Chad’s Morning Brief: Early Voting Begins, Wendy Davis Challenged to Debate in the Valley, and Other Top Stories
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of April 28, 2014. Give me your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am. Remember, you can listen online at KFYO.com or on your iPhone/Android with the radioPup App.
Important Election Dates:
Early Voting for City and School Board Election: April 28 – May 6
Election Day for City and School Board: May 10
Early Voting for GOP and Dem. Primary Runoff: May 19 – May 23
Election Day for GOP and Dem. Primary Runoff: May 27
Early Voting
Early voting begins Monday for Lubbock City Council, Lubbock ISD Board of Trustees, and Frenship/Lubbock-Cooper bond items. In Lubbock twenty-five voting locations will be open including at all United Supermarkets except Market Street on 50th.
Remember, you must have a valid I.D. in order to vote.
On the show today, I will go through the candidates for City Council and share my thoughts on each race. This is a very important election for the Lubbock City Council and the results of this race could have a major impact on the direction this council goes. If you don't think the City Council could get even more liberal, you are wrong.
What are your thoughts on the candidates? Who do you support?
Will Davis Debate?
Greg Abbott has challenged Wendy Davis to a debate in the Valley and according to The Monitor, she hasn't answered yet. That led Carlos Sanchez to add more pressure for the Davis campaign.
part of our Newsmaker Breakfast Series – declared what many other political observers have already said about this year’s election: For Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wendy Davis to win in November, she must win strong in the Rio Grande Valley.
What the San Antonio Democrat did not say, however, is that Davis’ Republican rival for the governor’s office, Greg Abbott, can win the state’s top elective post without the Valley. But Abbott has said several times during his campaign that he wants the Valley’s vote.
So I was pleasantly surprised when, a few weeks ago, the Abbott campaign reached out to me to see if The Monitor would be interested in playing host to a gubernatorial debate to be held in the Valley.
“Of course,” I said immediately, seeing this as a terrific opportunity for the Valley to play an influential role in this year’s election. I immediately reached out to the local Telemundo and CBS affiliates and they quickly agreed that they wanted to be a part of this historic event as well.
Then I reached out to the Davis campaign — and they demurred.
“We aren’t making any debate decisions at this time,” Davis Communications Director Zac Petkanas wrote me in an April 8 email. “However, this sounds like a very interesting opportunity and we will be in touch in the near future.”
To be clear: The Davis campaign did not reject the offer; they simply asked for more time to consider it. Strategically, I understand that they have their timetable for everything, but politically, I fear they are making a mistake by not even committing to a discussion about debates.
Candidly, I have been reluctant to write about this. I strongly believe a gubernatorial debate makes sense for the Valley because this region represents the future of this state economically, demographically and socially. And I hesitated at the thought of angering the Davis people and imperiling any chance for such a debate.
So instead, I reached out to several potential Democratic emissaries for some back channel communication, which is an unofficial way of negotiating sensitive matters that help facilitate formal discussions.
The emissaries are all politically influential in statewide Democratic politics – and all have strong ties to the Valley or the border region. And the feedback I got was unanimous: this would be an extraordinary opportunity for Davis but none of them felt like they could influence her campaign.
Winning an election is serious business, but it’s trivial relative to the job of governance. So I found it significant — and disconcerting — that some of the most influential politicians in the Democratic stronghold of South Texas were telling me they had little influence with the campaign of its Democratic nominee for governor.
To be fair, a strong argument could be made about the limited influence the Valley has ever had with Republicans. But in this case, the Abbott campaign is demonstrating a significant commitment to the Valley by proposing the debate.
It would be simple for the Davis campaign to show just as much commitment by agreeing to at least discuss a debate for South Texas.
Even for those who might view such a commitment as merely symbolic, it’s a significant symbolism for a region that has long viewed itself as an afterthought in statewide politics.
As Congressman Castro said in McAllen last week, the Valley has a long history of being ignored by both Republicans and Democrats.
The Abbott campaign has deftly signaled that it considers the Valley important enough to have a political debate here.
The Davis camp should strongly consider what signal it is sending by delaying such a discussion.
I have a feeling that the Davis camp would have accepted by now if the debate were to be held in Dallas, Austin, or Houston. However, I believe that the Davis campaign is worried about how she will be received in an area of the state where abortion and Davis' stance on late-term abortion is not appreciated.
Keep up the pressure though. The Davis campaign needs it.
Other Top Stories:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.
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