Please Join

State Representatives
Garnet Coleman * Lon Burnam * Jessica Farrar * Pete Gallego
Rafael Anchia * Roberto R. Alonzo * Helen Giddings *  Eric Johnson
Barbara Mallory Caraway * Yvonne Davis * Marc Veasey

For a Reception benefitting the

House Democratic Campaign Committee
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
6:00 pm- 7:30 pm at

$2,500 Host * $1,000 Sponsor
$500 Friend * $250 Supporter

To make a contribution to the HDCC, please visit:
www.TexasHDCC.com or make a check payable to:
Texas HDCC and mail to: P.O. Box 1925, Austin, TX 78767.

For directions to the event and to RSVP, please contact Jackie at (512) 440-8791 or Jackie@TexasHDCC.com
RSVP Required Prior to Event

State Representatives

Alma Allen * Carol Alvarado * Lon Burnam * Garnet Coleman * Joe Deshotel * Harold V. Dutton Jr. Craig Eiland * Jessica Farrar * Ana Hernandez Luna * Scott Hochberg * Borris Miles *  Ron Reynolds Sylvester Turner Hubert Vo * Armando Walle

In honoring 

Representative Senfronia Thompson 

At an event benefitting Texas HDCC and HDCC Incumbent Protection Fund

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

5:30 pm-7:00pm

La Griglia

2002 West Gray

Houston, TX 77019 

Both the longest serving African American and female legislator in Texas history, Representative Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) has authored and passed more than 200 Texas laws.

A former Chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus and of the Women’s Health Caucus, Representative Thompson has spent decades toiling as a champion of working families – fighting for public schools, banning hate crimes, and enacting countless reforms to the benefit of all Texans. Representative Thompson currently Chair of the Local and Consent Calendar and serves on the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee, Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee and State Sovereignty Committee.

Sponsorship Levels

$2,500 Host * $1,000 Sponsor

$500 Friend * $250 Supporter

To make a contribution to the HDCC, please visit: www.TexasHDCC.com or make check payable to:

 Texas HDCC and mail to: P.O. Box 1925, Austin, TX 78767.

To make a contribution to HDCC Incumbent Protection Fund, a stand-alone PAC with funds raised spent exclusively on re-electing incumbent Democratic members, click here or make check payable to:

HDCC Incumbent Protection Fund and mail to: P.O. Box 1925, Austin, TX 78767.

To RSVP please contact Jackie at (512) 440-8791 or Jackie@TexasHDCC.com

RSVP Required Prior to Event 

For over a decade, we Texans have witnessed firsthand what Perry’s done to our state. And it’s not a pretty picture. We’ve watched him threaten secession and rail against Washington while using federal stimulus money to cover up his own billion dollar budget shortfall.

Perry bragged to the national media about shooting a coyote, but we watched him do more lasting damage to public education by shortchanging schools, knocking 100,000 kids out of full-day Pre-Kindergarten, and crowding more kids into classrooms. He brags about the Texas economy, but his budget proposal would have destroyed hundreds of thousands of Texas jobs from both the public and private sectors.

Still, he didn’t do it alone. Perry couldn’t have been such a “catastrophic success” without 101 Tea Party-controlled Republicans in the Texas House.

This session, when Perry’s focus was clearly the national stage, he set an agenda meant to appeal to the most extreme faction of his party. That presented House Republicans with a choice: focus on the priorities of Texas families or empower Rick Perry as he geared up for his presidential campaign.

Clearly, House Republicans chose Perry over Texas families.

It’s time to replace them with lawmakers who will stand up for real Texans, not extreme factions and special interests. Can you contribute $25 today to help us fight back?

Texans care about their children, their education, and about the health of our families and neighbors. Their budget cuts do not reflect the priorities of real people. We care about the future of our state. We know that the surest way to threaten that future is to quit educating our children, leaving our state without a workforce that can compete amidst the challenges of a more global economy.

Get involved by helping us spread the word. Encourage your friends and family to join us on the front lines today. With your help, the Texas HDCC will recruit and support candidates with the same priorities as most Texan families. Together, we can show the rest of America that most Texans have not bought into Rick Perry’s extreme and destructive agenda.

