NEW LEADERS TEXAS

To R.S.V.P., please e-mail brian@newleaderstexas.org.

With keynote speaker Mayor Julián Castro.

Join us for a convening of community and civic leaders and elected officials from around Texas to talk about the needs and enormous potential of the unique South Texas region.

March 22-23 I Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance I 118 Paseo del Prado I Edinburg, TX

In October 2012, New Leaders Texas sponsored the Meeting of South Texas Mayors in McAllen. Special guests Mayor Julián Castro and Representative Joaquín Castro, along with other South Texas leaders, discussed the impacts of recent budget cuts on South Texas communities and essential basic services.


The 2013 South Texas Mayors’ Stakeholder Summit will include a diverse group of leaders, both from South Texas and Austin, who will move this conversation forward into effective actions.


Please join us to be a part of this pivotal gathering and have your voice heard.

Host Committee:
Congressman Joaquín Castro
Congressman Rubén Hinojosa
Congressman Filemon Vela
Rep. Mary González
Ambassador Lyndon Olson
Hon. Richard Garcia
Scott Atlas
Frank Drew
Matteson Ellis
Ramiro Garza
Aziz Gilani
Jared LeBlanc
Chuck Rocha
Kinan Romman
Brian Stansbury
Mark Yzaguirre
Valley PAC

To R.S.V.P., please e-mail brian@newleaderstexas.org.

Contact Kathleen Thompson for sponsorship opportunities or questions: 512.591.8683 or info@newleaderstexas.org.

Help us keep the conversation and the cooperation going.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS:
For out of town attendees, we have ten rooms booked at two different hotels. You may choose the hotel that you prefer.

Renaissance Casa de Palmas, Standard King Room $99
101 N. Main Street (5.54 miles away: http://mapq.st/W1Sn9u)
McAllen, Texas 78501
Phone: 1-956-631-1101
Contact Person: Estella Rodriguez
 
Embassy Suites, King Suites at $104
1800 South Second Street (5.85 miles away: http://mapq.st/W1SRwp)
McAllen, Texas, 78503
Phone: 956-686-3000
Contact Person: Lily Quintanilla

Dear New Leader,
 
I want to thank you personally for helping me win my race to become the newly elected state representative for HD 75 in El Paso. I am proud to be a part of this organization, which is stepping up to a generational challenge and changing Texas in lasting ways that naysayers said weren’t possible.


It’s been an incredible and busy year for New Leaders Texas. We are excited about the work we’ve done and the organization we are building. Please help us finish the year strong with a donation today.

In April, I was thrilled to receive the New Leaders Texas endorsement. New Leaders also endorsed my friend Ann Johnson for State Representative in HD 134 (on Sunday, Ann received the endorsement of The Houston Chronicle).


In May, New Leaders Texas raised money for me in Austin, then helped get out the vote in El Paso. Once I am sworn in, I’ll be the first openly gay woman to ever serve in the Texas Legislature, and I’ll be an advocate for all Texans.



In June, New Leaders Texas co-hosted the Texas Democratic Party’s State Convention Keynote After Party with Mayor Julián Castro and Representative Joaquín Castro, and many of you were among the more than 1,000 who attended.

In July, New Leaders introduced Ann to North Texas at a Dallas fundraiser.


In August, Mayor Julián Castro was chosen to deliver the DNC Keynote and weeks later, New Leaders Texas board members and I attended the National Convention, in which a huge spotlight was shone on the state of Texas and Democrats around the country told us, “Texas is the next battleground state.”  

Will you help make that reality with a donation to New Leaders Texas today?

In September, we heard from New Leaders across Texas that Senator Wendy Davis needed to be the final candidate we endorsed this cycle. We are proud that our New Leaders Texas donation and match were able to contribute to this critical race.

And just last week New Leaders Texas hosted the South Texas Mayors’ Meeting in McAllen with special guests Mayor Julián Castro and Representative Joaquín Castro who pledged to join forces and work together as a region to protect our values in the upcoming legislative session.

