We had quite a Democratic event up here in the north metroplex counties Friday night, as the Denton County Dems, along with the Collin County Dems, hosted a "Fish Fry." Despite the location being out in the middle of nowhere (hey--it was affordable), we had a great turnout: around 130 local Democrats showed up to eat catfish and hushpuppies. We were also extremely fortunate to get the following Democratic candidates to speak at the event:
--Neil Durrance for CongressI'll recap some of the interesting points made by each candidate, and then give some impressions of the candidates that I gathered from people who attended this event.
--John Sharp for US Senate
--Bill White for US Senate
--Tom Schieffer for TX Governor
Neil Durrance for Congress
Neil is running for CD26, and gave what was probably the best speech I've ever heard him give (good job, RH!)...and as his Finance Chair for the last year, I've heard him speechify many, many times. Most of Neil's speech was the usual "rah rah, Dems are right and we know it" stuff, but he also made one very important point: the only way we are going to win in TX is to get the swing voters to swing D. Every person in that room eating catfish is already going to vote D...that's a given. But what we need to win--and Neil addressed this--is for the swing voters in TX to come over to our side. Neil asked everyone in the room to go find an "independent" or swing voter and tell them who we D's are, and what we believe in (what we really believe in--not the BS you hear on Faux News). Not everyone in Denton County likes Neil; he was our County Chair prior to announcing his run for Congress, and that's a thankless job where you piss off as many people as you please. But there's no doubt that Neil Durrance is probably one of the strongest Congressional candidates that Denton County has seen in a long time, due to his training as a trial attorney, his experience in public office (city council and more), and most importantly, his familiarity with what it takes to run a serious campaign--as opposed to the lineup of comedians and "virtual" candidates (who wouldn't leave the house to campaign, Ken Leach) that we've seen in this county over the last few years.
John Sharp for US Senate
The east-TX good ole boy makes another run at public office. Fortunately for John, he's got some kind of odd charisma that makes people stop and listen to him. Unfortunately for John, I just don't think he really knows why he's running, other than he wants to be in office. He can tell an anecdote in a very entertaining way. As for what he truly believes, I'm still not sure. He did, however, make a couple of well-phrased points:
--that the Repubs believe that the best way to help auto companies is to give them tax breaks; but that the Dems believe that the best way to help auto companies is to make sure that every single working person can afford to buy an F-150 truck. [Note to John Sharp: it's 2009, and guess what? Women work and vote now too]
--that TX has no one sitting in on the important decisions in Wash DC right now, since we are governed in Congress by Repubs only. And this is why TX needs a Dem Senator in 2010--so that TX has a representative at the table in the Obama administration.
--that as Comptroller, he proposed and saw passed the Texas Tomorrow Fund in 1995, which helps middle-class families send their kids to college
Bill White for US Senate
Bill White is a three-term Houston mayor and former deputy energy secretary who brings some very strong qualifications to his run for Senate. His very high bipartisan approval ratings in Houston are a testament to his sound decision-making skills and willingness to forego petty party politics to do what's right--but he battles almost nonexistent name recognition outside Houston. Some points from his speech:
--TX needs leadership that is more interested in seeing the state succeed, rather than scoring partisan points and constantly looking for wedge issues. TX needs leadership who is more interested in the success of our kids than in seceding from the union.
--if TX is going to compete in a future economy that will be based almost totally on brains (vs brawn), then TX better start investing in brains.
--As Mayor of Houston, he says he's led the US in job growth; cut the crime rate; increased the number of parks; cut the property tax rate; and increased the senior exemption on property taxes.
Tom Schieffer for Governor
Tom Schieffer (brother of newscaster Bob Schieffer) is a Fort Worth native who, after stints as George W. Bush's "BFF", is now running for Governor as a Democrat. To Tom's credit, he says he's never voted for a Republican, or never voted in a Repub primary, or something like that. Anyway, after spending time in Asia as an ambassador in the Bush administration (yes, you read that right), one of the main planks on Tom's platform is education:
--will a kid in first grade in TX be able to compete in 20 years with a kid who is now in first grade in South Korea? Tom's afraid that the answer is no.
--he tells a story about how some people feel that TX schools will never perform better because we have too many of "those" kids (kids who, allegedly due to race or upbringing, are supposedly incapable of doing better in school). And yet he visited an aircraft carrier while serving as ambassador to Japan, and saw "those" kids, now aged just 19 or 20, landing jets on aircraft carriers. If the military can figure out a way to educate "those" kids, then TX can too.
Impressions from the audience:
--the liberals in the crowd thought Bill White and Tom Schieffer sounded like Republicans. One person told me that Bill White's talk of cutting property taxes sounded too conservative, and turned her off somewhat (in light of the hurdles TX faces in public education, air cleanliness, etc).
--the moderates in the room really liked what Bill White had to say. He comes across to them as a guy who is smart and has integrity.
--the people in the crowd who love John Sharp really love him. Where he has support, that support is strong. Unfortunately for him, it seems to be in low numbers.
--the Dems in the crowd are wary of Tom Schieffer, who gives off a George W. Bush smell. That may be one "friendship" that served Tom well in the 90's and 2000's, but comes back to haunt him in a big, not-so-good way.
--the "pro-Neil" people think that Neil Durrance is a great candidate, but he probably can't beat Burgess and Burgess's money. The "anti-Neil" people still don't like Neil, but that it doesn't matter because he can't beat Burgess and Burgess's money anyway.
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All in all, the mood at the Fish Fry was very upbeat: everyone, both audience and speakers, seemed to have a terrific time. The speakers were reportedly very pleased to see so many Democrats turn out for the event. The Democrats in the house were thrilled that the county parties managed to attract these high-level TX candidates to talk to them. Denton County and Collin County WILL eventually turn blue (emphasis on the eventually), and those of us who are active Democrats here are trying to make that happen sooner rather than later!
[full disclosure: I was on the committee that helped plan/organize the Fish Fry]
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