Andrea White at MCD Meeting Tomorrow Night

Grapevine – The next first lady of Texas, Andrea White, is the guest speaker at the August meeting of the Mid-Cities Democrats, Thursday, August 26. Bill and Andrea White have been married for 25 years and have three children. 

The couple has co-led numerous charitable organizations, including Expectation Graduation, which brought 8,000 dropouts back to school. In addition to practicing law, Andrea has authored three young-adult fiction novels and recently published a book on being a political spouse, “P.S. Passionate Supporter and Political Spouse”. She also writes for her blog of the same name, www.passionatesupporter.com

Also scheduled for August meeting is the formal presentation of the 2010 Jim Wright Scholarship award winner, John Sekamanyo, to the Mid-Cities Democrats membership.

Members and guests are encouraged to arrive early at the Grapevine Spring Creek Barbecue Restaurant, 315 West Highway 114, at 6:30 p.m. to move through the buffet line. The meeting will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m.

The Mid-Cities Democrats is the largest grassroots Political Action Committee in Tarrant County, Texas. We serve the communities of Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Keller, Watauga, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills and Haltom City. We are dedicated to getting Democratic candidates elected and furthering Democratic principles and values in our community.

Owen and Joe Biden

Got to meet my lifestyle doppleganger at the Democratic State Convention in June. It turns out, we’d e-mailed each other about Mid-Cities Democrats’ fundraising programs in the years past. She’s a young mom and just as politically active. She also has two kiddos and we had the same approach to giving birth and now raising our children.

Since the convention, we’ve talked about family and politics. In our last conversation, she mentioned how her eldest got to meet then-Senator Barack Obama, while she was pregnant with her youngest and how Obama said, “Hey, Buddy” to her son. 

When I wrote a couple months back about how Owen asked if he could meet President Obama, Jeremy said my post was incorrect, that he had met Obama. But really he hadn’t. He got to meet Joe Biden. My new friend’s story about Obama and her son made me pull out Jeremy’s old photos of our family at the 2005 Lee Park rally featuring Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Harry Reid. 

It started late and Owen was just a year old. We stayed through all the local elected officials’ and then the headliners’ speeches. It was Owen’s first rally and I was determined to get a photo with the Senators, but Obama specifically. At the close of the evening, Senator Obama got a crush of fans. He wouldn’t take photos with anyone, but called Owen “adorable”. It was so crowded I am sure Owen didn’t understand who the center of attention was. 

As we walked to the other side of Arlington Hall, we saw the crowd around Senator Biden. I spoke to a handler who was saying “no more pictures” and told her it was Owen’s first political rally. She brought Senator Biden to us and we got this photo. 

It’s a nice memory revisited, all thanks to my new friend. And that’s the best thing about my community organizing - the great people I meet.

Today I discreetly and politely told two major asses to leave me alone. (The message hadn’t gotten through before.) Feeling proud of myself!

Thursday Personal & Political

Heading to stop in to the last part of O’s swim class, but it’s a heat index of 101 and this flower wilts in the heat. Then to the July meeting of the Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake Democrats. See some of you there.

“Fundraiser For the Future” Dinner Sold Out

COLLEYVILLE – Seated dinner reservations are full for this Friday’s Bill White “Fundraiser for the Future”, at the First United Methodist Church, 5601 Pleasant Run Road, at 6:00 p.m. Those still interested in attending may pay a $15 suggested donation for a seat only. 

“This sell out was expected – Bill White’s support crosses party lines and demographics,” said Dorie Cranshaw, Mid-Cities Democrats President.

The event is hosted by the Mid-Cities Democrats and endorsed by coalition partners Southwest Democrats of Tarrant County, The 360 Corridor Democratic Action club, The Greater Arlington Mansfield Democratic Women, The Stonewall Democrats of Tarrant County, The Tarrant County Central Labor Council, The Tarrant County Democratic Party, The Tarrant County Democratic Women’s Club, The Tarrant County Young Democrats and The Tejano Democrats of North Texas. In addition to ticket donations, these groups have pledged thousands of dollars in matching funds to the Bill White for Texas Campaign.

White is the evening’s featured speaker and will be joined by Rep. Paula Pierson (HD 93), Sen. Wendy Davis (SD 10) and introduced by Rep. Chris Turner (HD 96).

