Why I'm not voting for Maxey for State Party Chair.

It's been a week now and I'm good and irritated and thought I'd share with you all my reasoning behind my decision not to support fellow Austinite Glen Maxey for State Party Chair at this point.

A week ago I went to the Maxey for Chair website from a link on Burnt Orange Report. BOR had re-printed a letter from Glen to the people of the Texas Democratic Party. It included the following statement in it (which was also on the Maxey website... http://www.maxeyforchair.com/maxflybw.pdf - scroll down to the 6th bullet). From Glen's statement:

"I want to create a Party that values everyone's input, opinions, and ideas regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, color, or sexual orientation in the DECISIONS of the Party. We cannot exclude from the decision-making levels those communities and their leaders who support this Party overwhelmingly with their votes on Election Day."

This same statement was on a Maxey for Chair flier I received last weekend at my SD convention.

Have any of you noticed what LARGE group of Democrats Glen left out in his list of people whose input is important?

That's right...just 50 percent of the population. :eyes:

So I wrote Glen's campaign last week to let them know they might want to re-write the thing to include women. I have yet to receive any reply.

Frankly, at a time when women's rights are under the most serious attack of my lifetime, I find his omission of women disturbing. I'm sure if the campaign ever gets around to replying to me they'll call it an unintentional oversight. But what does it say about Glen that he overlooked women...the people who are the backbone of this party and provide more than half of its volunteers.

And what's more...what does it say about the people Glen surrounds himself with that NONE of them noticed the oversight and got it fixed? Will he surround himself with that same kind of people if we elect him State Chair?

Last week I was discussing nearly the same thing about BAR and Maxey, except regarding equality issues.

I met with BAR's staffers over the weekend and we had a long discussion about her views and some of that language has changed.

Also, I wrote a couple of "hot" letters to Maxey and now equality issues are being mentioned as well, even though he never responded personally to me or to SO.

I would try to get on his calendar though and make your case for changing the language of that statement; I don't think it was an intentional omission.

I hope not!

are being addressed. I couldn't find anything about it on Maxey's site last week and the site is down right now for revamping...so we'll see what it has to say about women's issues after it comes back up.

Luckily I run into Glen at meetups around here and the next time he sees me in person he may get an earful. :)

Boyd Richie also finds you worthy of ignoring:
* I am committed to addressing the concerns of our party’s most loyal supporters, the African-American and Hispanic communities and Organized Labor. I will work with the leaders for the allocation of resources to further their efforts to elect our Democratic candidates at every level.

nobody loves me. :(

Cross his ass off the list too.

and understands that women are the real strength of the party. His wife, Betty, is a past president of TDW. Also, at the moment, he appears to be the only candidate with a working website. :)

(Edited to add link for website.)

Richie is singling out two groups, Maxey is supposedly including all groups.

Not that I think that's a good reason to vote against Maxey. I'm sure it was an oversight. There are many other reasons I oppose Maxey, though.

Maybe after this DU post he will pay attention.

and people who are active in his campaign frequent this forum. Hell, I'm surprised they haven't showed up to yell at me yet. So maybe it'll make a difference. *shrug*

A quote from a news release I recieved today:

"Former Speaker Laney joins House Leader St. Rep. Jim Dunnam, Chair of the Legislative Study Group and immediate past Chair of the Texas Leg. Black Caucus St. Rep. Garnet Coleman, St. Rep. Rafael Anchia, St. Rep. Stephen Frost, St. Rep. Chuck Hopson, St. Rep. Jim McReynolds, and St. Rep. David Farabee."

That's good enough for me.

Hey Velma D,

I just now got a chance to read your post. I am sure that was an accidental oversight. The reason Maxey hasn't contacted you back is that over the last few days we had to switch to a different server and all the email was down (eek!) but the switchover is nearly complete and will be back up soon.

I guarantee that your observations will be fixed, and that Maxey definitely would agree with you.

His personal email is RepGMaxey@aol.com and his office phone is 512-443-2004. That's the difference that a Maxey chairmanship would bring--openness, accessibility, an ear to the people--several folks comment that he is an insider too. Sure he is. But he is an insider who has always been very active and vocal in getting people involved. I can't count the young people he's mentored like myself on both hands for sure.

Some of his best friends are women, and I guarantee it was an oversight.

Thanks for the understanding--I would encourage you to get in touch with Glen and let him know about your concerns, and we will get this taken care of.

I also wanted to note that recently there was a discussion of winning seats in Republican trending or Republican areas, and I wanted to note out that while I applaud Mr. Richie for succeeding in his attorney races in North Texas, there were only 4 (that I can think of) Texas State Representatives that defeated GOP incumbents since 2000--Mark Strama, Donna Howard, Hubert Vo, and Patrick Rose. Glen Maxey played a major role in each of those except Vo's.

Maxey also helps judicial and down ballot candidates win races in districts they were not supposed to win, for example Stephen Yelenosky and Richard McCain for district judge and constable respectively--that's the added insight that a Maxey chair will bring.

(Puts soapbox away.)

Thanks for the comments, VelmaD.

