Your Weekly News from the Collin County Democratic Party
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Flipping the Texas House
by Paula S. Hall
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Save our state, vote our Democratic slate!
What could be more important than beating Donald J. Trump in his Presidential run for a second term? One could argue that flipping the Texas House to Democrats could be the most important – a win not had by Democrats in more than 20 years!
Currently the 150-member Texas House has 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats. However, if Democrats could win nine seats
,
the Texas House would flip. This could be a seismic shift and alter the balance of power in Texas and the country as a whole!
State legislature controls our re-districting
The Texas State House gets to re-draw both state and congressional voting district lines at least
once per decade
. If the lines are manipulated strategically, also known as gerrymandering, this can result in one party (think “Republican”) controlling a disproportionate number of seats.
In the Texas 2018 midterm races, Republicans received a little over 50% of the votes and Democrats got 47%. Yet Texans sent 23 Republicans (64%) and 13 Democrats to Washington as our US congressional representatives. What’s fair about that?
Currently, there are 18 Republican House Districts (HD) within 10 points of flipping to Democrats and two of these house districts are located in Collin county – HD 66 and HD 67, with less than 0.6% and 2.2% margins, respectively. The Party was successful in 2018 when Texas Democrats picked up 12 state house seats and two state senate seats. We can do this again!
With maps that are more representative of the population and therefore fairer, politics will be less extreme. Our legislators will be forced to work with each other. We will have more lawmakers listening to their voters, and we will no longer have politicians picking their voters!
Over the last decade, the US Congress has gradually descended into a state of complete dysfunction because of increased division.
It is broken!
Even when Republicans controlled both branches of Congress and the White House, the US Congress passed just over 500 bills, a third of which were ceremonial. With divided government, legislating has proven all but impossible.
State lawmaking, however, moves faster and bills are passed more often than at the federal level. According to the Texas Association of Community Colleges, “The 86th Texas Legislature filed over 7,300 pieces of legislation during its 140-day regular session, passing over 1,400 bills into law.”
State Laws Have a Huge Impact on Daily Life
The Texas State legislature makes decisions on issues ranging from education, healthcare access, transportation, and the environment — all things that directly affects our daily lives, sometimes even more so than federal policy.
Democratic gains in the Texas legislature in November 2018 — 12 seats in the House and two in the Senate — made House Bill (HB) 3 possible (overhaul of Texas public school finance that increased per-student funding, expanded pre-K offerings, etc.).
"
If Democrats continue to win elections, bills like HB 3 will become the norm, not the exception," state party spokesman Abhi Rahman said.
State Leaders Become National Leaders
If we grow Democratic candidates at the state level, we can build a pipeline of highly qualified folks with the experience and credentials to become national candidates. Almost half of all Presidents, including Barack Obama, started their political careers as state legislators.
Texas Democrats Can No Longer Be Tardy to the Party
True accountability to the voters can never be achieved through single-party control of the Texas legislature and governorship. It is not the recipe for responsive state government.
Let’s focus on electing Democratic candidates who will seek to strengthen our democracy, fight for working families, defend civil rights, and protect the environment. Want to change our government? It starts with the Texas State House in 2020!
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End of Filing Party – Monday, December 9
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A record number of candidates are filing with us for the 2020 Democratic Primary. Come celebrate with our local candidates and their supporters when the filing deadline passes at 6 p.m. this coming Monday, December 9, at the party office (1915 N. Central Expressway, Suite 150, Plano 75075). Soda and light refreshments will be provided.
If you would like to file for public or party office, note the 6 p.m. Monday deadline is absolute. Contact the Primary Administration team at 469-609-0539 or
elections@collindemocrats.org
for any questions or assistance in filing.
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Grab your Santa hats and holiday gear and help us design and decorate the CCDP float for the Plano Lions Christmas Parade on Dec 14, 2019. We will meet to design the float on Friday, Dec 6th, and decorate it the night before the parade on Dec 13th. We need people to be on the float and march alongside.
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Come to the CCDP 2019 Holiday Party with a Latin flare!
Party with fellow Democrats and enjoy a buffet and Salsa band. Attire is holiday festive, and wear your dancing shoes! Some have asked if they can bring their own holiday desserts, cookies, cakes...YES! Bring anything you want for desert.
Where: El Noa Noa, 1915 N Central Expy, Plano, TX 75075
When: Dec 21, 2019, 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Tickets: $25 per person donation suggested and cash bar
Buffet: 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
ADA Accessibility: Limited - please see Event link” to “ADA Accessible!
RSVP
Here
for tickets and more information.
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Ann Richards Dinner 2020 “An Event in the Making”
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Exciting changes are taking place surrounding our annual fundraiser! At the November meeting, the County Executive Committee (CEC) approved the creation of an Ann Richards Dinner (ARD) Standing Committee. Also, the CEC confirmed the appointment of Carrie Petersen (CCDP Secretary) as Chair and Karen Hearne (CCDP Office Manager) as Co-chair.
