I Support Linda Chavez-Thompson For Lt. Governor Of Texas—Why You Should Vote For Ms. Chavez-Thompson

I am voting for Linda Chavez-Thompson for Lieutenant Governor of Texas in the Democratic Primary to be held on March 2.

(Above—Ms. Chavez-Thompson.)

Early voting is taking place now. Here are facts about early voting in Texas.

Here is a brief overview of this race from The Dallas Morning News.

The  Lieutenant Governor is important in Texas. The Lt. Governor presides over the Texas State Senate. He or she can appoint standing committees and select who will serve on these committees. The Lt. Governor picks committee chairpersons and is the final arbiter of the rules of the Senate. Here is further explanation of the role of the Lt. Governor.

Why do I feel that Linda Chavez-Thompson is the best person for this job?

Here is why—

1. A daughter of immigrant sharecroppers, Ms. Chavez-Thompson has kept faith with working people. Ms. Chavez-Thompson has rooted her professional and political life in concern for others.

From the Chavez-Thompson campaign—

“Linda Chavez-Thompson’s.. story began when she was born in Lorenzo, Texas.  At.. ten, she started working for thirty-cents an hour hoeing cotton… In ninth grade, she had to leave school and to go to work full time to support her family. She continued picking cotton in the fall months and cleaning homes…to earn enough money to buy clothes and food for her family…In December 1967, she was hired as a Secretary at the Constitution Laborer’s Union in Lubbock, Texas. Over the next forty years, Chavez-Thompson kept working.. on behalf of working people, fighting to bring fairness and opportunity to Texans… Her work with unions culminated in 1995, when she was elected Executive Vice-President of the National AFL-CIO, the first woman and the first person of color to hold that position. In January of 1997, Chavez-Thompson was elected to serve as Vice Chair  of the Democratic National Committee.”

(Below—Francis Lubbock was both a Lieutenant Governor and a Governor of Texas. Unlike Governor Lubbock, who led Texas during the Civil War, Ms. Chavez-Thompson will not agree to leave the union if Governor Rick Perry leads Texas to secede.)

2.  Ms. Chavez-Thompson has pledged to push the expansion of children’s health insurance programs in Texas. This is very much needed in our state.

3. As proven organizer, Ms. Chavez-Thompson will offer the Texas Democratic Party needed skills in rallying more Democratic voters to go to the polls this November and beyond 2010. There is no good reason that a majority-minority state with many large urban centers should be so strongly Republican.

Other Texas bloggers have endorsed Ms. Chavez-Thompson as well. These bloggers include Mean Rachel, Dos Centavos, Bay Area Houston, Musings , and  Burnt Orange Report.

Please consider voting for Linda Chavez-Thompson in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Texas.

Here is my endorsement of Hank Gilbert in the Democratic primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture.

(Below–A mural in Ms. Chavez-Thompson’s hometown of Lorenzo, Texas. Here is the city web home for Lorenzo. Here is a history of Lorenzo from the Handbook of Texas Online.  Lorenzo is near Lubbock and had a 2000 population of 1,372. The town is part of Crosby County.)