The Mid-Cities Democrats is the largest grassroots Political Action Committee in Tarrant County, Texas. We are dedicated to getting Democratic candidates elected and furthering Democratic principles and values in our community.

See http://www.midcitiesdemocrats.com for more details.

Remembering Robert Russell

Robert Russell died this past Sunday, while visiting his sister in New York. 

Robert and I met at my very first CGS Democrats meeting in January 2006. I noticed him immediately because he took pictures and audio recordings of the meeting - and because he said he was a reformed Republican!

I worked closely with Robert for years. When I was the president of the Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake Democrats, he was my secretary. I always got a kick out of his meeting notes, sometimes seven pages long. He got everything. I told him several times that I laughed over his minutes and he said he wasn’t trying to be funny, but he was happy I was amused. He was meticulous with notes, maps and photographs.

Robert was the ever present photographer. He photographed some of my favorite photos with Jeremy and friends at Mid-Cities Democrats, Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake Democrats and Drinking Liberally events, and of course documented so much of our organizations over the years. My favorite has to be of Owen, taking a break from pulling up Gary Page for Congress signs, pulling around a little mother duck and her waddling ducklings toy. Robert printed it out for me and captioned it “Owen, the Littlest Campaign Worker”. It’s hung in our house since. 

Beyond photography and politics, Robert was passionate about wine too. He was the only person I have ever known to carry around a personalized corkscrew, a portable wine bottle thermometer or have the word “GRAPES” as a vanity plate. That’s dedication, folks! At parties and fundraisers, Robert used to tell me, “I knew you’d be here tonight, so I brought this bottle of ____,” whatever it was, it was always a red. He knew what I liked.

Jeremy was so impressed with Robert’s party gifts at a function in our home way back when, that he started looking for the right cheeses to go with our after-dinner wines. I wasn’t the biggest fan, but Jeremy makes a special effort to do what Robert did. When Robert’s cancer took a turn for the worse, he and Judith brought us a case of their own wines that was so big, I couldn’t carry it in. We toasted to Robert and enjoyed every bottle.

Robert was on my side. When I hit professional and personal bumps in the road, he was there with encouragement. He was smart and clever and always reassuring. Phone calls and e-mails told me to not let certain events spoil my day and that he supported me 100%. Robert was kind and gentle and teased me only once - about my voice - with a pitch so high people still ask for my mother when I answer the phone.

I last saw Robert at a MCD meeting in March. We missed his presence recently, but knew he was having more bad days than good. When I got the call about Al Polsky I got an immediate sinking feeling about Robert. I told some friends and late Thursday night got an e-mail from Brad saying his e-mail from that day had been returned, saying Robert had passed. It was near midnight so I could not call, but I called Robert and got VM Friday morning. It was good to hear his voice. Judith called back immediately and said Robert had died. I told her how sorry I was on behalf of our MCD family and that we would all want to know about memorial information.

I just loved Robert Russell and to write that he will be missed doesn’t come close to expressing the loss. 

Robert’s funeral was held Friday in New York. His memorial service in Texas will be held at a later date.

Robert is pictured in our home for a holiday social, photographing a “100 for $100” party and with the first CGS Democrats officers.

Who dropped by Julia’s great party, but John Rath? Parties are always better with some politics thrown in!

Early Voting Underway, Part II

Yesterday I voted for Karen Deakin for GCISD Board of Trustees.

Both candidates seem well qualified, with business backgrounds, many various volunteer affiliations and experience with GCISD.

I was not pleased with either of their answers on the recent SBOE rewriting of history, but for me this is going to come down to the final answer given by Deanne Ayers on the question of the GCISD decision to not televise President Obama’s stay in school speech to our nation’s children at the beginning of the school year.

Ayers said the decision was correct and that no child should be forced to attend “a watch party for the President”. That to me speaks volumes about her political ideology. 

Our public school children already suffer enough from ideology over education from Gov. Rick Perry, to the Republican-led House and Senate and now the ridiculous changes of the SBOE. If you think that a stay in school, turn off the TV, parents take responsibility for your children message from a man who worked his way up and fought so many odds is partisan indoctrination, I don’t want you in charge of our children’s education.

Deakin answered that she felt the GCISD decision was for the most part correct, which it wasn’t, but that it should have been shown to the high school students and then possibly used as a teaching tool in other classes.

I am not happy with that answer, but sometimes when you cast your ballot you are not just voting for someone, you are voting against the other.