Nick

If Glen is so accessible, why didn't he bother to return a call from the Coastal Bend Texas Democratic Women when they invited him to speak at their meeting? Boyd Richie couldn't come, but he returned the call. Charlie Urbina-Jones did attend.

This is a general reminder to everyone.

Not a gentle reminder. A general reminder.

Hey Meg--

I can't answer that. I don't know if you called the office which he just moved out of or if he didn't return the call. My guess would be that since he is in the middle of two initiative campaigns, and several other campaigns up and down the ballot across the state,from judicial races to state reps from Dallas to Galveston to Austin, to winning a court case against the city of Austin for trying to change the language of the open government petition on our next ballot, to running his own race for chair, he might have missed the call back. I am sure he would be apologetic. He never quits.

The number called was the cell phone number given by Glen in partial answer to the Pink Dome question on the his payment entry to the PAC supporting Strayhorn.

So, he was too busy to return a phone call. That sends a very clear a message to us.

and in keeping with the TDW policy to not promote one Democrat over another, the Coastal Bend Texas Democratic Women made sure there were flyers for all three candidates available. Boyd mailed a stack of flyers for both the county convention and the CBTDW meeting; Charlie brought flyers with him; and I went to Glen's website and made copies of the flyer available there. We had a pretty decent turnout, especially for a rainy Tuesday evening. I noticed quite a few state convention delegates in attendance.

While we're not as liberal as Austin, we're still Democrats. Perhaps Glen will find the time later to make a trip to south Texas. CBTDW meets the last Tuesday of each month, and there are other groups that meet regularly that would probably welcome any candidate for TDP chair. For example, the Corpus Christi Chapter of the Progressive Populist Caucus meets the fourth Thursday of each month. Check the Nueces County Democratic Party Calendar for meeting information.

but I've had some PC problems. I was actually the person who placed the phone call to Glen. I tried the office number you gave first, and it was busy, busy, busy, so I called the cell phone number Glen gave at Pink Dome. It went to voice mail, and the recording said, "This is Glen . . " so I assume I got the right number, and left a message. Later that day, I tried the office number (the 443 one) again, and this time there was no answer, and no voice mail nor answering machine.

Glen can call Gloria or Susan at (361) 882-8478, 9-5 Mon. thru Fri. We've got two more meetings before the State Convention. I'll also try to email.

You probably are not aware that this line was the punch line for a thousand racist jokes from the sixties and seventies. Since then it has primarily been used to mock racists and other bigots.

To some of us this language makes Maxey sound like a Zell Miller style Dixiecrat "Why, some of my best friends are Neeeegroes"

Of course We all know better, but the language. . .

but I know Nick personally, and have for a while, so I figure he really didn't mean it that way. It did get a good giggle thought. I can kinda see Nick's face when he realizes what he said. :)

I just assumed that he was too young to have had that experience.

I am sure you can completely picture my face, right this second. Lol.

How was I supposed to know? The 60s were what, 20 years before I was born?

But re-reading, yes, I can see! So there you have it--what would we ever do without the community pointing out mistakes so we can improve. Lol. Ah god. I am sorry, that was not how I meant it. Lol.

(Blush...)

part of the fun of being a young Democrat is that old Democrats (snort...I'm only a decade older than you) are only too willing to talk about the history and set us kiddos right.

And now you'll know what people are talking about if the topic ever comes up. (I know there are still any number of references to the past that come up and I just nod my head like I know what the heck people are talking about.)

You weren't supposed to know. A lot of people my age worked very hard so that a lot of people your age would not know about racism and hypocrisy. I am glad to see it worked. I shared my view as an anecdote, not a criticism. Don't fret.

thanks for the extra contact info for Glen. I'll try to drop him a line...and I figure I'll run into him in person at one of the local meetups and talk to him about it in person.

I want very much to believe you are right...that it was an accidental oversight. But I figure you understand what it's like to be in a group that is forever getting accidentally overlooked.

And my biggest concern remains. I can understand the oversight as accidental when Glen or whoever was writing the piece. What I can't understand is how no one else working with Glen caught it. If the current Maxey campaign doesn't include at least one person who has women's issues on their radar...then it needs to, desperately. And if he gets elected then he needs to make damn sure that he has people around him who can make sure the same kind of oversight doesn't happen again for any group. (That isn't just true for Glen...it's true for anyone who gets elected.)

I suppose what it boils down to is a concern that Glen is kinda insular and surrounds himself with people who are like him. But, as I think about it, that again is not just a Glen issue...it's how most people are. And it's something we need to make sure the next party chair deals with no matter who it is.

..is quite frankly, nobody is perfect. If you think I am not embarrassed that I didn't see it either then you're wrong, ya know?

However, I think that while it gets heated on here, how much interaction do the majority of people ever have with the party chair as it currently stands? I think Glen would change that, though.

He doesn't wanna be the face of the party or the spokesperson. He wants elected officials and spokespeople to be the face, to present a message and vision..he wants to be more helping to organize a voter file that works, two way data and help.

