Lubbock Left

This morning I dropped by the City Secretary’s office to pick up a candidate packet and have a closer look inside. No, this does not mean I am running for any office. I picked up a packet to share with y’all, so that people who are considering a run for office will know a little bit of what to expect.

I believe it is vitally important for voters to have quality candidates to choose from, and in most cases for the upcoming May election, that means NEW candidates.

This is what the candidate packet looks like:

Note that there are several forms paper-clipped to it. These are what a candidate will actually need to file with the City Secretary’s office. There are 5 of them:

Ballot Application
Petition Form
Appointment of Treasurer Form
Code of Fair Campaign Practices Form
Campaign Finance Report

The petition form is an optional way to avoid paying the $100 filing fee. The number of signatures varies depending on the office you are seeking. Courtesy of the City Secretary’s office, the number of signatures of qualified voters residing in the political subdivision are:

Mayor: 103 signatures
Municipal Judge: 103 signatures
City Council District 2: 25 signatures
City Council District 4: 29 signatures
City Council District 6: 25 signatures

Of course, you’ll want to begin with a list of registered voters for the appropriate political subdivision and bring about twice the required number of signatures just in case.

The Candidate Packet itself contains the following 18 tabbed sections:

Election Calendar
City Charter, Article IX (Term, Qualifications, Filing Fee, Petition, Duties)
Application for a Place on the City General Election Ballot
Petition for a Place on the City General Election Ballot
Council Districts Map (also available online )
Policy for Candidate Use of City Hall Facilities
Nepotism
Sign Regulations and Political Advertising
Oath of Office & Statement of Elected/Appointed Officer
Poll Watcher
Early Voting Locations
Election Day Polling Places
Personal Financial Reporting
Appointment of a Campaign Treasurer by a Candidate
2008 Filing Schedule
Candidate/Officeholder Campaign Finance Report
Code of Fair Campaign Practices
Campaign Finance Guide

Post a comment if you have questions about a particular section of the candidate packet, and I will do my best to answer it.

Running for office is not the purview of the privileged — it’s for all of us.

With the 2008 Campaign Kickoff Banquet behind us, the campaign season is revving up. Part of that excitement is the new life breathed into the Texas Tech Democrats, who had a table at the banquet. It was very inspiring to talk to them and feel their energy.

And oh, by the way, they have a facebook group:

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5577159563

And so do the Tech Law Democrats, who are also an outstanding bunch:

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5897857639

If you’re a heavy facebooker like me, click on over and join up with those groups. It’s the best way to ensure that you don’t miss out on exciting campus events!

In case you’ve ever wondered how the other side lives, here are the contested local/regional races in the 2008 Republican Primary:

State Representative District 83
Delwin Jones
Joe D. Hnatek

Lubbock County Constable, Precinct 1
Paul Hanna
Ken Mull

Lubbock County Tax Assessor-Collector
Molly Ramos
Veronica Lujan
Ronnie Keister

Lubbock County Republican Party Chairman
Clif Burnett
William A. (Bill) Franklin
Chris Winn

Precint 8 Chair
Mike McDougal
Roger Quannah Settler

Precinct 13 Chair
Rose Leftwich Day
George W. Schoner

Precinct 15 Chair
Brian T.H. Thornton
Dustin R. Burrows

Precinct 16 Chair
Andy Harris
Robert W. Pratt

Precinct 46 Chair
Rick A. Uhlig
Louis Constancio

Precinct 57 Chair
R.V. Guynn
Tamera Rickman

Precinct 111 Chair
Scott Parker
Rick Bennett

Precinct 121 Chair
Joe Grimes
Aurora Farthing

Precinct 129 Chair
Ruth Corry Schiermeyer
Reace A. Bennett

It’s interesting to see which contests are joined at the precinct level, especially.

Today the A-J reports that West Texas Democrats’ momentum lags on the South Plains. Like any hardworking Lubbock Democrat who reads this headline, I was a little bit ticked. So, if that’s the situation in which you find yourself, let me elaborate on the 2008 election forecast before you take the sentiment of this A-J article to heart.

First, let’s look at Lubbock’s Texas House races. I agree that, on the surface, it’s embarrassing for the Party not to have a candidate for State House in TX-83 or TX-84, the two House districts which contain Lubbock County. However, let’s look at the situation more closely.

