TURNING COLLIN BLUE IN '22: AN INTERIM REPORT |  | |
The REGISTER COLLIN campaign takes a break this weekend, October 2 and 3, so that our activists can support the various Women's Reproductive Rights marches happening in Collin County and around the state this weekend (see our note and website link below. Our final weekend push will be October 9-10.
We would like to provide an interim report on our activities and achievements.
Register Collin (RC) is a Collin County Democratic Party (CCDP) program to register likely Democratic voters in Collin County. The program began in mid-June, 2021 and runs through the second weekend of October 2021. RC uses volunteers to directly canvass precincts across Collin County using the “Map the Vote” web app to identify homes and apartments with unregistered potential voters who are likely to vote Democratic. Map the Vote uses public demographic and other available data about these unregistered people to make a guess at likely political leaning.
RC canvassers knock on the doors identified by the app in a target precinct. If the resident answers, the canvasser reads through a script to identify if the person is in fact not registered; if not, they can be registered right there by the canvasser. If the person does not answer the door or does not have time to complete the registration form with the volunteer, the canvasser leaves behind a package that includes a register-by-mail form as well as information about voting and the CCDP....
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Learn about the REGISTER COLLIN campaign.
Want to know when we'll be registering voters where you are? Check out the schedule on collindemocrats.org!
Help keep #RegisterCollin teams marching! Click the Blue Donate button below and send a donation to support the team's work.
#Blue2022 #RegisterCollin
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Don't wait on tickets for the 2021 Ann Richards Dinner! We will be strictly limiting attendance, and when the tickets are gone, they are gone! | Check out our latest promotional video! | |
Visit our Ann Richards Dinner web page for details on the food, fun, and sponsorship opportunities! Sponsors will enjoy special perks not available to other attendees. Sponsor package availability is limited, so don't wait!
For the safety of everyone attending, only individuals fully vaccinated for COVID-19 should attend this in-person event. Face masks will be required for all venue staff and guests.
When: Saturday, October 16, 7-11 p.m.
Where: Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center, 7121 Bishop Rd, Plano
Cost: Individual tickets are $150 per person. Sponsorships are also available.
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Thank you Sandeep Srivastava for Congress, our Premier Sponsor, for your support!
Sandeep for Congress
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Opinion
COLLIN COUNTY SHERIFF JIM SKINNER
HAS SOME EXPLAINING TO DO
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Recently, the Dallas Morning News ran an editorial, “Collin County Deserves More from Its Sheriff.” The editorial highlights a 2017 incident in which a Collin County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a Black motorist because of a failed taillight and subsequently allowed a ride-along dog handler to pose as a police officer and search the citizen’s vehicle, in violation of both Sheriff’s Office policy and Texas law. To make matters worse, this imposter of a police officer may not have been a US Citizen, but rather a visitor from the Czech Republic.
According to Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner, the Texas Rangers and the US Department of Homeland Security were notified about the incident and asked to investigate it. Four years later, there still hasn’t been an investigation – primarily because neither agency knows anything about the incident. Sheriff Skinner has been unable to produce any records showing his request for an outside investigation.
In 2019 an anonymous whistleblower sent a copy of a dashcam video of the traffic stop to 16 Collin County Judges and County Commissioners, along with a letter signed as “a concerned citizen.”
The Dallas Morning News article explains what happened next: “When those envelopes arrived, representatives from the sheriff’s office went to the courthouse and retrieved them from mail slots and desks without judges’ permission, according to three anonymous sources. Bristow said they did so at the request of the county’s IT department, which was concerned about the drives containing malware.
“Weeks later, after multiple complaints from judges, and more than a week after IT had determined the thumb drives to be safe, they were returned, the sources said. The returned footage contained no audio.
“Skinner insisted that he didn’t need judges’ permission to take their mail and referred questions about why they weren’t returned sooner to Skipworth.”
