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Dallas County Democratic Party
 Weekly Roundup    
Democratic news from Dallas County
 and beyond.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014   
Register Now for Your March 22
Senate District Convention

The first step of the Convention process of the Texas Democratic Party for 2014 is the Senate District Convention coming up on Saturday, March 22, 2014.

Register with the Texas Democratic Party to get information on time and place and to learn about the convention process at http://register.txdemocrats.org

Dallas County Senate District Conventions:

Senate District 2 Convention
Location: CWA Union Hall (1408 N. Washington, Dallas 75204)
Temporary Chair: Steve A. Tillery    214.534.7973    Email satillery AT gmail.com

Senate District 8 Convention
10 AM
Location: Kasra Persian Cuisine (525 West Arapaho # 21, Richardson, Texas 75080)
Facebook event to share
Temporary Chair: James White     214.244.7814     Email txsdec8 AT gmail.com

Senate District 9 Convention
Registration 9 AM, Convention 10 AM
Location: DFW Airport Hotel & Conference Center (4440 W Airport Freeway, Irving, Texas 75062)
Facebook event to share
Temporary Chairs: Michael McPhail     972.513.9522    Email mmcphail1974 AT gmail.com AND Sunja Smith    469-735-7370    Email sunja1 AT aol.com

Senate District 16 Convention
9 AM
Location: E.D. Walker Middle School (12532 Nuestra Dr, Dallas, Texas 75230)
Facebook event to share
Temporary Chairs: David Griggs    214.244.5979    Email texvol AT aol.com AND
    Janice Schwarz    214.460.7283    Email tamsterbath AT gmail.com

Senate District 23 Convention
9 AM
Location: Lancaster High School (200 E Wintergreen Rd, Lancaster, TX 75134)
Facebook event to share
Temporary Chairs: Jeff Strater    214.893.1336    Email jeffstrater AT gmail.com AND
    Shay Wyrick-Cathey    214.850.9285    Email shaycathey AT gmail.com

Helpful resources:
Texas Democratic Party document: Become a Delegate to the 2014 Democratic State Convention
Texas Democratic Party document: Delegate Allocation to the 2014 Democratic State Convention
Texas Democratic Party document: The Rules of the Texas Democratic Party 2014-2015 

The 2014 Texas Democratic Party State Convention will be held here at the Dallas Convention Center on June 28 and 28. For more information see this page.



Runoffs

In Texas candidates must get a majority of the votes in the primary or the top two have to be in a runoff. This year that will be on May 27. Early voting will be one week only, Monday May 19 to Friday May 23. These will be the runoffs we will see in Dallas County:

US Senator: David M. Alameel and Kesha Rogers

Commissioner of Agriculture: Jim Hogan and Richard "Kinky" Friedman

State Board of Education, Dist 13: Erika Beltran and Andrea Hilburn

State Representative, Dist 105: Susan Motley and Terry Meza

Judge, Co Criminal Court No. 5: Lisa Green and Etta J. Mullin

District Clerk: Tarsha Hardy and Felicia Pitre

County Treasurer: Pauline Medrano and Bennie Elnora Brown

JP, Pct No. 4, Pl 1: Norris 'Stretch' Rideaux and Mary Abeyta

JP, Pct No. 4, Pl 2: Katy Hubener and Fred Jackson

JP, Pct No. 5, Pl 1: Sara Martinez and Melissa J. Bellan

Constable, Pct No. 5: Beth Villarreal and Michael Orozco

You can find links to the websites and the contact information for these candidates at our primary candidate filings page. NOTE: That list does not show websites, Facebooks, or other contact information for some of these because they have none or have not given them to us. But for US Senate, see the next article about Kesha Rogers (her opponent, David Alameel, does have his own site). For Agriculture Commissioner, Jim Hogan has not raised or spent any money and says he will continue not doing so if he wins the runoff, according to this article (his opponent, Richard "Kinky" Friedman, does have his own site). For State Board of Education, Andrea Hilburn has no sites but answered questions at this page (her opponent, Erika Beltran, also has a page there, in addition to her own site). For County Criminal Court 5, Etta Mullin has no sites but her bio was posted at this page by the Metrocrest Democrats (her opponent, Lisa Green, also has a page there, besides her own site). For Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Place 2, Fred Jackson has no sites (his opponent, Katy Hubener, does have her own site).


Be Aware

One candidate in the runoff for US Senator is Kesha Rogers, a follower of convicted felon Lyndon LaRouche. Our Texas Democratic Party State Chair Gilberto Hinojosa has sent out this notice:

"Kesha Rogers is one of the candidates on the ballot for U.S. Senator in the Democratic primary -- but do not be fooled. Kesha Rogers is not a Democrat.

Ms. Rogers is part of the "LaRouche Movement," which has a history of violent rhetoric. The focus of her campaign is impeaching President Obama. Rogers has even paraded around Texas with a poster of the President with a Hitler mustache.

