Month: October 2016

The Daily Texan Editorial Board endorses Tawana Cadien, Lloyd Doggett, Kathi Thomas and Tom Wakely in their congressional races.

One consequence of the ruthless Texas redistricting initiated by now disgraced GOP Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and renewed by the current state Republican leadership, is that Austin has no congressional district anchored in the city. Instead, all five districts are anchored in other population centers, and the sole Democratic representative is Lloyd Doggett. That alone is a strong reason for a straight Democratic vote. In addition to Doggett, each 2016 Dem challenger would be an improvement on the current incumbents. They include RN Tawana Cadi­en (D10), educator William Matta (D17), longtime grassroots activist Tom Wakely (D21), and businesswoman Kathi Thomas (D25). Your Travis County ballot will reflect only one of these candidates – you can generate a personal sample ballot on the Travis County Clerk elections website.

Whether his district stretched to the border or was mangled to include both parts of Austin and parts of San Antonio — call it the fajita-shaped district — the aim was to either have a Republican win or get Latino voters to elect a Latino representative. Doggett has been a consistent voice for progressive ideas on pharmaceuticals, education, child and senior welfare, the safety net generally, and war and peace. Different in this election is Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee. There is nothing known about Trump now that wasn’t known before. […] while Doggett fully recognizes the human role in climate change, Narvaiz says “there is a discussion to be had.”