Sincerely,

Cliff Walker
Executive Director, Texas HDCC

SAN ANTONIO RECEPTION
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Please join State Representatives:
Garnet Coleman * Lon Burnam * Pete Gallego
Joaquin Castro * Joe Farias * Roland Gutierrez
Ruth McClendon * Jose Menendez

Special Guest,
Mayor Julian Castro

and our Host Committee
Collen M. Casey and Tim Maloney
Councilman Philip Cortez * Choco Gonzalez Meza
Henry Muñoz, III * Gilberto Ocañas * Bobby Perez
Doug Poneck * Councilman Justin Rodriguez
Kathleen and Albert Vale * Sen. Leticia Van de Putte
Host Committee in formation as of May, 16, 2011

AUSTIN RECEPTION
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Please join State Representatives:
Garnet Coleman * Lon Burnam * Pete Gallego
Dawnna Dukes * Donna Howard * Elliott Naishtat
Eddie Rodriguez * Mark Strama

and our Host Committee
Suzanne and Marc Wilkelman
Melanie and Ben Barnes * Tracy and Dr. Garry Craighead
Dave Glassco * John Hildreth * Barbara Hines * Rusty Kelley
Robert J. King * Libby and Dale Linebarger * Susan Longley
Dean Rindy and Cynthia Miller * Texas AFL-CIO
Judy Trabulsi * United Transportation Union
*Host Committee in formation as of 5/17/2011

Austin and San Antonio Reception Sponsorship Levels
$2,500 Host * $1,000 Sponsor
$500 Friend * $250 Supporter
To make a contribution please click the “Contribute” button to the right, or make a check payable to HDCC, and mail to PO Box 1925, Austin, TX 78767.

For more information and to RSVP please contact Erica Pincus at (512) 440-8791 or Erica@TexasHDCC.com
RSVP Required Prior to Event

Thanks to House Republicans, negotiations have ground to a halt over a single issue: education. Republicans already pushed to cut billions from our public schools. Now, they are holding firm against restoring the money needed to pay for things like math, reading, and science initiatives, or even Pre-Kindergarten programs. They’ve also succeeded in making sure the Rainy Day Fund is not used to protect our kids’ futures.

Republicans have shown more interest in giving tax breaks to yacht owners, and in protecting the $1 billion-a-year tax giveaway to some of the biggest players in the oil and gas industry, than in restoring the $8 billion they voted to cut from public schools. But, still no agreement on what it takes to run our schools and give our kids a solid chance to succeed in tough economic times.

Texas parents are speaking out loudly and clearly against these cuts, and Democrats have heard the message. Democrats are demanding action now to save our public schools.

Yesterday, Democratic State Representatives Lon Burnam, Joaquin Castro, Jessica Farrar, Pete Gallego, Hubert Vo and Armando Walle released the following statement:

“On behalf of Texas school children, House Democrats are drawing a line in the sand. Democrats will not support the proposed Republican “accounting gimmicks” to balance the budget without a chance to use the Rainy Day Fund.

“House members who have the courage to tap the Rainy Day Fund must step forward and declare their support for Texas public schools. Those who fear the Tea Partiers and other extremist groups are abandoning our children.

“Texans deserve to know who’s for and who’s against our public schools.

“Make no mistake. Some neighborhood schools are closing. Pre-Kindergarten for 100,000 kids, programs that teach kids music and art, advanced placement courses in math and science – they’re all under threat. Voting for a budget that leaves out the Rainy Day Fund is a vote to kill these programs.

“Because of past education cuts, the Texas dropout rate is near the top and the graduation rate is near the bottom. More cuts will put the future of our kids and our state on a path to failure.

“However, those in control appear dead-set on crippling public schools that were already hurting. In closed door meetings, they’re arguing over band aids and accounting tricks that only make the structural deficit – a problem they created – worse in the long run. They want Texas to take out a payday loan while we’re sitting on billions in our savings account.