The Dallas Morning News concludes by saying, “To preserve public confidence, Skinner should be bending over backward to answer questions and support his answers with documentation. The public should have gotten this information four years ago, along with an apology and a plan to improve. Instead, it’s been four years of shell games, and it is that very impulse to obfuscate that can make serious misbehavior more likely in the future.“
Sheriff Skinner’s term doesn’t end until 2024. Until then, Collin County residents need to demand an explanation for the mismanagement in the Sheriff’s Office. There have been several other serious incidents under Sheriff Skinner’s watch, including the killing of Marvin Scott III, a Black man who had been detained and was having a mental health crisis, and Lauren Kent, a woman who miscarried while in Collin County custody and claimed to have been denied medical assistance. Sheriff Skinner needs to be held accountable and ensure the citizens of Collin County will always be treated with respect and in accordance with the law.
Read More on The Dallas Morning News
Mr. Spainhouer is a former Peace Officer and is a Democratic Activist in Collin County.
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At the County Executive Committee Meeting on Tuesday, September 28, the CEC voted to appoint Frederick Nickens, currently the Party's Events and Outreach Co-Chair, to be Vice-Chair for the Collin County Democratic Party. Mr. Nickens takes over for Diane Bolak, who is resigning due to her pending move out of Collin County. We will provide a more extensive update on Mr. Nickens, as well as a proper farewell for our long-time Party officer and Democratic activist Diane Bolak in the coming days. Congratulations to both, and we wish the best to both as they take their respective next steps.
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Covid Update: Collin County has 122,807 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,999 more cases than I reported last week and 1,004 of our Collin residents have died.
Although the delta surge is supposed to be cresting, we’re still in the middle of the crises in our hospitals, especially with burned-out healthcare professionals. Many have quit, retired, or moved. The lack of staff then affects how many ICU beds are available. For some reason, people keep thinking it’s about the actual beds. It isn’t. This is about staffing. You can lay in a bed all you want but if you don’t have a healthcare professional to tend to you, it won’t matter. In Texas, we were short on nurses before the pandemic and it’s even worse now...
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Collin County: Collin County is making both state-wide and national news since we’re the largest Republican county in Texas. That’s why we’re a battleground for both electoral shenanigans and redistricting.
In a bid to be Trump’s favorite lapdog, Governor Greg Abbott decided the Texas Secretary of State (a position currently unfilled) will conduct a “forensic audit” of the 2020 election results in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Harris counties. The counties were selected because they are the two largest Democrat counties and the two largest Republican counties. However, since President Joe Biden narrowly won Tarrant County, Collin County is the only one of the four that Trump won.
As of this moment, we have no idea what the audit will entail, who will conduct it, or when it will take place. The county judges for both Dallas and Harris counties were out in front questioning the relevance of this audit. Tarrant County officials remained silent while our county judge (Chris Hill) let elections administrator Bruce Sherbet speak for us. This audit is nothing more than an attempt to undermine Texans’ trust in the electoral process...
(Read More)
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Collin College: Backed by the National Education Association, former Collin College professor Suzanne Jones filed a federal lawsuit against the college, President Neil Matkin, and Senior VP of Campus Operations Toni Jenkins. She claims she was illegally fired for making use of her First Amendment rights and her right to organize. Dr. Jones is highly accomplished in her field and held in great esteem by her colleagues, students, and (before Matkin showed up) by Collin College itself. Keep your fingers crossed for her victory. It’s important to note that Dr. Jones couldn’t undertake such an expensive and time-consuming process without the help of a teacher’s union. That’s just one of 1,000 reasons why we need to change Texas from a “right to work” state to one that’s welcoming to workers and labor unions.
