Fellow Democrats,

The winding road to our primary elections just keeps turning and twisting. We are still in a holding period, with federal courts in Washington, D.C., and San Antonio ultimately charged with deciding our fate.

One thing we do know for certain is that we need to elect more Democrats in 2012 to prevent the Republicans from disenfranchising our fellow Texas voters. Thanks to all of you, Travis County has been a beacon to Democrats around the state, so I hope you will continue to support us with your time and donations.

As you may know, the three-judge panel in San Antonio met last Friday to wrestle with primary dates, election deadlines and new maps for our legislative and congressional districts. In Travis County, we hope the congressional map going forward will uphold a coalition district anchored in Austin.

There were rumors floating around that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, in an effort to salvage an April 3^rd unified primary, is willing to compromise with plaintiffs demanding fair representation for minorities, perhaps because he knows the state cannot win. Lawyers on both sides of the San Antonio case continued to meet over the weekend and are expected to report soon. Read More »

Fellow Democrats,

The collapse of Rick Perry’s presidential campaign means he’s coming home to continue his scorched earth policies against the good people of Texas.

The Supreme Court handed a temporary victory to Republicans by rejecting the San Antonio federal court’s interim redistricting map. Times are tough in Texas, but we need to do everything we can to increase Democratic turnout in the 2012 elections.

Will you help combat the Republican machine in Texas by donating right now to help us reach our goal of $300,000 for the 2012 Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign?  When you give, we win! Click below to see our TCDP video!

Let’s keep the momentum going from our hugely successful Johnson Bentsen Richards Dinner, which raised $289,000! [To see photos, click here.] What we accomplished was amazing, but I am asking you now to please consider donating here to help us hit $300,000. With your help, we can do it, and we can help lead Texas out of the red and into Travis County blue. Read More »

Fellow Democrats,

We almost hit $300,000!  We raised $287,450 at the JBR Dinner to fund our 2012 Coordinated Campaign.  This is truly amazing, as the most we had ever raised at an event was $180,000 in 2010, which itself broke all previous TCDP fundraising records by a long shot.  But, you can still help us reach that magic $300,000 even if you didn’t come to the dinner by donating here!

Not only did we raise record amounts, we had a great time doing it.  Governor Barnes gave the best, most heartfelt speech I’ve heard in a long time. Loyal Democrats, 652 strong, packed shoulder-to-shoulder into the ballroom to see Lt. Governor Ben Barnes, Leader Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Doggett, Senator Watson and Dave Glassco give their thoughts on Barnes and politics. Click here to watch the video tribute to Gov. Barnes from Vice President Joe Biden, Larry Temple and Robert Spellings that we showed at the event. Read More »

Fellow Democrats,

We have sold out our Johnson Bentsen Richards Dinner! January 15 will be the single most successful fundraiser ever for the Travis County Democratic Party — and all of the proceeds go to our 2012 Coordinated Campaign.

Thanks to our hard-working host committee, TCDP office staff  and generous sponsors, we are kicking off our Coordinated Campaign fundraising at the Four Seasons Hotel con ganas. We will hear from U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes (our distinguished honoree), Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Senator Kirk Watson and Representative Wilhelmina Delco.

If you missed our interview with Governor Barnes last week, check it out here. His dedication to the Democratic Party and to the State of Texas continues to be inspiring.

Cappy McGarr will emcee the dinner. He is one the Democratic Party’s premiere donors and fundraisers. He also happens to be a legendary radio deejay, raconteur, toastmaster, money manager, renewable energy entrepreneur and all around funny guy. It’s an understatement to say Cappy has friends in high places. He opened for Paul McCartney at the Obama White House two years ago! We’re in for a very good time Sunday night.

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The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Texas redistricting case Monday, and justices indicated they are unhappy with their choices. Here is a transcript of yesterday’s arguments.

It is unclear what will happen next, but some legal experts speculate that SCOTUS will wait to see what happens in the D.C. federal trial scheduled to begin next week. Whether we will be able to proceed with the rescheduled April 3 primary date is up in the air. As always, we will keep you posted on the latest developments on our web site and social media platforms.

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The Martin Luther King Day Community March and Festival is Monday (Jan. 16). As always, Travis County Democrats will be marching with our blue and white banner, and I hope you will join us for this meaningful holiday event. Read More »

Welcome to 2012, everybody! It’s going to be a good year for Democrats, and I’m excited to officially kick off the campaign season with our Johnson Bentsen Richards Dinner.

On January 15, we will gather at the Four Seasons Hotel to honor the legendary Texas lawmaker, Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes, along with our great Democratic candidates and elected officials from Travis County, including Congressman Lloyd Doggett and Senator Kirk Watson.

And, of course, we have a special guest star! U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will join us to speak about her long friendship with Barnes and to fire us up for the next election.

