Clinton opens base in Houston
Volunteers set to galvanize voters as new poll gives Democrats hope
A thunderous crowd roared “stronger together” Saturday at the opening of the Houston headquarters of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, urged the diverse crowd to repeat the mantra inside the new Democratic National Committee headquarters for Clinton at 1730 Jefferson St. in downtown, where volunteers will hold phone drives and organize door-to-door efforts to register and educate voters.
“We are waiting for all you to recognize that Hillary Clinton knows and loves this state,” Jackson Lee said Saturday. “She has visited this state in the early 1970s. She is familiar and applauds diversity. She loves the uniqueness of Houston that welcomes all.”
Trey Davis, who will oversee the new headquarters’ campaign efforts, said the site was chosen for its central location. Supporters at the event
noted a Washington Post poll that showed Clinton leading Republican candidate Donald Trump in Texas by 1 percentage point and The Dallas Morning News’ recent endorsement of Clinton.
Congressman Al Green addressed Trump’s recent question to AfricanAmerican voters of “What do you have to lose?” by electing him as president.
At a rally in Michigan in August, Trump said African-American communities are plagued by poverty, high unemployment and low-performing schools.
“We would have to lose our minds to support a person who to this day won’t acknowledge the president as an American citizen,” Green said. “To support a person who would repeal Obamacare with no replacement announced. To support a person who will minimize the minimum wage. To support a person that does not respect women and has in fact called a woman a pig. We’d have to be out of our minds.”
Juan Sorto, a representative from Dreamers, a national organization that advocates for young immigrants, said his upbringing in El Salvador and then moving to Kashmere Gardens in Houston contribute to his diverse view of the world.
He said he understands what it takes to succeed in America as the first high school graduate in his family. He is now pursuing his doctorate at Texas Southern University.
“I am convinced that everyone who supports equal rights, equal pay for equal work, and a fair chance for those who want to contribute to the well-being and safety of this country, regardless of their residency or their legal status, should support Ms. Clinton and any candidate in the Democratic party,” Sorto said.
Cynthia Cole, executive director for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, said she wants to volunteer at the headquarters. She believes Clinton stands for the values of working families and called the November election pivotal.
“It is especially crucial not because Hillary is a woman,” Cole said. “But because it’s a transitional time. We’re either going forward or you got somebody that’s going to take us backward.”