My First Impressions, Williamson County Democratic Party Social and Rally

I cannot say enough about the Events Committee, everyone who volunteered and all they did to make it a great day for our county. Believe me it was a great day for Williamson County to have all the candidates and potential candidates here today. I would also like to thank all those who spoke today, all the speeches were great and show that there are many issues where we have the advantage, moral advantage, in the upcoming election.

David Van Os was first to speak and drove home the point that the Attorney General is supposed to be the "people's lawyer" and our current AG is not.

Next was Chris Bell and he had the place rocking! He spoke with great passion and had me wanting to cast my ballot then and there. It was a great speech, The New Mainstream.

Jim Stauber came next and he's ready to take on Dan Gattis again, especially on his lack of support for public schools, health care, and his support for toll roads through rural communities.

Next we all got to meet Mary Beth Harrell for the fist time. She will be an excellent replacement for John Carter. She and her husband run their own business and have two sons. Her husband is retired military and her two sons are both in the military. One will be shipping out to Iraq later this year. She knows how important the military is to our country, that is obvious. She is also ready to fight for the environment and has NO special interest ties. She said several times she is fed up with our leadership and people like us are the ones that need to take it back. Harrel in '06!

Robert Andrews was there representing Barbara Ann Radnofsky and told us all that we needed to know about her, she is going to beat Hutchison in '06.

Ken Bailey from the state party gave us an update on all the they are doing. He also let us know they are going to run a candidate against Tom Craddick in Midland. No more unopposed Republicans!

Karen Felthauser told everyone why she is running, to make a quality public education a priority in this state and that roads should be "freeways" again and not toll roads.

Mark Strama closed out the event with an inspirational speech, telling us how he was able to beat an incumbent Republican, which we plan on doing. He also updated us on the special session so far, which doesn't seem to be headed for a resolution at this point.

I will have more to come, including pictures. It was a great day with plenty of cookies and refreshments to go around. I think all those who spoke had very positives and hopeful messages for the future of our state. These are the kind of people we need leading our state and county if we want to change the way our government operates. Once again thanks to everyone who made this possible and if you missed this one there will be many more events to come.