SDEC Newsletter Sept 7
On Saturday, September 7, the State Democratic Executive Committee met for our regular quarterly meeting. Members started arriving about an hour before the meeting to catch up with peers they hadn’t seen in awhile and to get settled in.
Shortly after 11am, the meeting came to order and we said the pledges, recited the Preamble to the Constitution and had a very nice invocation from Vice Chair Shay Wyrick.
With the November 5 election cycle in full swing, I used my response during Roll Call to point out that (at the time) there were only “59 Days till the weekend.” It’s all hands on deck and later in this newsletter, I will share some resources that folks in Congressional District 38 can use to Do Something.
After Roll Call, we got down to party business by approving the minutes and agenda, hearing the Officer Reports, hearing a Disciplinary Report in Executive Session, and approving two Resolutions.
- Resolution on Supporting DOJ Investigation on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
- Resolution Condemning State Agency Actions Targeting Trans Texans
During New Business, a member moved that committees meet in-person at in-person SDEC meetings, but due to unclear wording (some members were concerned the motion limited committees to ONLY meet in person, which the parliamentarian clarified was not the case since committees were already explicitly allowed to meet virtually between SDEC meetings) and the chair declining the member to amend her own motion, the motion failed.
The same member later moved that the SDEC take up rules that were not considered before the State Convention lost quorum. The parliamentarian noted that since there were existing methods for rules to be considered between conventions, the motion was out of order and could not be voted on.
The meeting wrapped up with Member Orientation which was not able to be completed before the room needed to be cleared to prepare for the Jordan Johnson Dinner and will be finished virtually in the next few weeks.
During the meeting we also had the opportunity to hear from several powerful guest speakers.
- Cecilia Castellano from Texas House District 80 spoke about her home and the home of an aide and a lady not affiliated with her campaign being raided by officers sent by AG Paxton to investigate alleged vote harvesting. Castellano pointed out that the manner in which the search was conducted was intimidating and feels that it was intentional to suppress the Latino vote. She also noted that“Republicans hope to flip the South Texas seat [she] is running for as they aim to secure enough votes to pass a school voucher billnext legislative session.(1)”
- Theresa Boisseau is running for US Congressional District 10. Her grandfather trained in the US to be a pilot and rose to be a leader in the Haitian Air Force. She never met her grandfather because he was killed by the dictator’s forces and preventing her family's past from becoming our future motivates her even more in her race this November.
- We also heard from the Democratic candidate in the biggest environmental race in the county, Railroad Commissioner. This little understood office influences the majority of environmental policy in Texas, including regulating the oil and gas industries in Texas. Katherine Culbert’s opponent is funded by the industry being regulated, which doesn’t seem like what is best for the Texas environment.
- A surrogate for Christine Vinh Weems promoted her race and reminded us that her opponent has been arrested 37 times for being too aggressive at women’s healthcare clinics. Someone like that hardly seems unbiased enough to be a judge, so I sincerely hope that folks make sure to vote the entire ballot.
While the top of the ticket gets the most news and commentary, I like to remind people of the importance of voting the entire ballot because judges, sheriffs, district attorneys, school board trustees and ALL the other local races affect our daily lives more directly and more immediately than the top of the ticket. So while we’re already in the voting booth, casting our ballot to preserve the republic, remember to Scroll Down Ballot. AND REMIND YOUR FRIENDS :)
DO SOMETHING RESOURCES
Find Harris County volunteer and Get Out The Vote opportunities click here.
Click here to volunteer for the Harris Walz campaign in Texas.If you've read this far, your prize is a sneak peek at the new resource I'm curating to help be an "on-ramp" for Houston area folks to Do Something. I've followed all the clubs and organizations that I am aware of, but I know it's not all of them, so PLEASE send me the info for your favorite club or organization. I will be sharing publicly available information so that folks looking to get more involved can find the right club or organization to connect with.
Allow me to introduce Space City Progressives.
