Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Editorial Feature”
By Mike Rawlins, Newly Re-elected Collin County Democratic Chair March 12, 2020 We’ve completed yet another record turnout for the Democratic Primary. After all of the votes have been counted, we doubled the 2016 turnout and even eclipsed the record 2008 turnout. Our sincere thanks to all who voted, and particularly those who waited in line on Election Day …
February 20, 2020 We hear a lot in the media about polarization, partisanship, and tribalism. We constantly hear reports of voters being put off by the discord and wanting everyone to stop the division and just work together. It’s even gotten to the point that we hear Democratic candidates thinking they need to be the champions of reaching across the …
February 11, 2020 By Manu Lail, Assistant Vice Chair I had the honor of attending the NAACP Freedom Fund Scholarship Luncheon this past weekend. As I walked to the candidate table, I saw the usual Democratic candidates like Rocio Hernandez (HD67 candidate), Lorenzo Sanchez (HD67 Candidate), and Sean McCaffity (CD3 Candidate) among many others. However, I also noticed Jeff Leach, …
By Kyle Therrian, Attorney By now, most are familiar with the never-ending, justice-delayed prosecution of Texas’ Attorney General Ken Paxton. Little known to the public, the Collin County Indigent Criminal Defense Plan could hold the key to it all. Here is a quick recap of where we are. Spring of 2015 – A criminal case is filed, and our District …
by Mike Rawlins, CCDP Chair January 9, 2019, Plano, TX To “wag to dog” is to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance. In presidential politics it has come to mean starting a war to divert attention away from other problems. I agree with the old advice that it’s generally …
by Tarek Lucien Radjef December 17, 2019 Next year the census is going to try to count everyone in the United States. A count as accurate as possible is extremely important. This not only is the basis for state congressional representation but also helps determine how to distribute each year more than $675 billion in federal funds to states and …
Map Credit: Collin County Government Geographic Information System Sadly, most people pay less attention to county government than city government (and they generally pay very little attention to the latter!) A few people know that a County Commissioner is a member of the Commissioner’s Court, presided over by the County Judge, and that it has something to do with county …
Map Credit: Collin County Government Geological Information System by Mike Rawlins, Collin County Chair, Plano TX – 11/8/19 As the filing period for a place on the primary ballot approaches, we’re still looking for people willing to run for some of these offices. And to help identify good prospects, we’re going to tell you a bit about each of these …
October 31, 2011 “The best Ann Richards Dinner I’ve ever attended.” “Ambassador Power was amazing.” “Had a great time. Very inspiring.” These are just a few of the things people said to me the other evening. If you weren’t at our annual Ann Richards Dinner last Friday night you really missed out! The proceeds from this event will give us …
by Tarek Lucien Radjef Last month, we attended the Jefferson County Fair in the state of Washington. To our surprise, there were three booths representing the Democrats. One said ‘Democratic Party’, the other two, ‘Bernie Sanders’ and ‘Elizabeth Warren’. After talking to the volunteers at each location, it sadly appeared that there was at a minimum, friction between all three. …
by Jeff Quiggle I am a man and a feminist — and not just because feminism is important to a woman in my life. I am a feminist — not because I have a mother, or a sister, or a wife, or a daughter, or women colleagues and friends — and I do have all of those. I am a feminist because I support full rights …
We condemn President Trump’s racist comments directed at Congressmembers Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley, and Tlaib. He told these four American women of color to go back to their own country because they disagreed with him. Three of these women have lived in the United State their entire lives. All were elected by the majority of the popular vote in their respective …
By Tarek Lucien Radjef. Medicare is not a government-run healthcare system like the Veterans Health Administration. Medicare is a single-payer primary health insurance coverage like the French system, but restricted to age 62 and older. All care and drug providers are independent, unlike the Veterans healthcare system where the government pays salaries to care providers and owns the hospitals, like it does in Great Britain. One has to wonder how many of our Republican senior friends refuse …
By Manu Lail, CCDP Chair Candidate. While we celebrate Independence Day, it’s important to remind ourselves that the American Dream consists of the opportunity to work hard and achieve your dreams. My parents and sister came to this country in 1977 with less than $20 in their pockets. I would be born two years later. In those first few years, …
June 27, 2019 Mike Rawlins, County Chair Today, in a deeply flawed ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled that the courts have no power to rule on complaints of explicit partisan gerrymandering, despite that the justices recognized it is undesirable and has negative effects on our democracy. At best, this five to four decision is a shirking …
By Sudhir Joshi, Communications Director CCDP. Have you noticed when there is a big event, every news channel covers the event in the same way? This results in a common narrative emerging while opposing points of view are suppressed through lack of media attention. Let me give you a non-political example. When there is a birth or marriage in the British royal family, it …
Observations from Another Municipal Runoff By Mike Rawlins, CCDP Chair. There were high visibility runoffs in Dallas, Plano, and Richardson Saturday. Things turned out okay in one city with two Democrats to choose from for mayor, but not so great elsewhere. We congratulate State Representative Eric Johnson for his win as Dallas Mayor. A progressive candidate opposed by the establishment Richardson …
By Sudhir Joshi, CCDP Communications Director. In my opinion, healthcare is the most important problem facing America today. The cost of medical care, including prescription drugs is dramatically higher in the US as compared to other developed countries. Millions of American cling to corporate jobs they despise just because they are scared to lose their health insurance. Many are forced to …
By Tarek Lucien Radjef. The smallest state, Wyoming has 600,000 people. Kentucky is the 25th smallest with 4.5 million Kentuckians. The total population from 1-25 is 53 million. These states are listed at the bottom of the article. The total U.S. population, including territories is about 330 million. Senators have equal power in their Chamber. This means that when Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California vote,representing 40 million people, it can be nullified by Mike …
By Mike Rawlins, CCDP Chair. With another odd-year non-partisan election almost behind us, we first want to thank everyone who stepped up to run. It’s a significant commitment of time, energy, and often money, and we appreciate the passion for public service that led you to take the step. Though not as many Democrats won as we would have liked, we …
By Tarek Lucien Radjef Amendment 1 – Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Amendment …
Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, famously said over thirty years ago that all politics are local. That is especially true as voting begins for the May 4 general election. With city councils, schools boards, and Collin College Board of Trustees on the ballot, these elections are as local as we get. And you need to vote! With extreme reactionary candidates running for several of …
By Donna Buesing, CCDP Staff Writer Spanish Translation The U.S. Government’s regular Census is approaching. Please do NOT disregard this vitally important bit of paperwork. It may seem to be intrusive, but it truly makes a HUGE difference (or it can) in what happens in our communities. It’s ONLY AFTER 72 years that the specific data is released. That …
By Jennifer Mott, Collin County Precinct Chair. Collin County, located just north of Dallas, is the 6th most populous county in Texas and sits adjacent to three other of Texas’s 10 largest counties. We are experiencing some of the fastest population growth in the country, and, according to 2017 census data, Collin County is home to three of the nation’s …