I've said it before and I will say it again--we get mad at the DNC or whatever for "using us as an ATM" but in reality the TDP does the same thing now. Why should someone in Victoria give $ to the TDP when it is a one way street? They are not provided with support. I personally do not give $ to the TDP because I am not confident in the leadership abilities displayed so far.

I am putting together a list of all of the successful campaigns Maxey has been a part of through the last 30 years, across the state, in R and D areas, as well as the ones he's lost. I think that's valuable info not to say "oh look, look, he lost this one!" but rather to show the experience. With a loss, you learn something, and you apply it next time.

To some, (I am sure JohnCoby will have something to say) it could be seen as "divisive" to point out the flaws and to call it for what it is--but I feel personally it is much more harmful to *ignore* the warts, because untreated, they grow, and they grow, and they grow. The party is mortgaged as well, if anyone has been paying attention.

When was the last time the TDP *had* an active two way voter file? I hear one is on the way, but it's what I've heard for the last 3 years. I've also heard that the TDP still owes the person working on it over $20,000 and has barely managed to keep the guy from pulling it. When was the last time there was a strong, precinct by precinct, county by county empowerment?

The way I see it, albeit biased, is that the same crew has done the same job over and over. Or not done, I should say. The stuff on Richie's emails and pieces is the same old song from 2 years ago.

Some have said that it should be the gubernatorial candidates preference, but how much sense does that make? If Bell gets elected, he's gonna have a lot more to worry about in the state of Texas than the state of the TDP, and if he doesn't win, ok, he's out of the picture, and we have a chair through 2008.

The question returns, status quo vs. change. I'm for change on this one.

Nick,

You keep saying that Glen represents a change in the one-way street. South Texas has been ignored for years and yet we have the majority of Democrats. And as VelmaD and Muse point out, Democratic women shouldn't be ignored, either.

Both were ignored when Glen didn't return a call to the Coastal Bend Texas Democratic Women. I'm not setting the bar so high that Glen should actually VISIT south Texas. I'm just saying he should have returned the call.

that you and I agree on two really important things.

1) the party needs change 'cause the status quo hasn't been cutting it for a long time

2) that pointing out flaws and having them pointed out to you by people who care is a good thing and it's one of the ways people learn and grow. I hope you understand that my concern raised in this thread should be taken in that light. If Glen gets elected State Chair then I want him to do the very best job he can for all Texas democrats. (I feel the same way about all the candidates.) And it's up to us rank and file to tell them what we think and when we think they've messed up.

BTW, I emailed Glen earlier and hope to hear back. One advantage Glen has (or disadventage depending on your point of view :) ) is that he's someone I know and see and the people who work for him are people I know and see...so I can nag the hell out of him about stuff. :evilgrin:

I very much agree with #1 and #2.

FROM GLEN:

I asked Nick to post this response about my inclusion of women in this campaign for State Party Chair or other aspects of my life. As you may know, my web site had to be switched to a different server and so I wanted to set up a new DU account as well to match my new address, but it takes 24 hours.

VelmaD:

To the contrary, I've been one of the leading advocates of women's rights my entire life.

We'll update the website to take care of a drafting oversight. I was pointing out in that statement the almost complete disregard for minority input in decisions of the Party to date.

I traveled around the country in support of inclusion of the Equal Rights Amendment in the federal Constitution. As a legislator, not only did I have a 100% record on ANY and ALL issues dealing with women, but I was a leader on those issues.

Whether the issue was about pay equity, right to choose, support for minority and women owned businesses, gender equity in higher education, to name some major issues, I was one of the "go to" guys to support the effort. My work in trying to raise the minimum wage and health issues went directly to major issues for women.

Just ask any lobbyist for NOW, Women's Political Caucus, Planned Parenthood or TARAL.
Just a few years ago I was nominated by women to be on the national board of NARAL. I wasn't selected, but I was asked by Texas women to apply. I don't think someone who is callous to women would have been asked.

I sponsored an array of health related issues for woman, including the major cervical cancer screening and treatment initiatives to name one huge one.

I have encouraged, mentored, and managed campaigns for women to run for office at all levels. I am currently the lead consultant for Valinda Bolton's campaign in HD 47 in Austin.
Give a call to Barbara Radnofsky and ask her about what I'm doing statewide to assist in her run-off. She'll tell you.

As Party Chair, I want to insure that we recruit women to run for office at all levels. Women can win.

I was often heard exclaiming on the House floor that if the Legislature was completely composed of women, we'd have most of these problems solved.

Women are the lifeblood of a revived Democratic Party. Women, and expecially women of color can win races across Texas and are probably best situated to do so. I want to build a Party that supports their efforts and makes it possible for them to do so.

No idle promises here. I get it.

Glen Maxey

I'll get the sentence reconstructed on the website to reflect that.

Nick, thank Glen for me. :-) I just got his emailed response to me and I really appreciated him taking the time to talk to me and set my mind at ease. I was also stunned by how quickly he got back to me.

I have to say...now that I understand the point he was trying to make with that statement...I agree with him (even if I didn't originally get what he was aiming at). His point was about the stunning lack of minority voices in the decision-making process in our state party. And he was right...it's a travesty and an embarassment.

We've got to figure out a way to get everyone's voice to the table to be heard.