wanted to see. When my own Zavala County goes 80-20 and my former Hays County (quite conservative) only goes 58-42, something is up. No, it's not about "conservative values." I've decided that Mexicanos and most Texans are just ass-backward when it comes to this issue! (Did I say that out loud?). Perhaps when an anti-immigration measure that forces us to prove citizenship is passed Latinos in South Texas will speak as loudly. Then, they'll just be hypocrites!
Jay v Sue: Wow. What a race! The good thing is that Kingwood won't be a factor! Turnout may not even be that much, since the 70 to 75 percent Repug base would never vote for a Dem, much less a Dem that is "different" as is the case with both these candidates. (Unlike a few Dems in this enclave, I have no faith in Republicans voting for a Dem). Of course, we still have traditionally Dem votes to worry about. Note to both: Do not worry about vying for Acosta's and Elford's endorsements. They aren't worth it and they'll ask you to sell your soul. Not worth it.
Peter Brown: Kingwood and Clear Lake (District E) were more than likely not kind to Peter. We have 130,000 voters in this District and we had a 21% turnout. And with marriage freaks holding up anti-gay AND Morales signs, it got even tougher--which is why most of us were sweating late in the evening hoping to avoid a run-off. That speaks louder than a photo with Kay Bailey, I think. Nonetheless, I'm relieved Peter Brown is replacing Mark Ellis. Now Mark can take his anti-Latino campaign to his own part of town, instead of doing it citywide. The reality for this part of town is that we can work and get the Democratic base out, find a few disgruntled Republicans, and increase turnout from that perspective. But unless you're Bill White, working with some Kingwood heavy hitters (Butrum) on the GOP-side, reaching 40% will be tough. And with a Prop 2-like thing on the ballot? Forget about it!
Bill White: Congrats, Mayor. I won't forget his line: "Democrats in Kingwood are moving up...the first time I visited you was at a picnic at a park, and now, it's at a country club." I'm looking forward to the next couple of years. Great victory speech!
Parting thought: Turnout was dismal, particularly in Latino areas of town. There was a mention on a blog earlier this week that it's going to take doing more door knocking to get the vote out. No. It's going to take a concerted voter education program that takes an expanded form of the type of work the Metropolitan Organization does. The types of meetings that put elected officials on the spot, put issues (and not negative crap) at the forefront of campaigns. And the type of political education that places voters at the top of the priority list, and not special interests. Perhaps I'm just an idealist, but if people are going to be content with 15% turnouts--even less in Latino areas--then power will continue to escape us (as Dems and as Latinos).
And another thing: Campos has a quip about the District One HISD race. It's funny. If we support Latinos just for being Latinos, then that doesn't say much about Latino political saavy. But if we support a non-Latina whose detractors say enjoys taking money from public schools to fund charter school management corporations, then that's not saavy either, if anything, what detractors say may be WRONG! Although I prefer one's ideas on "going to college" over the other's "we need more vo-tech programs" ideas...damn! Who would I vote for? It's not so funny anymore once you think about it. Learn about the candidates and VOTE!
Update: I got smacked with the political stick about my previous comment on Kamrani. I corrected it with the bolded part because I let my views about charter schools intermingle with the candidate, and that's not right. This blogger has not been an advocate of charter schools (the Clinton White House got many letters from me!), but I am an advocate of creativity in curriculum that puts kids on the road to college--ALL KIDS. But there is a solution for making your voting decision: Learn about each candidate!
District I: When I first started emailing John Parras, he told me about his ideas of getting young voters involved, etc. It sounded great and it is definitely something that I've tried to work on in the last year or so--but it's a challenge and it takes more than one race to achieve success, if you run your race correctly. One of the first questions I asked him: "Don't you want to run At-Large? We have no Latinos running At-Large on the ballot." Unfortunately, he decided to keep on against Carol. Well, with his ideas of getting "new" voters into the mix, I remained interested. Then came "Diploma-Gate". Hey, if you want to go negative, that's your prerogative, but there's a way of exploiting it without necessarily looking like an attack-dog. In the end, I didn't like the way things were addressed by either campaign. In the end, Alvarado deserved to be re-elected based on her record on the Council alone--and anyone who believed she could actually lose was definitely wrong (and in fantasy-land). But it could have been a good shot to get some recognition for a future campaign (maybe an At-Large one?). The 2007 race is definitely open. Anyone interested needs to start running today (to win AND to increase turnout!). For now, Carol Alvarado gets to solidify her future by promoting and passing good public policy. Congrats to Alvarado.
