Texas Republicans, having worked up hysteria around so-called “critical race theory” being taught in schools (it’s not), have moved on to the next culture-wars issue: banning books from schools that they claim are pornographic or present history or society in ways that makes them feel uncomfortable. This is nothing new; Americans have been banning books since before there was a …
What Black History Month Means To Me
By Frederick L. Nickens IV Vice-Chair Collin County Democratic PartyBlack History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the central role they have played in the building and shaping of U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event was originally called “Negro History Week,” created in February 1926 by …
Democrats Deliver: Broadband For All
Here in Collin County, we take it for granted that we have high-speed broadband. And for good reason: nearly everyone in the county, 97.6%, have access to at least 100 mbps (megabits per second) wired broadband at home. Besides giving us the opportunity to “Netflix and chill” on Friday nights, fast internet access enables access to telemedicine, allows students to …
The Republican Primary: A Race to the Bottom
As expected, the 2022 Republican Primary is a race to the bottom for right-wing extremism and bigotry.
No To Extremists Visiting Collin County
We here with the Collin County Democratic Party disagree with our counterparts in the Collin County Republican Party on just about everything, but at least they are not sponsoring two of the most extremist members of Congress to visit our County. That grim distinction goes to the Frisco Conservatives, which hosted Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia in Frisco on …
The Reauthorization Of The Violence Against Women Act Languishes In The House. One Vital Provision Is Needed.
According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, there is virtually a 1:1 correlation between domestic abuse and financial abuse. Survivors often name financial constraints as the one of top reasons for their decision as to whether to leave an abusive partner. What’s more, financial abuse is often the first sign of domestic abuse and is used as a …
CCDP Statement on the Capitol Riot
January 6, 2021 Like all Americans, the Collin County Democratic Party is horrified and appalled by the illegal and out of control take-over of the US Capitol today by hundreds of people carrying Trump flags and other items identifying them as Trump supporters. That this violence occurred today was no accident; the President himself had encouraged a pro-Trump protest in …
County Chair’s Statement on Collin County 2020 Election Results
November 4, 2020 Mike Rawlins, County Chair As I write this Wednesday morning, I suspect a lot of you are feeling what I do – an odd mix of exhaustion, sleep deprivation, anxiety over the uncertainty of the Presidential outcome, disgust, disbelief (“not again?” for Texas, “WTF?” for Collin County) and gratitude where we can find positive things. So what …
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg – May Her Memory be a Blessing
Mike Rawlins, County Chair She came to be known to many of us as “The Notorious RBG”. She was so incredibly dedicated, and seemed indestructible, persistently and insistently carrying on the work of her life’s passion through numerous personal hardships and illnesses. Until she didn’t. I think that’s one reason that her passing last Friday evening felt so unexpected, and …
Forward Together
21 July 2020 by Lulu Seikaly On July 14th, Collin County Democrats made history. We refused to be silenced in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and a complete lack of leadership from our state’s highest officials. We made our voices heard, setting an impressive new record for voter turnout. I greatly appreciate every volunteer, election worker, staffer, party …
Bill Baumbach Remembrance
June 16, 2020 Written by Deborah Angell Smith, County Chair 2003-2007 Friends, I am incredibly sad to report that we’ve lost a true leader in the Collin County Democratic Party and the progressive community in North Texas. Our dear friend, Bill Baumbach, died suddenly of natural causes (unrelated to COVID19) Wednesday night, 6/10/20, in Dallas. An evening of remembrance is …
A High Community Standard for All
Photo from 8cantwait.org by Matt Leahy State Democratic Executive Committee Member – Senate District 8 Collin County Democratic Party Precinct Chair – Precinct 50 [Editor’s note: The opinions are the author’s and do not reflect the position of the Collin County Democratic Party.] As a black man and a precinct chair in the Collin County Democratic Party, I have to …
New Rule in Memory of George Floyd
New Rule: A white person cannot be hired as a police officer, sheriff, or constable for the next five years. Inspired by Bill Maher’s New Rules segment on the HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher. This is meant more to provoke conversation rather than be a serious proposal 4 June 2020 Please note, the opinions are my own and do …
A Letter to Collin County Democrats
26 May 2020 Fellow Collin County Democrats, Over the last few weeks, we have canceled plans and transformed our lives. We have put our lives on hold to save the lives of those around us. We have built a community in the middle of a crisis. We have watched in shock and horror as our elected leaders in Collin County, …
What’s the Message
20 May 2020 by Mike Rawlins, County Chair The question that new Democratic activists almost always ask is “What’s our message?” It isn’t “not Trump” or “not Republican”. We always tell candidates to talk about what they’re for before they talk about their opponents, if they talk about them at all. And with the media covering Trump’s mishandling of the …
Liars, Scammers and Cheats! Oh My!
