Valdez, White set to debate Friday in East Austin
cism from Vela’s camp about a $250 donation Cole made in 2016 to Gerald Daugherty, the only Republican Travis County commissioner. Cole has defended the donation, saying Daugherty has worked with her on policies aimed at helping people find jobs after they have been incarcerated.
Vela said Cole’s jab is “what a losing campaign does.” Cole fired back, “I’m not a losing campaign.”
Cole wrote in the email that “I’m sick and tired of the double standard women candidates have to put up with.” She also linked Vela to the National Rifle Association through his former boss, former state Rep., Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus Christi. Ortiz received an ‘A’ Rating from the NRA Victory Fund while Vela was his general counsel, Cole said.
Vela said he is in favor of gun restrictions, pointing to a recent recognition he received from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Cole is also for stricter gun laws.
Monday’s forum, held in a packed Austin Film Society theater, was the last major debate before the runoff.
Dallas Morning News political writer Gromer Jeffers will moderate a Democratic gubernatorial runoff debate between Lupe Valdez and Andrew White on Friday at St. James Episcopal Church in East Austin.
The debate will not be televised, but a live stream of the 7 p.m. event will be made available through KXAN. com. The church, located at 1941 Webberville Road, has a seating capacity of 250 and a limited number of free tickets were made available at 6 p.m. Tuesday via the debate’s official Facebook event page.
The debate, the only one between White and Valdez, is being sponsored by a grassroots coalition, including the State Tejano Democrats, Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, Texas College Democrats, Texas Young Democrats, Texas Stonewall Democrats and the Travis County Democratic Party.
“The people asked for a debate and grass-roots In the March primary, the candidates were separated by a mere 202 votes and 1 percentage point. Vela, an immigration attorney, picked up 39 percent, topping a crowded field that lined up to challenge Dukes, who was dogged by a criminal corruption case and questions about her poor attendance at the Capitol. Prosecutors dropped charges against Dukes in October.
House District 46 is among the most diverse and Democratic districts in the state, covering parts of East Austin and Pflugerville and most of Manor. In 2016, the racial breakdown was 48 percent Hispanic, 27 percent white and 18 percent black. The district for decades has been represented by African-Americans, beginning in the 1970s with Wilhelmina Delco and continuing with her protégé, Dukes, who is in her 24th year at the Legislature. groups delivered,” said coalition leader James Lee, an elected representative of the Hispanic Caucus on the Democratic State Executive Committee.
Jeffers co-hosts Lone Star Politics on KXAS-TV in Fort Worth.
Valdez, the former Dallas County sheriff, will square off against White, a Houston entrepreneur and the son of former Gov. Mark White, in the May 22 runoff. Early voting starts Monday and runs through May 18. The winner will face Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in November.
Lee had previously announced plans for the debate to be held at the University of Texas campus at a site secured by the University Democrats. But they had to move the event after university officials said it did not meet university criteria for an on-campus event, which required that it be solely sponsored by a student organization for the university community.
Cole, who is African-American, said at a recent KUT forum that putting her opponent into office would be “political extinction.” For many years, District 46 was the only district in the Austin area represented by a black person. Cole walked back that comment at Monday’s forum, saying it “came out wrong.” She said voters should choose her because she is the most qualified, not because of her skin color.
Vela, who is Hispanic, said he rejects the idea that only a black person should represent the district. “So many of the issues that affect the African-American community — voting rights, criminal justice, profiling — also affect the Mexican-American community,” he said. “They’re black and brown issues.”