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Commissioner’s Court: Last week’s meeting was brief, taken up mostly by transportation issues. At the start of Covid in March of 2020, the number of people using public transportation dropped far below 50% and has just now rebounded to about 50% of pre-Covid numbers. This makes sense. A lot of people are still working from home while others may be avoiding mass transit due to safety concerns. However, officials are panicking. One even suggested the D2 Project – the subway project that would be the 2nd line for downtown Dallas – be dropped and the funds allocated elsewhere. This seems premature. It would be more fiscally responsible to wait for Covid to actually be over (which it currently is not) before making such a big decision based on ridership that will likely increase once people feel safe again. There’s that pesky long-term thinking again. Goodness knows the DFW area needs more public transportation! I wonder if having an enforced mask mandate on public transportation would help people feel safe enough to start using it again.... (Read More)
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McKinney City Council: They had a kerfuffle over term limits and appointments to the boards and commissions. I’d love to pick on McKinney for an unfair process that isn’t equitable in terms of demographics, residential area, and length of service but I’m sure other city councils do the same (I know the Commissioner’s Court does). Serving on boards and commissions tends to be a stepping stone into leadership positions, so we need to not only apply for participation but also keep an eye on how these positions are selected. Justin Beller asked for a work session on the procedures in order to make it better represent the residents.... (Read More)
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Plano School Board: Despite evidence that most people are in favor of masks (given the low number of opt-outs and results of public opinion polls) and that the mask mandate was working (positive cases in PISD have declined by 2/3), the majority of the board decided to eliminate it. The vote not to extend the mandate was 4-3 with President David Stolle, Angela Powell, Heather Wang, and Cody Weaver voting against public health and safety.
The willful ignorance and political pandering among these members was staggering. Stolle tried to play both ends against the middle by saying that he believes masks work when worn properly but doesn’t believe students wear masks effectively (if they can enforce dress code, they can enforce proper mask-wearing) and trends aren’t significantly different between mask mandating and non-mask mandating districts. That’s not true. His own district provided evidence that masks work!...
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Richardson School Board: President Karen Clardy resigned suddenly, sending a short letter to fellow trustees noting she would step down immediately but not saying why. Perhaps it has something to do with the amount of pressure public officials doing the right thing are facing from unreasonable citizens. This is happening across the country, with many officials resigning after receiving death threats against them and their families...
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MICHELE INGALLS APPOINTED TO COORDINATED CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE CHAIR | |
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The future in Collin County is bright blue!
Michele Ingalls has been appointed as the Coordinated Campaign Committee Chair for the Collin County Democratic Party! Michele's political volunteering resume is too long to list, but she is currently the President of the Frisco Democratic Club, the Register Collin lead, and former CCDP Field Team Operations Lead. Michele has also been elected as Volunteer of the Year by the CCDP.
In her own words: "I am a proud University of Michigan graduate, wife and mother of two teenagers. I'm a corporate world escapee - I served more than 10 years doing computer and internet backbone support on the phone.
"Since moving to Texas, I've been a perpetual political volunteer. I'm a graduate of the Texas Democratic Party "Staff the Movement" training program. I've been a field organizer for two Texas House Campaigns. I'm looking forward to wrapping up the Register Collin Campaign and getting Democrats elected in Collin County. Do the Republicans really think their redistricting will stop us? BRING IT - LET'S GO! #BLUE2022"
Michele replaces Sam Johnson as Chair. We deeply appreciate all the work Sam has done for the party in this role and many others. He will stay on as a member of this committee.
We are so excited for Michele to take on this role for all of us!
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WOMEN (AND THEIR MEN ALLIES) ARE MARCHING THIS WEEKEND | |
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It is no secret that Texas Republicans are intent on attacking women's rights, whether it's through the clearly unconstitutional anti-abortion bill, through disenfranchisement, or through typical Republican ways like blocking child care, which prevents women from supporting themselves. Women nationwide are showing their support for Texas women, and are holding a National March for Reproductive Rights on Saturday, October 2. The main march is in Washington, D.C. but there are local marches all over the country and in Texas, including Dallas, Frisco, and Austin. Find a march that is convenient to attend, make a sign, put on a Dem t-shirt and join activists nationwide to march for your rights.
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McKinney Area Democrats Friday Social | |
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The McKinney Area Democratic Club is inviting area progressives to the Wing Bucket for a social get-together. Complimentary appetizers will be served, and a cash bar is available. Please RSVP!
We encourage masks* (when not eating or drinking) and social distancing.
When: Friday, October 15, 7-8:30 p.m.
Where: Wingbucket, 3510 W. University Dr., McKinney, TX
*only vaccinated individuals should attend.
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The CCDP physical office is closed until further notice for safety. Our office staff are, however, working for you from home and available by telephone at 972-578-1483 or contact us on the web at collindemocrats.org.
Check our Online Events!
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Collin County Democratic Party (CCDP) | 972-578-1483 | www.collindemocrats.org © 2021
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