It is not a club or PAC, but simply a resource to connect, empower and reach out to under-involved folks and those who lean left but don't consider themselves Democrats. If this sounds helpful to you, please give it a like and share with your networks. And if you or your club/organization is interested in having an event featured, let me know (yes, of course it's free). I'm also looking for folks to chat with me on some upcoming livestreams about getting involved and Doing Something, so if that sounds fun to you, also let me know.
Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
In Solidarity,Angel Viator Smithshe/her
CD38 SDEC Committeewoman
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2024 DNC Day 1
This morning were the first of the various caucus and council meetings. Most of these meetings include special guest speakers, panels and the opportunity to meet other delegates from around the country that are interested in the same focus areas.
The exhibitor hall (this year affectionately dubbed Dempalooza) has various organizations and a wide variety of vendors. It’s great for learning what different organizations are up to and many have buttons, shirts and other swag for sale (and some for free!).
I’m currently on a shuttle from the hotel to the evening venue (United Center). It has been held twice while security addresses a breach of the permitter by protesters.
DNC 2024: Arrival in Chicago
This morning I caught a flight from Houston Hobby to Chicago Midway with about a dozen other National Delegates to the DNC.
The Texas Delegation is staying together at the same hotel and it’s been fun to run into friends and meeting new friends as we travel together and check in.
Nominating Kamala Harris to be the candidate
7/21
I bet you I’m the only National Delegate who was setting up a pop up booth at a punk rock garage sale when they got the news…
at Bad Astronaut.
Prior to today, as a pledged National Delegate to an incumbent President, my responsibility was to cast my vote the way the Democrats in my district had voted, which was for the incumbent. What many people who were calling for a replacement did not understand is that with so few unpledged delegates, there was vanishingly little chance for any change to be made without the candidate withdrawing. While there are no criminal penalties for not honoring your pledged vote, there are other consequences that must be weighed when considering such choices.
7/24
Today the Democratic National Committee Rules Committee formally adopted a plan to determine a new Democratic candidate for President of the United States. The first step is that any candidate that wishes to be considered will need to secure 300 delegate signatures with not more than 50 from one delegation. Then the delegates will vote for one of those candidates as soon as August 1.
7/25
This morning I received my Nominating Petition for President of the United States of America. With my mother and daughter sitting next to me and my father and son sitting behind me, I filled it out for Kamala Harris.
While I have spent the past twenty years working elections and volunteering for campaigns, I was driven to get more involved in 2018 after the Parkland school shooting. Having experienced two different tragic losses from gun violence at an early age, I have long been a proponent of common sense gun reform.
My oldest child was one and a half when Sandy Hook took place. At the time, I thought surely now we’ll finally see forward momentum. Obviously we didn’t. Being a young mother working full time, I trusted leaders to get the work done. There seemed to now be more voices to the chorus of common sense reform, so I did what I could while leaving the heavy lifting to others. When Parkland happened, my oldest was now in elementary school and high school was fast approaching. My drive to protect her and all the other children from more gun violence drove me to get involved more directly.
In 2018 instead of attending the Houston March for Our Lives, I attended the Harris County Joint Convention. I became a State Delegate and I shared everything I learned to encourage others to get involved so that together we can change things.
Over the course of three terms as a State Delegate and my first term as a National Delegate in 2020, I have continued to share my experiences and what I am learning. I will continue that effort again this year in Chicago as I represent Texas CD38 as one of their National Delegates.
Help me offset the costs to travel to Chicago as one of my district’s National Delegates to the DNC.
Thank you to everyone who’s already donated, every dollar helps!
Donate directly to me via Ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/viatorsmith
Or support me AND local bookstores when you buy a book here: https://bookshop.org/shop/viatorsmith
Notes From Pro Public Education Groups Who Have Been Successful
Hey Y'all!
For those who don't know me, I grew up in Ft Bend county, my family has been in Katy, TX for over 20 years, my children attend schools in Katy ISD.
I’ve been active in get out the vote and coordinated campaign initiatives since 2008, volunteered with non-partisan election protection groups, and this past fall I ran the voting center at the Katy Civic Center.
