Boyd Richie's answers to South Texas Chisme questionnaire

[meg]

Boyd's answers
Glen's answers
Charlie's answers

[muse]

1. excellent answers

VERY comprehensive. It's obvious that he has a well thought out plan. I've been hoping for this type of clarity in thinking from one of the three candidates.

[meg]

2. Also, from Boyd

Here is a note I got from Boyd about why he was running.

I am running for State Party Chair for the simple reason that I love the Texas Democratic Party. I would like to try to give back through my time, talent and energy so that others may experience those things with which I have been blessed.

To understand this, I have to begin with my earliest campaign experiences. When I was ten years old my father had me and my siblings knocking doors and block walking for Ralph Yarborough in his races for governor. Those were in the days of Allen Shivers and the Shivercrats when politicians could file to run in both party primaries. Ralph Yarborough was so progressive that many people believed that he was a “fifth columnist” sympathizer. After we were able for Ralph to win a special election for U.S. Senate, I was fortunate enough to be appointed as a U.S. Senate Page. That allowed me to go to Washington, D.C., see John F. Kennedy inaugurated, and attend high school in the Library of Congress. I was in “hog heaven” for someone who had been raised in such a committed Democratic household.

In 1976, I ran against an incumbent District Attorney over a three county judicial district (he was a closet Republican). I was successful in that campaign and I have been successful in three subsequent campaigns for Young County Attorney. The Democratic Party has enabled me to feed, clothe, and educate my family. It has also shaped my character along with my spiritual values. In short I am a Christian because I am a Democrat and not in spite of it. However, my faith is very personal to me and I find it wholly unacceptable to attempt to impose my values on others particularly in matters of public policy.

I have worked on hundreds of campaigns in the last fifty years. Some were successful and some weren’t. However, the position of State Chair is not to run campaigns. Indeed, each campaign, stands on its own. While coordinated campaigns may be strategically advantageous, in the final analysis, the State Chair is a facilitator. My thought is that the primary function of the State Chair is to raise funds to continue the work and indeed the existence of the Party. If we don’t get our financial house in order, all of the technology and campaign strategy will not matter.

It is my position that our Party has been woefully deficient in the matter of minority recruitment and outreach. As Chair I will seek to identify, promote, and support minority leadership and candidates at every level. I am particularly proud that my first endorsement for this position was from Sheriff Greg Hamilton, the first African-American sheriff of a major metropolitan area in the history of Texas. In addition the first State Representative to endorse me was Representative Rafael Anchia of Dallas.

I am committed to rebuilding the infrastructure of our Party system across the state. Great strides have been made by staff additions to this effort and it is vital to our future success that we rebuild this Party from the ground up.

I have always believed that Democratic women may be the sole salvation of this Party – after all, we men don’t seem to have done such a wonderful job. To this end, I have always encouraged my wife to take leadership roles as precinct chair, county chair, past president of TDW, and as a Texas representative on the DNC. In addition, in 2000, Betty ran for state representative as the first female Democratic Party nominee in the 68th District which covered 13 counties and 11,000 square miles. We campaigned day and night. This was Betty’s first race for public office and while we were not successful, she was able to garner almost 43% of the vote and her fundraising was wonderful particularly in a Northwest Texas District which had never seen such a candidate. Our Party MUST do more to promote our talented women. After all, Donna Howard is just the beginning!!!

Unity is the key to our success. While I am not naïve enough to believe that I alone possess the ability to bring all of our disparate factions into harmonious unity, I do believe that I possess the skills to facilitate respectful dialogue. Hopefully, this is the springboard that will allow us to recognize that we are all in this together and we win only when we are unified.

I am sure that I have overlooked some things that I would like to communicate but what I am sending to you is what is on my heart.

Thank you,
Boyd

[Czolgosz]

3. If I was going by just the answers, I'd lean to Boyd, but I like Charlie's

personal background (and I also like Glen's history of advocacy, but he doesn't seem like much of a uniter and I've been unimpressed with Glen's past efforts at voter organization).

[Glen Maxey]

4. Voter Registration

Voter Registration is very important. It changes the equation.