Rogers believes that the U.S. economy is secretly controlled by London financial institutions and she has advocated for colonizing Mars.  That's not what real Democrats stand for.

The Texas Democratic Party does not support the candidacy of Kesha Rogers or anyone that aligns themselves with the LaRouche Movement. Our State Democratic Executive Committee even issued a resolution against her campaign. Do not vote for Kesha Rogers in the primary. Rogers' candidacy is a insult to our Party, our President, our state, our Democratic values, and to all the work you are doing to move our state forward. Do not vote for Kesha Rogers.

All my best --Gilberto Hinojosa" 

 

Read the Texas Democratic Party's State Executive Committee Resolution on Kesha Rogers as a pdf at this page.

Teachers Fight to Save Schools

During the voting, so-called "volunteers" conducted a petition drive that ... seeks a November ballot initiative for a "home-rule" charter, a status allowed under a 1995 state law that never has been implemented in Texas.

"The proponents of this horrible idea are trying to say it will provide flexibility, which in reality means that corporate interests will seek to turn our neighborhood schools into privately operated charter schools with no accountability to the public," said Rena Honea, president of Alliance-AFT, which represents Dallas ISD school employees.

Honea noted that districts under home rule can kill off class-size limits for most K-4 classrooms, eliminate teachers' contracts, wipe out parents' and students' and teachers' rights to due process in student discipline, and much more. In fact, she said, the entire parental-rights chapter of the Education Code would no longer apply, including parents' rights to see what their kids are being taught. Accountability to the community through an elected board also could be eliminated.

"This is a power grab, pure and simple," Honea said. "The home-rule charter is part of a plan to underfund our schools, declare them a failure, and contract out to private operators the control of our neighborhood schools, disenfranchising parents and community stakeholders and deprofessionalizing teaching. This initiative ultimately is for profit, not for kids."

Honea said parents shouldn't be fooled by petitioners' sales pitch nor the name of their organization: "Support our Public Schools." "We will be educating the public on the true intent behind this petition, and how stripping away public control and quality safeguards like class-size limits will harm our schoolchildren," she said.

--From the Dallas Labor News March 7, 2014

Upcoming Events and Meetings
 
(For the latest updates on local events, and links to more info about these, check out the DallasDemocrats on Facebook and Twitter, and the DCDP website Calendar. To add an event or make a change or correction, contact the party office or email the editor: BillHowellDCDP AT Yahoo.com.)

Tuesday, March 11:

Dallas County Young Democrats (6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, The Sunset Lounge, 3030 Ross Ave, Dallas, TX 75204)

PVL - A New Era (6:30 pm to 7:30 pm, Thurgood Marshall Rec. Center, 5150 Mark Trail, Dallas)

Irving Democrats (7 PM, Midori's, 4020 N MacArthur, Irving)

Dallas Drinking Liberally ((7:30 pm, Uptown Bar, 3605 McKinney Ave, Dallas)


Wednesday, March 12:

Meet and Greet Leigh Bailey Democratic candidate for State House District 108. RSVP by email to rsvp AT leighbaileyfortexas.com or 972-514-6392. (7:00 to 8:30 p.m., 6747 Lupton Dr., 75225)

 
Thursday, March 13:

Fundraiser for George Clayton Candidate for State Representative Dist. 102. Appetizers and a cash bar. Please RSVP by going to www.clayton4HD102.org, or email to info AT clayton4HD102.org by March 10th. (5 - 7 pm, The Lombardo Room, Maggianno's Little Italy, Northpark Center, Dallas)

Preston Hollow Democrats Larry James, CEO of City Square, is the featured guest speaker. Mr. James will discuss how City Square is changing the face of poverty in Dallas.  Please join City Square's Peanut Butter Drive and bring an jar of Peanut Butter or a donation to the meeting. (6 - 8 PM, Preston Royal Library Auditorium, 5626 Royal Lane, Dallas)

Garland Area Democratic Club (7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Garland Women's Activities Building, 713 Austin Street, Garland, TX 75040)


Saturday, March 15:

Texas MoveOn Conference The MoveOn Councils of Dallas and Fort Worth are hosting the first Texas MoveOn Conference. Councils across Texas now have the opportunity to organize together to make a difference on state and national issues. Our MoveOn Conference is open to MoveOn members and to our progressive allies. Our agenda is a power-packed one-day series of programs by activist experts, regarding critically urgent topics of our day. During the final portion of the program, the Strategy Session, we will come together to develop a statewide action plan on how we will work together to move these issues forward in the coming year.  Join us on March 15, 2014, beginning at 8:00 AM, at the UAW Local 276 Union Hall, 2505 W.E. Roberts Street, Grand Prairie, Texas 75051.  For more information go to www.texasmoveonconference.com. (8:00 am to 5:00 pm, UAW Local 276 Union Hall, 2505 W.E. Roberts Street, Grand Prairie, Texas 75051)

