TX-32 Meet the candidates Saturday

On Saturday, there's going to be one of those marathon candidate forums, where all the Democratic candidates have a few minutes to speak. Not an ideal forum, but as good a chance as you'll get this week to meet our candidates for TX-32.

Since I'm a precinct chair and run the blog SessionsWatch http://sessionswatch.blogspot.com/, the two top candidates have been interested in meeting with me. Yesterday, I met with Dennis Burns http://www.burns4texas.com/ over lunch, and with Eric Roberson http://www.ericroberson.org/ at his candidate event.

While both candidates publicly tout their "conservative" values, they're both solidly on the side of overhauling our corporatist structure in the country, regarding media ownership, health care, lobbyists, et al.

They both have a realistic understanding of the difficulties of swinging hardcore "R" label voters in North Dallas; they both have interesting ideas for marketing the campaign on a national level, instead of relying on publicity from the Belo Corporation.

Dennis Burns is very intelligent, has solid Democratic Party credentials, and worked on John Tester's campaign while living in Montana. His political role model is Mike Mansfield http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Mansfield.

Right now, his main problem is organization and honing his message. His website gives you an idea of what I'm talking about--he has a LOT to say! When I asked him how he plans to beat Pete Sessions, he said he plans to talk about Pete Sessions' record in Congress; he also knows how many votes he has to get from the "hard R" side to win.

He has a really good plan for marketing his campaign nationally, which I won't spill on this blog, but it's a good plan, if he can really get the support he needs.

Eric Roberson was a Republican until a couple of years ago; during the candidate event last night, he talked openly about his experience as a moderate Republican. Growing up, he said, he always thought of the Democratic Party as the "party of the heart," and Republican as "the party of the head." But through law school and into his practice as a trial lawyer, he always found himself more aligned with the Democratic Party point of view regarding things like Affirmative Action and legal cases weighted more in favor of corporations than working class people. Years ago, he says, he expressed a desire to switch parties, but was encouraged by his professional association to remain in the Republican Party because they needed moderates. It was frustrating to him, though, to always be "the only person in the room" who thought Affirmative Action was a good idea, and government could serve the common good better than a private company.

When I asked his plan for beating Pete Sessions, he launched into a well-thought-out marketing campaign, and cited campaign experience gained while a law student, working for a pro-choice Republican. I won't go into the details on a public blog, but he has some solid strategy, knows the demographics, the percentages, the numbers of the District, and has the promise of financial support for his marketing plan from a third-party source. He's working hard on endorsements, and has the endorsement of State Representative Allen Vaught. He also has a kick-ass "frame," his message honed down to 6 words, which will fit onto a postcard. No, I'm not going to spoil the surprise by telling it here, but it's a good one!

Eric Roberson's main problem--he doesn't live in the District! I asked about that when I first met him on January 2 at the candidate filing party, and again in a phone conversation with his campaign manager. Both cite the Constitution, which only says the Representative has to live in the state. But, seriously, Pete Sessions is going to go after him for that, and I don't know how voters in the 32nd will feel about being represented by someone from Plano!

I like both candidates really well. While Eric Roberson is an obvious favorite because of his organizational skills, Dennis Burns is not to be underestimated. In just an hour with Dennis Burns, I could tell he would go after Pete Sessions like a bulldog after a leather shoe!

Both of them have expressed a desire to debate each other, and feel shortchanged by the "candidate forum" constraints. All they need is someone to sponsor a debate...anyone interested?

I don't have a complete schedule for Saturday's event, but Eric told me that he will be the very last speaker, and the event ends at 12:30. So if you're only interested in TX-32, you can adjust your schedule accordingly.

Below is the date/time of Saturday's event:

Sponsor: Park Cities / Central Dallas Democrats
Date: Saturday, February 2nd
Time: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Location: Oak Lawn Branch Public Library (Cedar Springs at Knight)