I’ve been doing community advocacy for over a decade, working with various local governments, local leaders and other key stakeholders to find compromises that benefit the community as a whole.
Last fall I spent hours speaking with leaders from groups in other districts who were successful in electing reasonable, pro public education candidates to their school board.
I wanted to share some of those notes here with the hope that others will find the information gleaned from successful groups helpful.
Harris County MUD 345 Arsenic Levels
Prior to living in our neighborhood, I served my community in northwest Houston for the past ten years on various boards like my Civic Association and the school PTO. In those communities and adjacent ones, neighbors worked together to advocate for the community’s best interests.
It is in that spirit of working together for the benefit of everyone that I am writing to you now.
The short version is that MUD 345 has higher arsenic levels (9.7parts per billion) than the City of Houston water supply (2ppb) and also of other MUDs on the same aquifer as we are on (e.g. MUD 365 is at 3.2ppb).
Since MUD 345, Green Trails MUD, West Park MUD, Longhorn Town MUD and MUD 216 all have or have recently had agreements for emergency interconnects (e.g. Green Trails MUD received water from MUD 345 during their tank repairs), the quality of water in one MUD affects residents in other MUDs.
If this concerns you, please plan to share your concerns with the board by attending the next meeting on June 19 at 12pm at 1300 Post Oak Blvd, Suite 2500 Houston, TX 77056 or by emailing the board, care of Kate Henderson, the lawyer for MUD345, at khenderson@sphllp.com. If you also send me a copy or CC me, I will print out the emails I receive and deliver them to the meeting.
The longer version:
The levels in MUD 345 have skirted just below the EPA maximum (10ppb) for years but in August the reading exceeded the EPA maximum. Houston having less arsenic is understandable since they are on surface water, but we should be able to have as little arsenic as other MUDs that use the same aquifer.
As a result of learning this information, I began attending the board meetings of MUD 345.
These meetings are held once a month, 18 miles away in the Galleria, at noon during the work week. There is no virtual option.
In January 2023 Inframark, the company contracted by MUD 345 to operate our facilities, reported to the board that they received notice (dated September 2022) that the levels of arsenic in our water exceeded the EPA maximum of 10 parts per billion in a sample dated August 4, 2022.
As a result of the August reading, TCEQ is now requiring that MUD 345 arsenic levels be tested quarterly as opposed to yearly.
But it is also important to point out that as long as the “running annual average of all samples taken during the preceding twelve months” does not exceed the EPA maximum, they are not legally required to notify the community about water quality levels (with the quarterly tests, the average has so far stayed below the EPA maximum and no legal requirement to notify exists).
At this point, it is unclear when a MUD like Harris County MUD 345 would be required to take action to reduce arsenic levels. But changes could be made without being legally required to do so.
I am writing this summary in order for you and our other neighbors to be aware of the potentially dangerous arsenic situation in the water supply to your home and to encourage you to learn more.
The MUD 345 board has agreed to add to the June agenda a discussion on what can be done to improve the arsenic levels in our water. The Harris County MUD 345 board of directors meets on the 3rd Monday at 12pm at 1300 Post Oak Blvd, Suite 2500 Houston, TX 77056. For June it will be on June 19.
The possible options for the MUD 345 board to consider to address this dangerous situation include:
- Obtain new source of water
- Blending
- Treatment via
- Precipitation
- Adsorption
- Ion exchange
- Membrane filtration
In preparation for the meeting, I strongly encourage you to learn more and to share your concerns by attending the June 19 MUD 345 board meeting.
If you can not attend the June 19 MUD 345 board meeting, please share your views with the five board members who represent your interest in the health and vitality of our neighborhood.
Please feel free to share your thoughts with our neighbors, either in person or via emailing the board care of Kate Henderson, the lawyer for MUD 345, at khenderson@sphllp.com. If you also send me a copy or CC me, I will print out the emails I receive and deliver them to the meeting.