[Czolgosz]

6. Glen, I’m glad you responded because I’m curious about your candidacy.

You should know this from the outset: I’m a huge fan of your 12-year career in the Texas House, and from what I know of your ideology based on that distinguished record of public service, I suspect that my political views are closer to yours than Boyd’s or Charlie’s (although, frankly, I’m not extremely familiar with all of their views on a whole range of political issues). Notwithstanding my admiration for you and your record of service, I have some reservations about your party chair candidacy (if it seems odd that I would prefer you ideologically, but I nevertheless have reservations about your candidacy, I can only offer this analogy: just like I admire and nearly always agree with Ted Kennedy or Dennis Kucinich, I’m not 100 percent sure that they would be the best persons to head the party nationally).

Here are some more concerns of mine.

Unity. I’m not someone who thinks unity is the only or most important political value in every political position. For example, I’m not necessarily looking for an Attorney General who is a big party uniter. But I think that a party chair needs to be a great uniter. One of the things I liked best about your tenure in the Texas House was your strong convictions, but it seems that the party chair has to work to promote the candidacies of people who hold a wide range positions (I accept, for example, that a Democrat running in North Texas is probably not going to win if she shares my views on every issue because my views are out of the mainstream in some North Texas communities). I have some concern that the same passion which made you a great representative would undermine your efficacy as a party chair. This concern seems to be reinforced by your recent email about “backroom deals” and the appearance of conflict with Charles Soechting. If you could explain why this is an erroneous or irrelevant concern, it would help me feel more comfortable about your candidacy.

Organization. I was disappointed when Sanchez did so poorly in the last gubernatorial election, and I was heartbroken by the lopsided vote to amend the Texas Constitution to inscribe homophobia into the laws of our great state. I know Sanchez was a long shot, and I know that we were fighting an uphill battle on the Constitutional amendment, but we lost both votes by more than I had anticipated, and I feel that one of the reasons we lost so badly was that the campaigns were not very effective. Correctly or incorrectly (please do correct me if I’m wrong), I recall you having a role in those campaigns (of course, I’m not suggesting that you had the main role in either campaign, but I recall some organizational role). If I have an unfair impression of your role in these campaigns, or if I have an incorrect understanding about how well or poorly these campaigns were run, please let me know. I know that you have also been at the heart of some very successful campaigns. Help me understand why your campaign organization skills should be judged by your successes (of which there are many, I know) and not by the less successful campaigns you have been associated with (please also help me understand what you have learned from your bitterest losses).

Pay. I had understood that you initially did not want the chairmanship unless it was made into a paid position. I’m a guy who gives money to candidates and who organizes fund raisers. I want all that money to go to candidates. Am I correct that you are campaigning for the chairmanship while you are also advocating in favor of making the chairmanship a paid position? I do not think I am the only interested person who is confused about this matter.

In sum, I have the impression that your considerable talents are better tailored toward making Texas laws like you did with great success in the Texas Legislature for over a decade than in uniting the party and organizing other candidates’ campaigns. Help me understand why this impression is incorrect. I am a great admirer of your legislative career, and I’m ready to have an open mind about your candidacy for party chair, but these are my concerns.

[nick_DFT]

5. Glen and Voter Registration : Like Peanut Butter and Jelly

Glen has done an INCREDIBLE amount of voter registration work. In Travis County alone in 2004, he led the movement to register an UNPRECEDENTED 85,000 new voters.

He has personally registered over 10,000 voters himself.

He helped with the creation of RegisterTexas.org, a tool that put deputy voter registrars in touch with one another to schedule events, plan, and request other registrar support, as opposed to having all the Democratic registrars in the county going through one individual with an Excel file.

Glen helped register an amazing 1,500 deputy voter registrars in 2004.

Glen organized massive student community and minority community voter registration door drops during multiple times of the year due to high volume turnover in those communities.

Glen helped organize a system to streamline vote-by-mail applications, and has worked a program to make sure that those who have moved but are still registered in the district voted.

If this is unimpressive, Boyd must have REALLY done some insane voter reg., huh?