North Oak Cliff Democrats Breakfast (9:00 am, Norma's Cafe - Oak Cliff, 1123 W. Davis St., Dallas)

Lake Highlands White Rock Democrats We are paying a fee for the room, so we are asking members to contribute $5 to cover room and coffee and donuts. (10:00 am, The Point at C.C. Young, 4847 W. Lawther Drive, Dallas)

Southwest Dallas County Democrats (10:00 am, Southwest Center Mall - Community Room Suite 1027 [entrance near Golden Corral], 3662 W. Camp Wisdom Rd., Dallas TX 75237)

Greenville Avenue St. Patrick's Day Parade Democrats will be taking part. Email carmen AT dallasdemocrats.org for details. (11 AM, Greenville Avenue, Dallas)

Latino Democrats of Dallas County (11:30 a.m., El Fenix, 3128 Forest Lane, Dallas, Texas  75234)


Monday, March 17:

North Texas Asian Democrats (7:30 PM, executive business meeting, Hunan Dynasty, 8150 N. MacArthur Blvd, Ste 190, Irving, Texas)


Tuesday, March 18:

Stonewall Democrats of Dallas A recap of the Democratic Primary election results. Our speakers will be: Darlene Ewing, Dallas County Democratic Party Chair; Janice Schwartz and David Griggs, SDEC Committee members Senate District 16; Patti Fink, DGLA - on City of Dallas Equality Resolution. (6:30 pm, Ojeda's Restaurant, 4617 Maple Ave, Dallas)


Wednesday, March 19:

Garland Democratic Woman's Club (11:30 am, Siciliano's Italian Restaurant, 2210 W. Buckingham, Garland)

Northwest Dallas Democrats (7:30 pm, Taco Cabana, 11824 Webb Chapel Road, Farmers Branch)


Thursday, March 20:

Far North Dallas Richardson Democrats County Chair Darlene Ewing will discuss the election results. We will definitely discuss the Senatorial District Conventions to be held on March 22 though! VERY important if you want to be a delegate to the TDP Convention in Dallas in June (6:00 pm, Kasra Restaurant, 525 West Arapaho Rd #21, Richardson)

Coppell Valley Ranch Democrats Dr. Patrick McGehearty candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives is the main speaker. (7:00 pm, Siena Pasta and Pizza, 780 S. MacArthr Blvd., Coppell)


Saturday, March 22:

Democratic Party Senatorial District Conventions With Precinct Caucuses In each State Senate district in Dallas County; Locations and times and more information in article above.


Monday, March 24:

Dallas Democratic Forum presents Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlins to discuss his major new Dallas poverty initiative "Working Together to Reduce Poverty in Dallas". 2013, 2014 Patron & Sustaining Members of the Forum -- Free; 2013, 2014 Regular Members -- $25; Non Members -- $40. RSVP by Friday, March 21, by email to wdgriggs AT yahoo.com. (11:30 am Registration/Buffet, 12:00 Noon Program, The Belo Mansion -- Ross and Olive, 2101 Ross Avenue, Dallas)


Thursday, April 3:

Annie's List Spring Reception with Leticia Van de Putte Tickets: $100.00. Sponsorships available. More information, RSVP and contribute online here.  (6:00 - 7:30 p.m., The Home of Tricia Miller [Address Provided Upon RSVP])


Saturday, April 26:

Joe Wells 66th Birthday Joe Wells is retiring as Dallas County Treasurer at the end of the year, but Joe is not retiring from the Democratic Party. Help support the 2014 Democratic ticket. Donations to the Dallas County Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign are welcomed. In 2006 We Turned Dallas County Blue. In 2014 working together We Can TURN TEXAS BLUE TOO. Hot dogs and all the fixins & birthday cake. RSVP 972-978-1440 or email to Joe.Wells AT sbcglobal.net. (3:30 PM - 6 PM, At Joe and Beth and Bob's House, 4243 Hill Top Ln. Grand Prairie 75052) 


Monday, May 19 through Friday, May 23:

Early Voting for the 2014 Democratic Primary Runoff (Hours and locations will be posted later at http://www.dallascountyvotes.org)


Tuesday, May 27:

 2014 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY RUNOFF (7 AM - 7 PM, Local precinct polling places)


Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28:

Texas Democratic Party State Convention Dallas Convention Center. Sign up for more information at this page.


Tuesday, November 4:

GENERAL ELECTION FOR 2014. (7 AM - 7 PM, Local precinct polling places)

Contact:
Dallas County Democratic Party
4209 Parry Avenue, Dallas TX 75223
Phone: 214-821-8331     Fax: 214-821-0995
Website:  www.dallasdemocrats.org
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/DallasDemocrats
Twitter:  twitter.com/dallasdemocrats  
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