Congratulations Are In Order

Congratulations go out to Juan Garcia for his narrow victory over Gene Seaman. This is amazing in that the Republican redistricting plan was supposed to keep the seat in Gene's hands. Juan will be good for all the people in the district even if a lot of them don't know it yet.

Congratulations also go to Martin DeLeon for his reelection as Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1. Martin garnered 1478 votes to challenger Jimmy Paterson 1164 votes to win by 11.8 percentage points.

I do think that congratulations are also in order for Dale LLoyd since he gets to stay retired. Seriously, for a race against one of the more recognizable names in the county, Dale made a good showing with 42% of the vote. I have no doubt that Dale's candidicy has raised expectations of how a county commissioner should act. That's good for all of us.

Finally, Congratulations to All of You for a job well done. I know from my view that the Democratic activists in the county have finally got their ground game going. Trust me, people outside this area have taken notice of what happened in the county.

(if you don't believe me go HERE)

You Won't Believe This

I had an awesome day today. In spite of having to go to work this morning, I got to leave early but as good as that was it wasn't the awesome part.

I got off in time to go to early voting and took my wife. For the first time in a decade she voted Democrat. Great deal, huh? She's a wonderful person and has finally seen through the Republican bull . Before I get to the next point, I would like to say she is the sweetest person on the face of the planet and the day I met her was the greatest day of my life. But we still haven't got to the most awesome part of today even though we're close.

We went home and I agreed to wash her car. I figured it was the least I could do. After finishing I checked my email and discovered that Juan Garcia was coming to the Rockport GI Forum today from 1 to 3 PM. Now I haven't been able to do too much in the way of political activity for the last month because of my job. It looked like a good opportunity to see a great candidate. But it was 1:30 already. What the heck. I hit the road for the meeting.

I was driving along and remembered that I had my "Army of Juan" tee shirt in a duffle in the back of my Jeep. Woo Hoo! Serendipity baby! All I'll need is a quick stop to change shirts and I could be there by 2pm. By 2pm I realized I was lost but finally found the GI forum at 2:15. Juan wasn't there.

Okay, I been to enough of these gigs to know that candidates can and will be late. I'm sure at this stage of the game it must be mandatory. There are about three dozen people there and word was Juan would be there in about 40 minutes. Seems that he had an event in Mathis that had run long.

To me, this is a good sign. This is not Juan's first rodeo in Rockport. The Aransas County Democratic Club had previously held a fundraiser for Juan at Los Comales Resturaunt. He also has a group of Republican supporters in the county. Seriously, a lot of Republican supporters. He likes to get one on one with the attendees at his events. It is truly one of the things I like most about him. It is a personal trait which makes me think that when he is our state representative we will have someone who will listen to us. I could only assume a good turnout in Mathis.

Folks started leaving. I decided I would go and get some gasoline and come back so I wouldn't have to do it later. While at the store, a woman asks me where where she can get a Garcia tee shirt. "I'm so glad he's going to do something for the children," she said.

The cashier likes my shirt and wants to know what it means. I show her the back and she laughs, "Really?” I figure she thinks it's an odd campaign slogan. But this is fairly typical of the reaction I get to my tee. I can't think of a time I've worn it that someone hasn't asked about it. People want to know what it means. Many get it.

I went back to the GI Forum and the crowd had thinned out seriously. I was talking with a pair of members outside. They wanted to know where to get tee shirts! I said Juan might have some if he ever showed up. Anita O'Rourke, Democratic County Chairperson, pulled up and asked if Juan was there. And then he was.

He got out and went to talk to Anita. His traveling companion came over and introduced himself as Munuh. "Huh? I'm sorry. I didn't get that." I hate being old and possibly deaf.

"Minor," he said. Well, okay. I joked about being a minimalist myself. I know: Lame!

Juan came over and shook my hand. I told him he needed to give the person with the "Army of Juan" idea a raise if he got elected and told him the story of the Speedy Stop. Juan’s voice was seriously hoarse. He sounded like he had swallowed a box of nails.

We went inside where there were a total of about six people left. Now I know that might sound terrible but it was great. Juan is a rising star in the party and now I had a chance to have a very personal moment with a small group of supporters. I told him about my wife giving up on Republicans. He asked that I give her his personal thanks for her support

Someone asked how things went in Mathis and he indicated it went well. He said the consultants had told him he would need to attract about 180 people to his rally there to have a chance of winning the precincts in that part of San Patricio County. He said he thought there were more. It was then Minor came back and said he had just talked to someone back in Mathis and that 320 People had signed in at the event. Pretty good, right? It gets better.

Juan then told us what is the unbelievable part of this story. Juan was scheduled be at an event with Gene Seaman and Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick would be there to support Gene. Craddick was a no-show. But Craddick called Juan and asked him for his address so Craddick could send him the orientation guide for new house members. Go ahead. Read that again.