We have a limited number of individual tickets, and we expect this dinner to sell out,  as it did in 2010. Click here to get your tickets now! You do not want to miss this special event, previously known as our Filing Day Dinner. The money raised at this dinner goes towards our Coordinated Campaign, so get your tickets and help build an even bigger campaign in 2012!

This biennial event has been in the planning stages for nearly a year, and I want to personally thank our Host Committee for all their hard work. Read More »

Fellow Democrats,

Democrats, Republicans and the three-judge panel in San Antonio agreed Friday on a combined April 3^rd primary date. This, of course, is contingent upon the Supreme Court, which hears arguments on January 9^th, and the D.C. and/or San Antonio federal courts coming up with approved maps.

Details about the primary agreement are covered, as always, on Michael Li’s redistricting web site: http://txredistricting.org. So once again, we wait to see how Travis County will be carved up, and we hope for the best.

In the meantime, I hope everyone will have a safe and happy holiday. And because we are skipping next week’s newsletter for the TCDP’s own holiday break, I leave you in 2011 with these TCDP Resolutions for 2012! Read More »

Fellow Democrats,

Well, it looks like our Thanksgiving miracle was a mirage. I’m sure you heard the startling news late Friday that the Supreme Court has granted the Republican request for a stay on the court-drawn redistricting maps.

At this point, confusion reigns, so we’re waiting and hoping that Travis County will not once again be sliced up into five Congressional districts. I hope that at least five Supreme Court justices will side with the San Antonio court, rather than allow the activist extremists like Justice Scalia to do something crazy. The San Antonio court has set a status conference for 10 a.m. today (Tuesday) to discuss election deadlines, so we will keep you posted on our web site, Facebook page and Twitter.

Despite this setback, I hope you will come to the TCDP & OFA Holiday Party at my house on Thursday evening from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. Our hosts include State Senator Kirk Watson and State Representatives Dawnna Dukes, Donna Howard, Elliott Naishtat, Mark Strama and Eddie Rodriguez. Read More »

Fellow Democrats,

At last week’s County Executive Committee meeting, several people commented about the energy that was buzzing around our Democratic Party that night! It was nice to be around so many passionate and actively involved people who are already feeling good about the 2012 elections.

More than 60 of us packed the auditorium at the AFL-CIO. We had a lively pizza-and-petition-signing party first, followed by our regular meeting. We welcomed 11 new precinct chairs to the CEC, and I want to personally acknowledge and thank them:

Mr. Craig Moore – Precinct 111

Ms. Cynthia Douglas – Precinct 121

Mr. Marshall Mitchell – Precinct 161

Mr. Ronak Rahman – Precinct 226

Ms. Faye Harris – Precinct 228

Mr. Michael Nink – Precinct 243

Ms. Gayle Owens – Precinct 303

Ms. Carol Austin – Precinct 352

Ms. Karen Hadden – Precinct 364

Mr. Chad Peevy – Precinct 430

Ms. Erikeyounda Hamilton – Precinct 446 Read More »

Fellow Democrats,

Unless you left the country last week, you know that Travis County and Texas Democrats throughout the state won a significant victory in San Antonio.

On Wednesday, three federal judges released new Congressional district maps that reject the extreme slicing done by the Republican Legislature. Instead of five Congressional Districts, we now have three, and CD 25 is once again an Austin-based Democratic seat where Lloyd Doggett can continue to represent us. Be sure to read Congressman Doggett’s comments in today’s “On the  Record with Diane Holloway.”

This Thanksgiving miracle was a great beginning to the holiday season. I’m very excited to be hosting the TCDP & OFA Holiday Party at my house on December 15^th. Please mark your calendars and plan to come! Together with our State House Democratic delegation and Senator Watson as our honorary hosts, we will celebrate the season and help our less fortunate neighbors at the same time.

In that spirit, I hope you will join me in helping the homeless through donations to the Trinity Center. Read More »

Fellow Democrats,

As we enter the holiday season, Travis County Democrats have much to be thankful for, especially the beautiful blue hue of our electorate. Our abundance is great, so I thought this would be a good time to share with you just a few of my favorite reasons to be grateful.

*Among our eligible voting population, Travis County has 96.5 percent voter registration. That’s huge, and it’s very impressive. We are envied by many other counties in our state.

*We consistently and overwhelmingly vote Democratic. As a result, we are feared by Republicans, beloved by Democrats and proud of both responses.

*Not surprisingly, we also boast a roster of progressive elected officials — from city government to county, state and federal government. Democratic judiciary and legislative positions in Travis County are all forward-thinking and hard-working. How cool is that?

*The Travis County Democratic Party is open for business year-round, and we are active in the community, whether it’s an election year or not. Our doors are open, and our phones and social media outlets are always buzzing. Read More »