“House Democrats are challenging those in charge to pick a side. Are you for kids? Are you willing to protect their future? Are you with the extremists who would slash and burn our kids’ best opportunity to build a successful life?

“We won’t be an accomplice to a deadbeat budget. We won’t “go along to get along” in a Legislature when the Legislature is wrong. We will fight for our children and our state’s future to the very end.”

New Radio Ad by the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee Exposes Republican Budget Cuts

(Austin, Texas) Today, the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee (HDCC) began airing a radio spot urging Texas parents to fight back against the devastating Republican budget cuts to public education.  The ad is currently running in the Corpus Christi market and will likely expand to other Texas cities.  The HDCC also released the following statement:

“Not too long ago, Rick Perry and the politicians in control scammed Texas taxpayers by building a permanent funding gap into our state budget.   They knew at the time that they were planting a ticking time bomb into the budget.  And this year, it exploded.  Now, Texas is in the deepest budget hole seen in recent memory, with up to $27 billion less to take care of the essentials, like public schools.

Now these same politicians want to clean up their mess by eliminating 100,000 public school teachers and workers, packing 35 or more unruly kids into classrooms, and even kicking 100,000 kids out of Pre-K.  We hope this ad encourages parents and communities to fight back against these devastating cuts that threaten to harm the future of countless Texas children.”

The HDCC is organized and lead by Democratic leaders in the Texas House. The HDCC is the only organization in the state dedicated solely to electing a Democratic majority in the Texas House.  You can visit their website at www.TexasHDCC.com.

Since Rick Perry and House Republicans have been in charge, they’ve been desperately trying to cover up the widening funding gap they built into the state’s finances.   This year, that crack has become a canyon, and they’ve left Texas in the deepest budget hole in generations – up to $27 billion.

Public schools, colleges, universities, and medical care for the elderly and ill are under greater threat than ever before.  It’s a real and potentially devastating emergency.  In yesterday’s New York Times,¹ Paul Krugman gives a snapshot of what bad Republican policies have done to Texas children:

“And in low-tax, low-spending Texas, the kids are not all right. The high school graduation rate, at just 61.3 percent, puts Texas 43rd out of 50 in state rankings. Nationally, the state ranks fifth in child poverty; it leads in the percentage of children without health insurance. And only 78 percent of Texas children are in excellent or very good health, significantly below the national average.”

While it won’t clean up all of Perry’s mess, there’s a big, $830 million pot of money sitting in Washington, DC, just waiting to be put to use in our schools.

Join us on Facebook today and Stand Up for Texas Kids!

Why isn’t Rick Perry taking the money?

Instead of standing up for our kids, Rick Perry has gotten the funds tied up in a partisan political fight.² He’s more concerned with using his crusade against Washington to build a national platform and sell books, rather than making sure our schools stay intact.

All Perry has to do is agree to spend the money on our schools – as have 48 other states – instead of dumping it into his slush fund for corporate welfare, or plugging all the rest of his budget holes.  So far, he’s refused.

Now, Perry’s trying to distract Texans and turn their attention to his own handpicked list of “emergency items”³ – bills that impose new requirements on voters, intrude in women’s private healthcare matters, and increase government interference in our lives.

Perry’s $10 billion in cuts from public education mean more school closures, layoffs for thousands of teachers, and kids being packed into overcrowded classrooms where they’ll find it more difficult to learn.

Don’t let the Perry budget steal opportunities away from our kids.  From Pre-K to college – from kicking 100,000 kids out of pre-kindergarten⁴ to drastically scaling back higher education loans and grants⁵ – the success of our children – Texas’ future – is at stake.

Stand Up for Texas Kids today, and demand Rick Perry sign and swear he’ll spend money meant for our kids, on our kids.

Moving forward,

Cliff Walker

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/opinion/28krugman.html
2. http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/perry-doggett-and-their-830-million-feud-in-texas/
3. http://www.texastribune.org/texas-legislature/texas-legislature/perry-emergency-items-including-voter-id/
4. http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/02/27/2881165/want-prosperity-invest-in-the.html
5. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7443090.html