Chavez-Thompson Coming To Amarillo

It looks like the Democrats in the Texas Panhandle are already in campaign mode for the upcoming November elections. This coming Saturday they are holding a political rally at Memorial Park on Washington Avenue here in Amarillo. There will be several candidates at the rally to meet the public and everyone is welcome to attend.

Potter County Democratic chairman Toby Lankford said of the event, "It should be a good rally. We're expecting a few hundred people. We're getting more and more people interested in our party." According to Lankford the event will be held from 1pm until 5 pm, and he encourages all area residents to come out and meet some of the Democratic candidates running for office this year.

One of the most high-profile candidates appearing is the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor -- Linda Chavez-Thompson. Ms. Chavez-Thompson is a former union leader and one of the state's leading progressives. This will be her first visit to the Panhandle since garnering the party's nomination last March. The Crosby county native says that although West Texas and the Panhandle have been voting Republican for a while now, she believes Democrats can now compete in those areas.

Chavez-Thompson (pictured) said, "The Hispanic vote will be the key. The Hispanic population is growing, and they and African-Americans and a good number of whites identify more with the Democratic Party because we stand for the average working family."

She is right about the demographics of this area. As young whites move to other areas and old whites die off, the Hispanics are the only group that is growing. As this trend continues, and there is no reason to believe it won't, it is just a matter of time before the area begins to vote much like South Texas -- solidly Democratic. It's not a question of whether this will happen -- only when.

Hopefully, she is also right about people realizing that it is the Democratic Party that represents the interests of ordinary Texans. Congressional Republicans have made it clear with recent actions that they represent the interests of the rich -- ignoring job stimulus efforts to concentrate on extending Bush's tax cuts for rich people.

Abel Bosquez, former head of the Potter County Democratic Party, will also be at Saturday's rally. Bosquez is running for the vacant Texas House District 87 seat. He believes it will be new voters that will put Democrats over the top in 2010 and he is looking forward to meeting many of those voters Saturday.

It will not be easy to wrest the Panhandle from the Republicans in 2010 since they are currently in control and have plenty of money, but it is doable. I urge Panhandle voters to come to Saturday's rally and meet all the candidates.

According to the Amarillo Globe News there will be another statewide candidate at the rally -- "Blue Dog" Bill White, candidate for governor.