Everything Nac

Calendar

     3/10 (Thurs) — March meeting at the County Courthouse Annex, 5:30. Guest Speaker: Angelina County Chairman Jim Wark.

     3/17 (Thurs) — March luncheon at Delacroix (1302 North St.), Noon. RSVP with Elaine Sanders at 560-6436.

     4/7 (Thurs) — Nacogdoches STOP (Stop the Tarsands Oil Pipeline) meeting at Austin Heights Baptist Church (2806 Appleby Sand Rd), 7:00. Program TBA.

Fellow Nacogdoches County Democrats,

     It’s March already and things are moving quickly in this “off” election year. We encourage each of you to attend our monthly meeting on March 10th at the County Courthouse Annex, beginning at 5:30. We have been slowly moving to prepare for the 2012 election season and Angelina County Chairman Jim Wark will be our guest speaker. Mr. Wark will give us an overview of what Democrats in the Lufkin-area have been doing to prepare for 2012. We will also have pizza, so come hungry! Also be sure to mark down March 17th and join fellow Nac County Dems for our March luncheon at Delacroix. We had a great time in February as more than 20 people dined and chatted the afternoon away!

     A thorough monthly news summary is below, but we’ve been cruelly reminded about the effects of not putting Democrats in office, particularly at the state level. Our Republican state legislature and Governor Perry are struggling to come up with a budget that addresses a $27 billion shortfall over the next biennium, while focusing on “emergency issues” like voter ID, so-called “sanctuary cities”, and forcing women who make the difficult choice to get an abortion to view and/or be told of sonogram results against their will. This state deficit is the result of two things: One is lower rate of sales tax revenue over the last three years due to the recession (that we are slowly climbing out of thanks to President Obama and Congressional Democrats-see below). The second reason is due to the shortsighted policies of the Texas Republican leadership, who have controlled every statewide office since 1994, as well as the legislature for more than ten years. When you see the impact of state budget cuts on our local school districts, Stephen F. Austin University, our county government, as well as on local health and human service agencies, be sure to remind your friends and families why is it important to vote Democratic. As we’ve displayed over the last century, Democrats like yourself have been the biggest advocates for a strong public education system, a health care system that provides quality care that is both affordable and accessible, and other governmental policies that benefit the middle and working class citizens of our nation, state, and county, as opposed to the wealthiest in our community. Let’s keep fighting the good fight and promoting Democratic candidates for state and local office. If you’re interested in running for an upcoming office or no someone who is, please contact us at 462-1210 or at nacogdochesco.democrats@gmail.com. A list of the local offices up for election in 2012 is below.

     Finally, we encourage everyone to get involved with our local party! Come to our meetings or shoot us an email to see how you can help. As usual, financial donations are needed as we prepare for voter outreach campaigns, the printing of literature, and the need to shore up the bank for the always-expensive election season. Donations are tax-deductible and can be mailed to Nacogdoches County Democrats, P.O. Box 633961, Nacogdoches TX, 75963.

     That’s it for now good Dems. Look for a brief summary of the upcoming May elections in our April e-newsletter. I look forward to seeing you Thursday night as we continue our diligent work to turn Texas Democratic blue.

Fighting the good fight,
Stephen Wright, Chairman
Nacogdoches County Democratic Party
(936) 560-0781
stephen.wright15@gmail.com

News Summary

International

Inspired by the Egyptian cause, Libyan citizens wage a revolution against dictator Muammar Gaddafi, though, unlike in Egypt, civil war has erupted:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/20113711929686158.html

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/201134111445686926.html

National

Public-sector workers in Wisconsin continue to resist Governor Walker’s anti-democratic and unnecessary rollback of collective bargaining rights:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/50758.html

http://www.alternet.org/economy/150139/michael_moore%3A_the_smug_wealthy_have_gone_too_far_–_and_we%27re_finally_fighting_back/

http://everythingnac.com/?p=9336

The economy continues to improve as unemployment dips below 9% for the first time in a year and over 200,000 jobs were added in the private sector during the last quarter:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/03/04/employment-situation-february

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/50662.html

State

Texas teachers, health care workers, and other public sector workers face severe cuts:

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/

http://tx.aft.org/

http://www.cppp.org/

http://kennethdfranks.blogspot.com/

Texas Legislature moving to require sonograms for abortions, approve unnecessary voter ID requirements:

http://www.hilltopviewsonline.com/perry-playing-politics-with-emergency-items-1.1969823

County/Local

Nacogdoches County Budget cuts loom:

http://dailysentinel.com/news/article_95fa3026-3728-11e0-98f0-001cc4c03286.html

http://dailysentinel.com/news/article_34695018-3407-11e0-969f-001cc4c03286.html

Nacogdoches City Council approves E-tech loan extension:

http://dailysentinel.com/news/article_f78a904e-4482-11e0-9a8d-001cc4c03286.html

Local STOP groups continues to fight for transparency and eminent domain rights in their battle against the Tarsands Oil Pipeline:

http://www.thecherokeean.com/news/2011-03-02/Front_Page/STOP_members_speak_in_Jacksonville.html

2012 Offices up for Election

Last day to file: Jan. 2, 2012

Primary Election: March 6, 2012

General Election: Nov. 6, 2012

U.S. President (Barack Obama-D)

U.S. Senate (Kay Bailey Hutchison-R; open seat)

U.S. House, Dist. 1 (Louie Gohmert-R)

State Rep. Dist. 9 (Wayne Christian-R)

County Commission, Pct. 1 (Jerry Don Williamson-R)

County Commission, Pct. 3 (Jim Elder-R)

145th District Judge (Campbell Cox-R)

420th District Judge (Ed Klein-R)

County Attorney (John Fleming-R)

District Attorney (Nicole LoStracco-R)

Sheriff (Thomas Kerss-R)

Tax Assessor-Collector (Janie Weatherly-D)

All Constables

Pct. 1 – William Sowell-R

Pct. 2 – David Adams-D

Pct. 3 – Roger Dudley-R

Pct. 4 – Jason Bridges-R