StoutDemBlog

Political And Other Miscellany From A Stout Democrat In Dallas Texas.
"Politics is the only game for adults." --from Robert A. Heinlein's Double Star

Monday, April 23, 2007

DINE WITH DEMOCRATS:

The Dallas County Democratic Party renews a tradition.

The JEFFERSON JACKSON DINNER is back.

This year it will be on:

Friday, May 18, 2007 at 7 PM
Dallas Arboretum - Rosine Hall

Featuring former Congressman Chris Bell

Limited seating - Act Fast. Single tickets will go on sale in May. Only sponsorships are avalible at this time. Sponsorship levels are:

President - $5000
Vice-President- $2500
Senator - $1000
Member of Congress - $500
Secretary of the Treasury - $250

Call 214-821-8331 for more information or to purchase sponsorships.


EARLY VOTING STARTS NEXT MONDAY APRIL 30:

This is for the May 12 election. Early Voting will run from April 30 through May 8, and you can vote at some fifty locations around the county (and four suburban school districts will also be doing mobile voting). A list of all the times and places is at this page. If you miss all of those, you can still vote from 7 AM to 7 PM on Saturday, May 12, but you'll have to do it in your own local precinct. You can find that at this page.

Everybody Can Vote

This will be on the May 12 ballot statewide, so if you are registered, you can cast a ballot for or against: "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for a reduction of the limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for public school purposes on the residence homesteads of the elderly or disabled to reflect any reduction in the rate of those taxes for the 2006 and 2007 tax years."

Other Referenda -- And Immigrant-Bashing

Five suburbs will be voting on various propositions, mostly city charter amendments. Four suburban school districts will be voting on new bond issues. In Farmers Branch people will be voting on "Ordinance 2903, amending the Apartment Complex Rental Ordinance to mandate citizenship certification requirements." That's the one you've heard of that provoked all the demonstrations and boycotts (and deservedly so). For a list (and text of proposed amendments) see the long sample ballot at this page. (No, your own ballot won't have all of those listed; just the ones you are eligible to vote for.)

The Trinity River Project

This will not be on the ballot (at least not at this election). Voters approved a massive program for the Trintiy years ago. Lately some, led by Dallas Councilmember Angela Hunt, claim that the plan has been changed drastically (partly because of new, tougher, post-Katrina standards from the Army Corps of Engineers, who build and regulate such river projects), drastically reducing the proposed lake and park, and placing the road where it will be flooded. They want a referendum for the voters to decide on the new version. Supporters of this idea need to collect 50,000 signatures on petitions to put this on the ballot. They will have volunteers out at Early Voting places and at polling places on election day to gather voter signatures.

You can read more about their campaign at TrinityVote.com (which also links to several news articles on the subject), or volunteer to help gather signatures at this page, or call Brooks Love (a former Young Democrats President and DCDP Executive Director) at 214-586-7275. I have not found a web site setting out the arguments for the other side, but if this gets enough signatures to be placed on the ballot I am sure they will put one up. For the record, the Dallas County Democratic Party has not taken any position on this.

Local Offices

This is not just for Dallas Mayor (which gets the TV ads) and City Council and School Board. Seventeen other suburbs are also having council elections. Eleven cities, including some districts in Dallas, are having elections for local school boards. Finally, the Dallas County School Board (which doesn't operate schools, but runs the buses for them) is electing three members, two in districts, but one at-large county-wide that anyone can vote on. The long list of all the candidates is, again, at this page.

Endorsements

These are all non-partisan elections, and the Dallas County Democratic Party doesn't endorse candidates in them. There certainly are some Democrats running, but all candidates will be listed on the ballot with no party affiliation shown. As the party's email newsletter, the Roundup also is making no endorsements.

Some individual Democratic elected officials and Precinct Chairs may (and often do) make individual endorsements in some local contests. Local Democratic groups and organizations may also do so in some cases. The only ones we've been told about so far are the Stonewall Democrats, whose choices are on their website, and the Dallas County Young Democrats, whose endorsements are on this page.

ON THE WEB LAST WEEK:

Teflon Pete Sessions' double standard
What Farmers Branch Needs is a Pizza Patron
ES&S Touch-screen Voting Systems Found Vulnerable

The Governor’s Power Grab Texas "homeland security"
Common Cause on Voter ID in Texas
Texas 3rd In Donations For 2008 Presidential Race
Texas Record for DSCC: $1.1 Million fundraising for 2008

Gonzo-gate Daily Show video
Maybe Marvel supervillains fight in White House destroyed emails
The Tao of Gonzo
Campaign against alleged voter fraud fuels political tempest
The Fraudulence of Voter Fraud
The Problem With Alberto
The Plot Against the First Amendment
Putting the Gone in Gonzales?

Paul Krugman: A Hostage Situation Iraq funding
Poll: Over two-thirds of Americans don't support Iraq war
Impeachment rallies April 28
On the 200th DNA Exoneration in the U.S. Barry Scheck

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