We hope you are proud of what we’ve done and that you are as excited for the future as we are. Please make a donation to help us round out the cycle and support New Leaders Texas’ mission to nurture and promote the next generation of principled, capable Texas leaders. 


Thanks,
Mary

New Leaders Texas congratulates Senator Wendy Davis for her Star-Telegram endorsement in her reelection campaign to Senate District 10 and Ann Johnson for her Houston Chronicle endorsement in her race for State Representative, House District 134. These well deserving women are two of the three candidates endorsed by New Leaders Texas this cycle.

(Our other endorsed candidate, Mary González, won her Democratic Primary for State Representative, House District 75, and has no November opponent.)

New Leaders Texas is proud to sponsor the Meeting of South Texas Mayors in McAllen, Texas, with special guests Mayor Julian Castro and Rep. Joaquin Castro, to discuss the lingering impact of recent budget cuts on our communities and essential basic services and steps we can take to move forward.

Saturday, October 13, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Peppers Restaurant
4620 North 10th Street
McAllen, TX 78504

RSVP to info@newleaderstexas.org

Please join New Leaders Texas for a reception with the Texas Democratic Party.

Featuring brief remarks from Gilberto Hinojosa, Chair, Texas Democratic Party and Cliff Walker, Executive Director, House Democratic Campaign Committee

Friday, October 5, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
La Gloria Restaurant in the Pearl Brewing Complex (parking on site)
100 East Grayson Street, San Antonio, Texas 78215

Admission is free, but witty conversation is required. Cash bar and full menu available. Please RSVP to Kathleen Thompson, info@newleaderstexas.org.

For those State Democratic Executive Committee members meeting in San Antonio, this is a short (driving) distance from the hotel booked by the TDP.

After hearing from so many of you, we are pleased to announce that New Leaders Texas is endorsing Senator Wendy Davis in her campaign to continue to represent Senate District 10.  This race is one of the most hotly contested and critical races of this cycle.

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, we are asking our network to take action now to support Senator Davis. From now until midnight this Sunday, a donor will match all donations to New Leaders Texas, up to $1,000, with a donation directly to Senator Davis’ campaign.

Please donate today and help us meet this challenge.

Wendy is a strong voice for hardworking Texans because she understands their struggles firsthand. A single mother before the age of 19 - living in a trailer park and working full time - Wendy was able to go to community community college because of grant funding from the State of Texas. From there, she won a scholarship to TCU and then to Harvard Law School before serving on the Fort Worth city council. In 2008, she defeated an entrenched incumbent to win a seat in the Texas senate.

For Texas’ children, women, seniors and students, the 2011 legislative session was the worst in a generation. Senator Davis took to the Senate floor to filibuster the terrible budget and though she stood alone, she made history by standing up for you and me — for all Texans.  As the 12th vote in the Texas Senate, Senator Davis a crucial blocking vote on all sorts of legislation. As bad as the last session was, it would have been much worse if Senator Davis had not been there.

The decision to endorse Senator Davis was based on feedback from New Leaders across the state. The mandate from the New Leaders was clear: we must stand with Senator Davis and ensure that she is re-elected.

Her opponent and various moneyed interests are pouring millions into this race to try to deprive her constituents of her representation and silence one of the most powerful voices in the Texas Senate for preserving and promoting education and public health in Texas. This is simply a race that we must win, and, with your help, we will. 

Please, take action today and help us support Senator Davis by donating to New Leaders Texas.

New Leaders Texas is pleased to welcome Dallas resident Emily McCann to our Board of Directors.

Emily is a 2008 graduate of the University of North Texas School of Public Administration and Community Service. She was recently selected to attend Annie’s List Campaign School where she gained crucial skills to elect progressive candidates to the Texas Legislature. She is currently the Deputy Field Director for the Wendy Davis For Texas Senate Campaign (SD 10). She is a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan.

Read our full press release, New Leaders Texas Welcomes Emily McCann to the Board.