by Billye Johnson March 14, 2020 Who knew when we were raising a glass of champagne on December 31 2019 that 2020 would be a banner year for craziness? While certain politicians were busy pretending the coronavirus was a new version of the garden variety flu, another group was looking at it as a new way to part people from …
Sue Me
May 5, 2020 by Woot Lervisit Last week, I applied for a mail-in ballot on the grounds of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also last week, Attorney General Ken Paxton released publicly a deceptive letter about COVID-19 mail-in ballots threatening criminal charges of election fraud. In his letter, Mr. Paxton ignored the pertinent legal issue of physical immunity from COVID-19. Instead, Mr. …
LifePath Systems – Underfunded and Understaffed
April 30, 2020 By Courtney Brooks, candidate for Collin County Commissioner, Precinct 1 LifePath Systems in McKinney, TX is Collin County’s local authority for both mental health and substance abuse services. Individuals who qualify for state-funded assistance are able to get treatment based on available funding. In 1986, the Collin County Commissioner’s Court became the sponsoring agency for LifePath, providing …
You Can Help During the COVID19 Crisis
April 23,2020 During these difficult times there are those who need our help more than ever. A few local organizations you can support who do this work include: Minnies Food Pantry: Donate money by texting MINNIES to 41444 or click here to give directly. Drive & Drop items @ 661 18th St. Plano, TX 75074 Mon. & Wed. – Sat. 7:30am …
Still Time to Participate in the CENSUS 2020
April 23, 2020 By Donna Buesing, staff writer The U.S. Government’s regular Census starting day was April 1st but those who have not filled out their census form online can still do so. Every address should have received a notice regarding the 2020 Census and each address has a unique ID number. Getting started is as easy as going to …
A Better Deal For Working People
By Maury Marcus April 13, 2020 During the last quarter millennium, the democracies of the West and the Far East have experimented with three basic economic ideologies: conservative capitalism, centralized state socialism, and progressive capitalism. The verdict of history is clear. Conservative capitalism has been strong in the United States for most of its history, with the exception of the …
Victory! TEC Holds Plano Council Member Accountable
by David Smith April 13, 2020 After well over a year of legal work, the Texas Ethics Commission held then Plano Council Member Tom Harrison accountable for his apparent 2018 campaign ethics violations, and this past Friday, publicly released their findings and action. The Commission found that Harrison violated the law in accepting and not reporting anonymous donations through a …
This Pandemic is a Political Problem
by Mike Rawlins, Collin County Democratic Party Chair April 9, 2020 There’s no doubt that some people will read this title and be upset about this situation being politicized. But this is the same as complaining that it’s too soon to talk about common sense gun control after a mass shooting. If we don’t address this now we are just …
All Modern GOP Positions are Based on Lies – Smart Government
April 2, 2020 Editors Note: This editorial is the third in a series. To read the first editorial on the GOP Healthcare lies, click here. To read the second editorial on GOP Fiscal Responsibility lies, click here. As I write this, we are under a state-wide order to limit social gatherings to 10 people. Most businesses have employees working from home as much as possible. …