by James Cargas
For Your Thought Matters Readers
I am the only challenger to the Tea Party’s Culberson who has previously worked in the U.S. Congress or held any public service positions. I am also the only life-long Democrat with decades of campaign experience in the July 31st runoff election. If elected, I will hit the ground running on January 20th serving all people of Texas’ 7th Congressional District.
1. My earliest memory of public service was at age 12, when I served as Democratic page in the Illinois Senate. My uncle was an Illinois Senator from Chicago and I spent the summer with him advancing Democratic principles of fairness, equality and responsibility. The highlight was coming close to seeing him pass the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If elected, I will honor his memory by continuing his efforts to protect women from hostile legislation, education budget cuts, and unequal pay.
2. After college, I worked in the U.S. Congress for Rep. David Bonior (D-MI) as a Deputy Press Secretary.
3. During law school in DC, I served as a law clerk at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and learned the vital importance of affordable and reliable energy to our economy.
4. After law school and a few years in the private sector, I worked in the Clinton White House advancing solar and wind power, sustainable building practices and hybrid vehicles. Subsequently, I served in his administration at the U.S. Department of Energy under Gov. Bill Richardson.
5. Today, I am the Senior Assistant City Attorney for Energy for Mayor Annise Parker, a position I also was appointed to and held under Mayor Bill White.
6. My campaign experience reaches back to the Dukakis, Clinton, Gore, Edwards and Kerry campaigns. For Gore 2000, I was a paid staffer traveling across this beautiful nation – and filing tax returns in four states that I lived in. For Obama in 2008, I was asked to go the critical Columbus, Ohio area.
7. Given the importance of energy to our community, I joined with others to form the Oil Patch Democrats as a means of promoting Democratic energy policy alternatives. I also serve on the board of Green Door, Inc., a non-profit organization linking under-served communities to opportunities in the Green Economy.
8. My many endorsements can be viewed at: www.jamescargas.com supporters. They include: AFL-CIO, Houston Federation of Teachers, Teamsters, CWA, IBEW, Tejano Democrats, and the Houston Black American Democrats.
9. If elected, I will proudly represent Houston’s Energy Corridor. I will also work to cancel the Bush tax cuts and return to a balanced budget like Clinton’s. I will not support the Ryan Budget or any of the shameful cuts to Medicare and Social Security it contains.
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: This comment was provided by James Cargas for Your Thought Matters Newspaper readers heading into his 2012 Democratic Primary runoff race for United States Congress for the 7th Congressional District of Texas.