District 143: Ana and Laura. I knew a girl in high school named Ana Laura. I think she's a Republican now. Anyway, I'm proud of Rick Molina for running an uncompromised campaign, and much like other truly grassroots candidates I've known and worked with, he earned every one of his votes. Taking on two and a half (half = Al Flores) Democratic political machines is a challenge. Now we're left with Ana Hernandez and Laura Salinas. All I can say is that the HCDP CEC meeting on Thursday is going to be interesting. Congrats to both, nonetheless.
* Who will DC endorse? Let me tell you this much, since marriage is so important in Texas and to Latinos, I'll support (even send a $20 check--sorry, I'm poor!) the first one that will push legislation to make ADULTERY a state jail felony. Let's see how conservative Texas really is...
Prop 2 Bruises: Looks like us liberals are bit bruised after Prop 2. The bottom line: A lot of Democrats voted for it, too. I was looking at South Texas counties and saw more 80%-plus outcomes than I wanted to see. When my own Zavala County goes 80-20 and my former Hays County (quite conservative) only goes 58-42, something is up. No, it's not about "conservative values." I've decided that Mexicanos and most Texans are just ass-backward when it comes to this issue! (Did I say that out loud?). Perhaps when an anti-immigration measure that forces us to prove citizenship is passed Latinos in South Texas will speak as loudly. Then, they'll just be hypocrites!
Jay v Sue: Wow. What a race! The good thing is that Kingwood won't be a factor! Turnout may not even be that much, since the 70 to 75 percent Repug base would never vote for a Dem, much less a Dem that is "different" as is the case with both these candidates. (Unlike a few Dems in this enclave, I have no faith in Republicans voting for a Dem). Of course, we still have traditionally Dem votes to worry about. Note to both: Do not worry about vying for Acosta's and Elford's endorsements. They aren't worth it and they'll ask you to sell your soul. Not worth it.
Peter Brown: Kingwood and Clear Lake (District E) were more than likely not kind to Peter. We have 130,000 voters in this District and we had a 21% turnout. And with marriage freaks holding up anti-gay AND Morales signs, it got even tougher--which is why most of us were sweating late in the evening hoping to avoid a run-off. That speaks louder than a photo with Kay Bailey, I think. Nonetheless, I'm relieved Peter Brown is replacing Mark Ellis. Now Mark can take his anti-Latino campaign to his own part of town, instead of doing it citywide. The reality for this part of town is that we can work and get the Democratic base out, find a few disgruntled Republicans, and increase turnout from that perspective. But unless you're Bill White, working with some Kingwood heavy hitters (Butrum) on the GOP-side, reaching 40% will be tough. And with a Prop 2-like thing on the ballot? Forget about it!
Bill White: Congrats, Mayor. I won't forget his line: "Democrats in Kingwood are moving up...the first time I visited you was at a picnic at a park, and now, it's at a country club." I'm looking forward to the next couple of years. Great victory speech!
Parting thought: Turnout was dismal, particularly in Latino areas of town. There was a mention on a blog earlier this week that it's going to take doing more door knocking to get the vote out. No. It's going to take a concerted voter education program that takes an expanded form of the type of work the Metropolitan Organization does. The types of meetings that put elected officials on the spot, put issues (and not negative crap) at the forefront of campaigns. And the type of political education that places voters at the top of the priority list, and not special interests. Perhaps I'm just an idealist, but if people are going to be content with 15% turnouts--even less in Latino areas--then power will continue to escape us (as Dems and as Latinos).
And another thing: Campos has a quip about the District One HISD race. It's funny. If we support Latinos just for being Latinos, then that doesn't say much about Latino political saavy. But if we support a non-Latina whose detractors say enjoys taking money from public schools to fund charter school management corporations, then that's not saavy either, if anything, what detractors say may be WRONG! Although I prefer one's ideas on "going to college" over the other's "we need more vo-tech programs" ideas...damn! Who would I vote for? It's not so funny anymore once you think about it. Learn about the candidates and VOTE!
Update: I got smacked with the political stick about my previous comment on Kamrani. I corrected it with the bolded part because I let my views about charter schools intermingle with the candidate, and that's not right. This blogger has not been an advocate of charter schools (the Clinton White House got many letters from me!), but I am an advocate of creativity in curriculum that puts kids on the road to college--ALL KIDS. But there is a solution for making your voting decision: Learn about each candidate!
posted by Dos Centavos at 10:20 PM
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