21 July 2020 by Lulu Seikaly On July 14th, Collin County Democrats made history. We refused to be silenced in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and a complete lack of leadership from our state’s highest officials. We made our voices heard, setting an impressive new record for voter turnout. I greatly appreciate every volunteer, election worker, staffer, party …
A High Community Standard for All
Photo from 8cantwait.org by Matt Leahy State Democratic Executive Committee Member – Senate District 8 Collin County Democratic Party Precinct Chair – Precinct 50 [Editor’s note: The opinions are the author’s and do not reflect the position of the Collin County Democratic Party.] As a black man and a precinct chair in the Collin County Democratic Party, I have to …
A Letter to Collin County Democrats
26 May 2020 Fellow Collin County Democrats, Over the last few weeks, we have canceled plans and transformed our lives. We have put our lives on hold to save the lives of those around us. We have built a community in the middle of a crisis. We have watched in shock and horror as our elected leaders in Collin County, …
What’s the Message
20 May 2020 by Mike Rawlins, County Chair The question that new Democratic activists almost always ask is “What’s our message?” It isn’t “not Trump” or “not Republican”. We always tell candidates to talk about what they’re for before they talk about their opponents, if they talk about them at all. And with the media covering Trump’s mishandling of the …
Sue Me
May 5, 2020 by Woot Lervisit Last week, I applied for a mail-in ballot on the grounds of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also last week, Attorney General Ken Paxton released publicly a deceptive letter about COVID-19 mail-in ballots threatening criminal charges of election fraud. In his letter, Mr. Paxton ignored the pertinent legal issue of physical immunity from COVID-19. Instead, Mr. …
You Can Help During the COVID19 Crisis
April 23,2020 During these difficult times there are those who need our help more than ever. A few local organizations you can support who do this work include: Minnies Food Pantry: Donate money by texting MINNIES to 41444 or click here to give directly. Drive & Drop items @ 661 18th St. Plano, TX 75074 Mon. & Wed. – Sat. 7:30am …
Still Time to Participate in the CENSUS 2020
April 23, 2020 By Donna Buesing, staff writer The U.S. Government’s regular Census starting day was April 1st but those who have not filled out their census form online can still do so. Every address should have received a notice regarding the 2020 Census and each address has a unique ID number. Getting started is as easy as going to …
A Special Thank You to the Candidates Who Did Not Finish First
by Tarek Lucien Radjef, long time Collin County Democrat Tanner Do, Mark Watson, Jerry Zimmerer, Larry Praeger, Brandy Voss, Peter Kelly, William Pierrat Demond, Dan Wood, Steven Miears, Aimee Garza Lopez, Rocio Hernandez, Anthony Lo, Jon Cocks, Carol Scarborough, Manu Lail, Will Maiberger! March 19, 2020 Some of us remember 2012 when the Democratic Party was only able to field …
Polarization, Partisanship, Tribalism, and Civility
February 20, 2020 We hear a lot in the media about polarization, partisanship, and tribalism. We constantly hear reports of voters being put off by the discord and wanting everyone to stop the division and just work together. It’s even gotten to the point that we hear Democratic candidates thinking they need to be the champions of reaching across the …
Op Ed: All Modern GOP Positions Are Based on Lies – Part 2: Fiscal Responsibility
February 4, 2020 by Sudhir Joshi, CCDP Communications Director NOTE: This editorial is the second in a series. To read the first of the series on the GOP Healthcare Lies, click here. There is a common lie that the GOP is the party of “fiscal responsibility” and “small government.” In order to be “fiscally responsible,” a government needs to reduce …
All Modern GOP Positions are Based on Lies
by Sudhir Joshi CCDP Communications Director January 23, 2020 This editorial will begin a series that will show that all positions taken by the modern Republican party are based on lies. The GOP has always been the most egregious about lying to the public. For example, President Reagan contended that cutting taxes would increase economic activity and allow tax revenue …
Is It Okay to Cheat to Win?
by Brenda Willis For whatever reason, you and your Republican friend, relative, voter, etc. don’t see eye-to-eye. This is completely understandable. However, you’re forced to “play nice” with these folks! It may seem pretty difficult to find common ground with a person like this but that is what I recently did when I got into it with my mother-in-law (MIL) …
What is a County Commissioner?
