Democrats Rally In Amarillo

It was a hot 95 degree day yesterday afternoon in Amarillo, but nearly 200 area Democrats showed up at Memorial Park anyway to kick off the 2010 election campaign (and yes, I know it's over 100 in the rest of Texas, but we've had a very mild summer in Amarillo this year and 95 feels pretty hot to us). Fortunately, there were plenty of shade trees and cold beverages to make things bearable.

There was also some great free food. The wonderful folks at El Braceros Restaurant provided beef fajitas for the crowd (with all the fixings -- rice, beans, pico de gallo, salsa, chipotles, sour cream, etc.). And it was all cooked on their outdoor grill -- simply scrumptious!

Abel Bosquez followed some folks running for local office with the first speech on the day by the major candidates. He is running for the Texas House District 87 seat being vacated this year by Republican Rep. Swinford (which covers a four-county area). He talked about the need for stimulus funds to both save and create jobs in Texas. Then he touched on the need for quality and affordable education for all Texans -- both in local schools and on the college level. As he said, the future of Texas will be determined by the education it affords its citizens.

Linda Chavez-Thompson (pictured), the candidate for Lt. Governor, showed up early and went through the crowd meeting folks and encouraging their efforts to return Democrats to office. The tiny lady with the big voice, as she calls herself, then gave the best speech of the day (in my opinion). She asked the crowd to help get Bosquez elected so Democrats could take control of the Texas House (they just need three more Democrats to do that). She blasted the Republicans for their poor leadership, which has taken Texas from an exalted position to the bottom in far too many categories.

Bill White, candidate for governor, came late and had only time for a quick interview with local media before taking the stage for his own speech. I was able to get him to stop for one question though -- Since you are known as a conservative, why should progressives vote for you? He said that although he was a fiscal conservative, he had the best record on the environment of any Texas politician and had worked for civil rights for many years.

In spite of the heat, it was a great rally and area Democrats were in high spirits -- including the donkey provided for the event. The high-spirited donkey didn't like being penned up and escaped at least twice -- dashing across the park on his second attempt. But he was captured before getting out into traffic and everything ended well.

But yesterday was the easy part. Now area Democrats have to get to work and see if they can help to get some Democrats elected this Fall.