Today I joined thousands of other Hidalgo County Democrats at a lengthy, historic and sometimes chaotic convention at the new McAllen Convention Center. I did my part as a delegate to the convention but boy oh boy patience was a valued commodity as the approved credentials roll did not come in until after 6 o'clock p.m. I sat with the fine people of my home precinct and after several hours of small talk we finally got down to the business of selecting delegates to the state convention in Austin which commences in the early part of June. As the Monitor newspaper noted:
"Officials finally announced results at 9 p.m. Clinton will have 100 Hidalgo County delegates at the state Democratic convention June 5-7 in Austin. Sen. Obama will have 12 delegates from the county.
Hidalgo County can send a total of 113 delegates to the state convention: 62 for Senate District 20, which includes the northern and western parts of the county, and 51 for Senate District 27, which includes the southeast portion of the county. It was not clear late Saturday why the delegate totals for Clinton and Obama totaled 112, not 113."
It was a difficult task and there is certainly room for improvement next time around but under the historic circumstances I would like to thank the organizers and volunteers for their efforts.
The results of the Texas primary/caucus seems to have followed the projection I made prior to the Texas primary, with Clinton winning the Texas popular vote on March 4 and Obama obtaining a larger share of Texas delegates via the caucus system. Regardless of who the eventual Democratic candidate is I believe Democrats will put differences aside and come together. I am looking forward to the state convention as Democrats move forward to victory.
The Monitor has the story of today's convention.
4 comments:
You did correctly predict this outcome before the primary. What do you say to those who were unhappy with your projection now that it has come true?
Rep. Pena I noticed you at the convention and wanted to thank you as one of the few elected officials who time after time participates in Democratic conventions. I also noticed that Mr. Saenz who spent thousands trying to trash you did not bother to attend. I wanted you to know that we appreciate your work in Austin and for the Democratic Party.
Thanks, not a hard prediction just a little hard for some to accept the truth. Now that everyone has moved forward in time we can all see the same thing.
Like you I enjoy political conventions. Thank you for participating.
The Monitor
April 8th, 2008
by Sara Perkins
For those waiting on the edges of their seats (ha):
After two weeks of trying to get Mission PD’s Lt. Garza on the phone (the whole department was occupied with arrangements for Cpl. Jose Rubio’s funeral, and so was I), I spoke to him this morning. He says the “first tape” — the dashcam from the first car, which pulled over Eddie Saenz and whose occupant administered a sobriety test — doesn’t exist because the equipment in question was broken.
Why on earth not just say so in the first place?
I would be inclined to take Garza at his word, since he’s a likeable and trustworthy officer who’s been a peach on previous assignments. But combine this with the city attorney’s very lawyerly refusal to comment on the existence or release of the tape, the city manager’s uncomfortable grimace when I told him I was still looking for it, the fact that not having a tape would be disastrous to any possible prosecution of Saenz for DWI and the executive session item on Christopher Davis’s request on the last city commission agenda, and I’m just not yet a believer.
I’ve asked Garza to dig me up any record that the equipment in question was broken.
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