In 2006 we had candidates for both seats: John Miller for TX-83 (held by Delwin Jones) and Pearlie Mayfield for TX-84 (held by Carl Isett). 2006 was John’s second attempt to oust Delwin, who — as factions of the local Republican Party have learned — is an unstoppable juggernaut of incumbency. He barely has any opposition within his own party in 2008 — one candidate filed at the last minute. John Miller is a fine candidate who has refocused his efforts on the Lubbock County Commissioner’s Court in 2008. Someone stepping into John’s former role as Delwin’s opponent would either have to be famous and wealthy already or unconcerned about losing.

TX-84 is a slightly different story. The 2006 race was a boondoggle and a half. Our candidate at the time, recruited at the very last minute, never made more than a handful of public appearances. Her campaign staff failed to raise any significant money to run the race. We learned the hard way that the base Democratic vote in TX-84 — what you get when you have a name on the ballot and nothing else — is about 33%. That is actually an encouraging statistic, and I was very psyched to find a worthy opponent for Carl Isett for 2008. Our candidates committee found and nurtured such a candidate, but he decided near the end of the filing period that he wanted to run for Congress instead. So, we are left with no one to oppose Carl Isett in 2008. The upside is that we have an exciting Congressional primary race on our hands, which should help bring people back into the Party.

Since we don’t have Texas House candidates in Lubbock County, we are left with the makings of a very focused strategy: gain ground on the Commissioner’s Court and generate excitement for the Congressional race. It’s not as good as having a full ballot, but exciting nonetheless.

West Texas Democrats are never idle, so expect very active campaigns for the races we are running.

The Lubbock County Elections Office has made the important dates for all 2008 elections known in a handy printout, which I reproduce below:

03/04/2008 — Primary Elections
First day to apply for ballot by mail: 01/04/2008
Last day to register to vote: 02/04/2008
First day of early voting: 02/19/2008
Last day to apply for ballot by mail: 02/26/2008
Last day of early voting: 02/29/2008
Last day to receive mail ballots: 03/04/2008

04/08/2008 — Primary Runoff Elections
First day to apply for ballot by mail: 02/08/2008
Last day to register to vote: 03/10/2008
First day of early voting: 03/31/2008
Last day to apply for ballot by mail: 04/01/2008
Last day of early voting: 04/04/2008
Last day to receive mail ballots: 04/08/2008

05/10/2008 — City/School/Water District Elections
First day to apply for ballot by mail: 03/11/2008
Last day to register to vote: 04/10/2008
First day of early voting: 04/28/2008
Last day to apply for ballot by mail: 05/02/2008
Last day of early voting: 05/06/2008
Last day to receive mail ballots: 05/10/2008

11/04/2008 — General Election
First day to apply for ballot by mail: 09/05/2008
Last day to register to vote: 10/06/2008
First day of early voting: 10/20/2008
Last day to apply for ballot by mail: 10/28/2008
Last day of early voting: 10/31/2008 (spoooky!)
Last day to receive mail ballots: 10/10/2008

…knowing is half the battle!

Tonight the Lubbock chapter of the ACLU and Birth Without Boundaries (a non-profit based in PA) are sponsoring a Nurse-In at the Buddy Holly Center as part of the First Friday Art Trail. The nurse-in is, of course, in response to the recent censorship of two paintings by local artist Lahib Jaddo as well as the still too-often-encountered attitude that nursing a baby in public is somehow inappropriate.

The nurse-in will begin at 5:45 this evening.

More coverage from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal:

http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/010408/ent_231372106.shtml
http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/010308/loc_231125816.shtml
http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/122207/loc_228188684.shtml
http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/122007/loc_227209555.shtml

AND I have a nice buzz going! Wonderful!

Turns out food and drink and caucus-watching was just what I needed tonight. With two strong progressive candidates — Obama and Edwards — winning first and second place, I’m in a very good mood indeed.

And on the Republican side… two-buck Huck’s victory puts in me in a good, gut-laughing mood too! And what’s up with Fred Thompson — the fantasy football candidate — beating out McCain? That got a hearty laugh from yours truly as well.

As flawed as our primary system is, at least it’s exciting sometimes. More people were watching the caucus results than the Kansas/VT game that was on the other screen. I dig it.

Want to watch and discuss the Iowa Caucus results live at a bar with some fellow Lubbock Democrats? A group of us are gathering at the Gas Light pub (5212 57th St) near South Plains Mall from 6:00pm-9:00pm. There will be tables and two big screen TVs reserved, as well as great drink specials.

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter holiday break. Now it’s time to get this campaign season rolling!