Map Credit: Collin County Government Geographic Information System Sadly, most people pay less attention to county government than city government (and they generally pay very little attention to the latter!) A few people know that a County Commissioner is a member of the Commissioner’s Court, presided over by the County Judge, and that it has something to do with county …
What’s a Constable?
Map Credit: Collin County Government Geological Information System by Mike Rawlins, Collin County Chair, Plano TX – 11/8/19 As the filing period for a place on the primary ballot approaches, we’re still looking for people willing to run for some of these offices. And to help identify good prospects, we’re going to tell you a bit about each of these …
2019 Ann Richards Dinner a Smashing Success
October 31, 2011 “The best Ann Richards Dinner I’ve ever attended.” “Ambassador Power was amazing.” “Had a great time. Very inspiring.” These are just a few of the things people said to me the other evening. If you weren’t at our annual Ann Richards Dinner last Friday night you really missed out! The proceeds from this event will give us …
What is “Money in Politics?”
We hear lots of folks say, “LET’S GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS!” But rarely do we hear them say, “WHY is there money in politics?” Until you “follow the money,” that question will remain elusive and we will still need (yes, NEED) tons of “money in politics.” If you have ever run for office, then you know it takes a …
Post Primaries Unity: Plan Now!
by Tarek Lucien Radjef Last month, we attended the Jefferson County Fair in the state of Washington. To our surprise, there were three booths representing the Democrats. One said ‘Democratic Party’, the other two, ‘Bernie Sanders’ and ‘Elizabeth Warren’. After talking to the volunteers at each location, it sadly appeared that there was at a minimum, friction between all three. …
Let’s Talk About Feminism
by Jeff Quiggle I am a man and a feminist — and not just because feminism is important to a woman in my life. I am a feminist — not because I have a mother, or a sister, or a wife, or a daughter, or women colleagues and friends — and I do have all of those. I am a feminist because I support full rights …
Labels and Definitions
By Maury Marcus In recent years, traditional labels or political or economic ideology have been used inaccurately and recklessly without regard for their accepted meanings or historical context. We were told that President Barack Obama was a socialist, Marxist, Mau-Mau, Muslim, Fascist, Communist and [anti-white] racist fanatic. Each of these separately was false. Together, they were ridiculous. One term that has been bandied about …
Our New Executive Director – John Shanks
Winning in Collin County requires that we ramp up our expertise and efforts. We are excited to announce that due to some very generous donors we are finally able to realize a long-held dream – hiring a full time, paid Executive Director. John Shanks comes to us with an impressive resume, detailed knowledge of the political situation in the county, …
Beyond Green, Brown, Red and Blue | Real Local Input
by Myriem Le Ferrand-Radjef | socialfieldwork.net No one holds the reins, folks. “We the people” could set the course of our better futures. Yes, representatives hold a theoretical legitimacy to govern. However, legitimacy is a poor substitute for actuality – the facts – in the decisions that affect us. Authority to govern or legislate draws solely from our approval whether …
The Three Questions All Candidates Must Answer
by Maury Marcus May 26, 2019 Next year (2020), all candidates in all parties, for any office at any level, must be confronted with three definitive choices. Republican statements on these three issues show contradictions, but office-seekers in all parties need to come clear on these three controversies. The first is between two interpretations of the Second Amendment. Wayne LaPierre …
What Happened to the 40‐Hour Workweek?
By Dru Murray Americans are witnessing the demise of the 40-hour workweek. The 40-hour workweek was instituted in 1940 when Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to protect employees from exploitation. Later, Baby Boomers were told Americans would soon work less due to the introduction of computers into the workplace. That promise has died a terrible death. Young Americans …
Democrats Hold the Keys to the City of Plano
By Debbie O’Reilly, Women Organizing Women Democrats President Collin County Democrats, Plano is in a fight for its future. The runoff for Plano City Council Place 7 is not just about one seat. It’s not about Ann Bacchus. In Ann’s own words, “It is about protecting Plano’s brand of excellence. It is about keeping control local. It is about honoring …