Now questions remain. On one side Craddick could just be messin’ with Juan but I doubt it given his bipartisan support. Maybe Craddick is just hedging his bets to gets Juan’s support to continue as speaker. Or it could be Gene being thrown under the bus. Hmmm. Just saying that makes me feel good.

Unbelievable, Huh? But let me finish. I’ve gotten to the unbelievable part of the story but haven’t gotten to the most awesome part. I knew I had to go. “Look,” I said, “I’m going home and writing about this on our county blog if you don’t tell me no.”

Minor said to go ahead. He asked what our blog address was and I told him. He then asked me if I posted anywhere else. I told him I was a member at Texas Kaos and DailyKos. “What’s your screen name?” he asked and I told him.

“Really? I’m Redstate” he say’s then turning to Juan and saying, “Hey, this is Ex Con.” So now I feel Stooooopid. It’s not Minor but Mynor (Eddie) Rodriguez: Mr. Redstate himself.

But something else is going here that I’m not sure I can explain. After 2 years of reading blogs and a year and a half of commenting, rating and writing diaries I have finally made a personal connection with someone I previously only knew on line. It is something I have waited for a very long time. This is a lonely part of the country to be a Democrat. But not any more. That’s the most awesome part of the day!

Take it back, Juan!

Cross posted at Texas Kaos (GO THERE!)

Early Voting

Be aware that early voting started today. To avoid issues that might keep you from voting on Nov. 7th, go to 602 East Concho according to the following dates and times:

• 8:00am to 4:30pm: Monday, October 23, through Friday, October 27


• 9:00am to 3:00pm: Saturday, October 28


• 8:00am to 4:30pm: Monday, October 30, through Friday, November 3

A Few Words from Martin De Leon

Dear voters of Pct 2, 1, and 1A,

I have been your Justice of the Peace for 12 years. I have been a Rockport City Judge for 11 years. I have overseen over 20,000 cases for the JP's office and at least that many for the City of Rockport. I was also a city judge for the Town of Austwell. I was a law enforcement officer for 20 years working with the City of Aransas Pass, City of Rockport, Aransas County Sheriffs Department, and the Refugio County Sheriffs Department. I have worked with the Tri-County Narcotics Task Force as an Agent and as a Lieutenant. My experience in Civil and Criminal law is extensive. I have also attended numerous of hours in service training.

When I took office in 1995, the office had anual revenue collections of approximately $40,000.00. This year my revenue collections will be approximately a half a million dollars. My yearly office budget with salaries and all supplies is approximately $100,000. This makes my office a self sufficient operation with money to spare that goes into the county general fund for other uses. I look forward in continuing this progress for the next four years. My thanks to those who vote for me and my thanks to those who support me.

God Bless You!
Martin De Leon

For the last eleven years, Martin De Leon has served the the citizens of Aransas County as Justice of the Peace. Here he is shown with Court Manager Sandra Banueles and Court Clerk Nancy Rosser:

Martin has a succesful record serving Aransas County and deserves your vote.

Don't Forget: The election is in 2 weeks.
MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT

A Statement from Dale Lloyd

My name is Dale Lloyd; I am a candidate for county commissioner for Precinct 2. As a member of the community, I have many concerns for our neighborhood. Going door to door for the last five months, I have heard the same concerns and complaints from the people of Precinct 2. During this time, I have seen first hand the problems that we face. When I was campaigning in West Terrace I received many complaints about the drainage in their area. While campaigning on West Corpus Christi Street, I found the West Terrace drainage problem. Their drainage ditch is approximately fifty percent blocked. When talking to the owner of the property, he informed me that the drainage ditch has not been cut since last year.

Rockport's growth has changed the responsibilities of the county commissioner's job. It traditionally has been a part time job, but now problems require full time attention. We need a leader who will anticipate problems before they are in our face. Things are not going to improve if my opponent is elected. My opponent is quoted as saying "I will be available on any issue that may arise." Again, you have someone who is waiting for the wheels to fall off before they do anything. Precinct 2 families deserve and need a leader who is proactive not reactive.

Precinct 2 has some of the oldest neighborhoods in the county. Our infrastructures are aging and our communities are primarily made up of the elderly, blue collar and the average working family. Many of our households are working two jobs to survive. The least we can do is give them a better neighborhood to come home to at night. We need fewer dead ends and more street signs for quick 911 response and drainage ditches that do not turn your front yard into a moat every time we get an inch of rain.

We need to remember that growth affects different neighborhoods differently. Exploding growth means that old neighborhoods, like Precinct 2,will be hit hard by skyrocketing property taxes. Unfortunately, the rise in property taxes will force families to move.