Planning began immediately, as there is no time to waste, with the 2020 ARD scheduled for this Spring. Under the new structure, ARD will have “working groups” which will put together the various facets of the event. While a great deal of work goes into the final stages of planning and putting on the actual event, these working groups are forming now.
If you are interested in volunteering for one of these groups, please contact the co-chairs at
ard2020chairs@collindemocrats.org
. Be sure to watch the Rally and follow social media for important updates and breaking news about the event.
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We’re Hiring Polling Place Workers!
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The 2020 Collin County Democratic Primary is shaping up to be the largest ever, both in numbers of candidates and numbers of voters. To serve those voters, we need the largest ever numbers of people working in our polling places. These are paid positions. Pay ranges from $10 to $12 per hour, depending on your role and the day.
We need to staff 35 Early Voting locations Feb 18-28 (including the Feb 22-23 weekend) and 63 locations on Election Day, March 3. We are particularly in need of folks who can step up to serve as polling place Judges or Alternate Judges on March 3.
If you can take a day off work or are otherwise available, please contact the Collin County Democratic Party Primary Administration team at 469-609-0539 or
elections@collindemocrats.org
. Our Judge and Alternate Judge appointment list needs to be completed by December 11, so please contact us right away.
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Election Administration Volunteers Needed
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Would you like to be engaged in the coming record-breaking Collin County Democratic Primary? We need volunteers who will work with party staff in administering the
March 3 Primary
and
May 26 Runoff Elections
. Activities will include recruiting election workers, processing candidate filing petitions, double-checking ballot proofs, scheduling training, answering questions from workers and voters, supporting the district or county conventions and a myriad of other tasks.
Please respond if you can contribute 2 or 20 hours per week (or anything in between). Particularly welcome will be people who can be “on call” for peak workloads, such as receipt of multiple candidate petitions or quick turnaround ballot proofing.
Work will begin this November and continue through June of 2020.
Election administration volunteers may also become paid polling place workers when voting is underway. Volunteers may get preference for some of the better 2020 polling place assignments as well as build qualifications for applying for paid administration work in the 2022 or future cycles.
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Voter Registrar Training December 12th!
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If you would like to become deputized as a Volunteer Voter Registrar, sign up for the next training lab being offered by the Collin Elections team.
Date: Thursday, December 12th
Time: 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Place: Collin Elections Office, 2010 Redbud, McKinney
Note: Deadline to register to vote in the March 3rd primary is February 3rd, 2020!!
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Collin County Campaign Events
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Campaign Reception for Christy Albano
for Collin County 468th District Court
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What: Campaign Reception for
Christy Albano for 468th District Court
When:
Thursday, December 5, 2019, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Where:
Kelly's at the Village (190 E. Stacy Road, #1204, Allen). Complimentary Beverages & Appetizers
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Texas House District 67 Democratic Candidate Debate
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What: HD 67 candidates Tom Adair, Rocio Hernandez, Anthony Lo, Jenna Royal, & Lorenzo Sanchez present their views on selected issues
When: Thursday, December 5, 7:30 - 9 p.m.
Where: University of Texas at Dallas, 800 Campbell Rd, Science Learning Center (SLC), room 1.102.
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It's Official! Andrew Yang is Coming to Dallas!
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What: Grassroots fundraiser followed by an intimate fundraiser
When: Friday December 6 from
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Where:
Gilley's Dallas (1135 S Lamar St., Dallas)
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HD 89 Democrats: Murphy Christmas Parade
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What: Join us as we walk in the annual Murphy Christmas parade and tree lighting. It is not a traditional parade, but a sidewalk parade with walkers, wagons (or even a golf cart, if we can find one.). We will have a "Blue Christmas" theme. After the parade, there is the tree lighting and other festivities.
Where: Murphy Fire Station, 206 N Murphy Rd., Murphy, TX 75094
When: Thursday, December 5, 4:30 p.m.
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Yes, We Can Talk Politics
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Drinking Liberally
and
Living Liberally
are
informal, inclusive progressive social groups. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics.
When: Friday,
December 6, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Where: 401 Central Expy S, Allen [
map]
When: Friday,
December 6, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Where:
5454 Main St #123, Frisco [
map]
When: Friday,
December 13, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Where: 8604 Preston Rd #100, Plano [
map]
When: Friday,
December 13, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Where: 2600 W, FM 544, Wylie [
map]
When: Friday,
December 20, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Where: 218 E Louisiana St, McKinney [
map]
While drinking liberally, always remember to drink responsibly, and make liberal use of designated drivers. Drinking and driving is reckless and irresponsible, like a neocon war or corporatist tax cut. Liberals, don't do it!
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Collin County Democratic Party (CCDP) | 972-578-1483 |
Website
© 2019
Political advertising paid for by the Democratic Party of Collin County.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
Political donations are not tax exempt.
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