My first State Democratic Convention, what an experience!

Bic Asberry, Wally Wadsworth and Jeanine Allen all tried to tell me what to expect at my first state convention but it was still a shock and a thrill. Sitting for hours at a time listening to debate on resolutions that were going to be referred to the SDEC anyway seemed to go on forever. The food was horrible, the weather was suffocating, the Austin Convention Center seemed to have been built by a confused sadist and after hearing the same speech repeated 20 or 30 times it did get old. But there were many thrills and highlights that made the trip worthwhile.

There were estimated to be 15-20,000 people in attendance and when we all cheered at once it shook the building. Nancy Sanchez was our designated cheerleader and she did a terrific job of it too.

Our Delegation came away with quite a few feathers in our hat. Phillip Borawski was elected as a member of the Permanent Resolution Committee and spent almost two completes days from early in the morning to late in the evening working on that vital committee. And amazingly Brandi Richards was elected as an Obama Delegate to the Democratic national Convention in Denver. Way to go Brandi! I was elected as what is called the Director position over the 10 County Chairs in Senate District 2. That position also makes me a member of the prestigious State Democratic Executive Committee. We are all honored to represent Rockwall Democrats in these three influential positions.

Harold Partain did a fantastic job of getting us all accounted for and keeping us together as a delegation. I think the vast majority of our delegates were there for most of the polled votes, though several alternates were elevated to full delegate status on Saturday.

The highlight for me was hearing Chelsea Clinton speak. She was poised, articulate and very warm. She spoke about her mother’s courageous campaign but pledged her and her mom’s full enthusiastic support of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. I swear there was some kind of light shining around that brilliant young woman.

Barack sent the Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, to speak on his behalf. Governor Kaine is a rising star in the Democratic Party. A graduate of Harvard Law School, his law practice in Virginia for 17 years specialized in representing people who had been denied housing opportunities because of race or disability. He did a good job of focusing our collective eyes on the prize of the presidency and the work we have ahead of us to capture it for Senator Obama.

Another highlight was hearing State Representative and Lt. Colonel in the National Guard Rick Noriega. Click here to see the YouTube video. Noriega joined the United States Army in 1979 in the wake of the Iran hostage crisis. He became a Lt. Colonel in the Texas Army National Guard, and most recently served in the War in Afghanistan that followed the September 11, 2001 attacks.

On his return from Afghanistan, Mayor Bill White requested that Noriega command the evacuee shelter operation at the George Brown Convention Center, where he oversaw thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Rick is the Democratic Candidate running against Little Johnny Cornyn who has never met a corporation he didn’t love or an environmental protection law that he liked. Cornyn votes for billions and billions in war funding without blinking an eye and goes apoplectic at the thought of spending millions on the elderly or poor children. His most recent stomach turning stand was to oppose the New GI Bill giving the 1.5 million Iraq an Afghanistan veterans a decent chance at a quality education. I guess Corny doesn’t think these men and women who have spent multiple tours risking their lives, their limbs, their brains and their souls have sacrificed enough to earn a good college education.

There are several polls that put Noriega in a dead heat with John Cornyn. Cornyn has big corporation donors, but we can beat him with grassroots activism.

Boyd Richie was re-elected as Democratic Party Chair. Early in the convention he gave a rousing welcoming speech to all of us. He also showed us a new video that will be aired on TV called By The Numbers that dramatically shows how the tide is turning against the Republicans all over Texas and the nation.

Kirk Watson was the Convention Chair and did a great job. He is a former Mayor of Austin and a current Texas State Senator from the 14^th District. Kirk is a rising star in the Democratic Party and after hearing his speech and witnessing his mastery of the convention process it is easy to see why.

There was some kind of mix up so that Glenn Melancon didn’t get a chance to speak but I think he too is a rising star in our party and you can see a video of him speaking here. Glenn can beat Ralph Hall if we can get a turnout in November like we did in the primary. That means we have a real shot at replacing someone who has gone along with every Whitehouse decision in lock step fashion. Ralph Hall, a veteran of WWII who went to college on the original GI Bill, voted against the New GI Bill too. I still can’t figure that one out.

There were many more speakers who repeated the message to us that we CAN take back Texas and Washington this year. We have great candidates and a growing grass roots organization all over Texas. Let’s get moving and take back our State and our Country! I am excited and ready to move.