Growth can be like a double edged sword. It is great to upgrade old neighborhoods with new houses, but not if it means that low income families and young families cannot afford to live in their own home town.

Growth and development can be planned and controlled. We have a lot of good resources within our county government. We need to begin to use those resources to our best advantage. Precinct 2 needs a leader who is prepared to act on issues not simply react to the problems.

Dale is an incredible candidate. He pounded the pavement in Precinct 2 to meet all of his future constituents. His dedication to the community has already shown what a great commissioner he will make. He has already started the work to transform Precinct 2. He deserves your vote.

Boo Hoo, I'm Gonna Sue

According to the Caller-Times, Gene Seaman's attorney has been trying to get the TV stations in the Corpus Christi area to pull ads that he says misrepresent facts about Mr. Seaman, Republican incumbent in Texas House District 32.

"We have advised the local stations that the TV ads they are running are not just deceptive, they are just wrong," Seaman's attorney Lance Bruun said Wednesday. "We have asked them to pull the ads."

Seaman would not comment.

Bruun, sent a letter to the three stations Tuesday calling statements in the ad blatantly false. Seaman's campaign and Bruun, a former Nueces County Republican Party chairman, cite a letter from the Texas Ethics Commission that says it is OK for the representative to pay his wife as long she maintains separate ownership."

According to the man who paid for the ads, attorney Mikal Watts, the Seamans cannot have seperate ownership since Texas is a community property state. The ads do not mention Seaman's opponent, Democrat Juan Garcia.

"He is threatening all three stations," Watts said. "He can sue me or the PAC or both. The problem is that truth is a defense under the statute.

"He is hoping that the stations would rather pull the ad than face meritless litigation."

KIII (ABC) pulled the adds for a period while their lawyer reviewed the matter but they have started to re-air the commercials. KRIS (NBC) has notified Watts that they will continue to air the ads. There is no word in the article about CBS affiliate KZTV's position on the issue.

Read the whole article here.

Help take back Texas back and donate to the Juan Garcia Campaign.

Cross posted at Texas Kaos. (Yes, you should go there.)

Upcoming Events

There are a number of events coming up for October:

• The Sea Fair will be October 6, 7 & 8. The Democratic club will have a booth and volunteers are needed to man it. Please send an email to Anita Orouke (a.orouke@sbcglobal.net) and advise her of the times you would like to be there.
• The Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce will hold their Candidates Forum at noon on October 10th at the Saltwater Pavilion. Our local candites, Dale Loyd and Martin DeLeon, as well as Shane Sklar and Juan Garcia will be there.
• South Rockport Neighbors Association will meetOctober 19 at 7:00pm at Anthonys Bed and Breakfast on South Pearl street. Dale Loyd and Martin DeLeonwill be present and Dan Pugh will introduce them.
• Dale and Martin will also address the Oak Terrace Property Owners Association on Sunday, October 29, from 3 to 5 pm at the Masonic Lodge at Market and Hictory Streets.

I hope you have an opportunity to attend these events and show your support for some fine Democratic candidates.

Kinky Backers: What Is Wrong with You?

How much more evidence do you need to understand that Kinky is as crazy as a soup sandwich. Do you actually believe that our great state will be better off with governor who behaves like this:

That's not all that makes me wonder why a sensible person would waste an important vote on this clown. check out this audio from Burnt Orange Report:

"It's like what old Abraham Lincoln said once he sobered up, ya know... I freed the what?"

Or

"Yeah, reminds me of old Jimmy Carter's Christmas card that he sent to Khomeini some time ago that said 'Ho Ho Ho, the Niggers were the spies."

And there's this:

Then I come down to Houston, I went to a bowling alley. I couldn't go bowling, there were no bowling balls. The people here throw 'em all in the sea, thought they were nigger eggs...thought they were nigger eggs.

And here he is speaking of Katrina survivors in Texas:

"The musicians and artists have mostly moved back to New Orleans now. The crackheads and the thugs have decided to stay. They want to stay here. I think they got their hustle on, and we need to get ours," Kinky said.

This man is a joke, and certainly not a serious candidate. There are people who think voting for Kinky will send a message. I got your message: You haven't got the inclination to give careful consideration to making your vote matter.

Now Kinky would say that I don't have a sense of humor or am too politically correct. I am still waiting for Kinky to say something that isn't a joke or a book plug. But this is an election for Governor, not State Jester.

Chris Bell is a shoe-in if the Democrats just vote for him. Kinky isn't even a decent third pary candidate offering any reform measures. He's just a racist windbag cracking jokes. Chris Bell has a couple of new commercials out on broadcast now. Please consider going to the link on the left and making a donation so he can purchase more air time.

And Make Your Vote Count