It’s been an exciting spring — we hired our first executive director, we endorsed our first candidates, and have just helped elect our first New Leader to the Texas House of Representatives. We couldn’t have helped Mary González become HD-75 Representative-Elect without your enthusiasm, your volunteer hours and your generous donations. Last week we co-hosted the Texas Democratic Party’s State Convention Keynote After Party, featuring special guests Mayor Julián Castro and Rep. Joaquin Castro, attended by hundreds of enthusiastic Texans.

This summer, we will work to elect another New Leader to the State House, Houston’s Ann Johnson, candidate for HD-134. Now we begin raising the seed money for Ann’s winnable swing district. 

Please join hosts 

Representative Carol Alvarado
Danny David
Beth & Frank Drew
Matteson Ellis
Aziz Gilani and Dr. Sania Rahim Gilani
Chanler Langham
Jared LeBlanc
Michael Li
Arif Rahim
Kinan Romman
and Brian Stansbury

in helping fund our operations and reach this cycle’s goals. We invite you to join us, Thursday, June 21, from 6:30 p.m. - 8: 30 p.m., for a Houston reception at the home of Aziz Gilani and Dr. Sania Rahim Gilani, with special guest State Senator Kirk Watson. Address is available upon R.S.V.P. We ask New Leaders to donate $100 to attend and write $250 or raise $500 to join the host committee. Co-chair donations are $1,000. All proceeds from the reception go to New Leaders Texas. 

Donate online today to New Leaders Texas.

For more information, including joining the host committee, and to RSVP, please contact info@newleaderstexas.org or 512.591.8683.

Here is his message to New Leaders:

“When given the chance to send a fresh, vibrant and intelligent voice to the Texas House we can’t let that moment pass. That’s why I have enthusiastically endorsed Mary González and donated to her campaign. The passion and intellect that she has demonstrated in her advocacy and in her academic career is just a glimpse of what she’ll put on display in the Legislature. In making the Texas House better she will also make El Paso and all of Texas better.

With a win in the May 29th Democratic primary, Mary will be one step closer to becoming a legislator who will make a significant difference in our state for years to come. Please join me in making this happen by supporting Mary González.”

Help New Leaders Texas send Mary to the Texas House by donating and attending our reception this Thursday, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., at the home of Matt Ellis, 1205 Singleton Avenue, Austin, TX 78702. We are asking folks to donate $100 to attend and $500 to join the host committee. Here is the link to make a donation online:

https://rally.org/newleaderstexas/donate

New Leaders Texas is proud to announce the endorsements of Mary González for State Representative in El Paso’s HD 75 and Ann Johnson for State Representative in Houston’s HD 134.

Read our press release, New Leaders Headed to the State House.

“2011 saw the transition of the New Leaders network from a group of diverse and dynamic Texans supporting one candidate into a stand-alone political action committee that will support numerous candidates across the state. We are very fortunate to have somebody with Kathleen Thompson’s talents and experience serve as our Executive Director, and we welcome Matteson Ellis, along with his vision and enthusiasm, to the Board. In 2012, New Leaders Texas will play an active role in a number of key races throughout Texas, and our efforts in the 2012 cycle will be the first step to achieving our long-term goal of changing the face of Texas leadership.”

— Brian Stansbury, President of the Board.
Read the press release 2012: New Executive Director, New Endorsements

Texas Tribune Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith is used to putting others to the test, but in January 2012, he allowed New Leaders Texas to question him.

As part of a statewide series featured accomplished individuals, Sen. Kirk Watson met casually with New Leaders on a Austin back porch to share lessons on public leadership. 

The New Leaders Texas Off the Record Series kicked-off October 2011, with an intimate talk from Former Mayor Bill White in Houston. A storm knocked out electricity mid-event and a scary story about a man from Paint Creek running for President of the United States was told.

New Leaders met at the Historic Kessler Theater in October 2011, for an evening of discussion with State Representative Rafael Anchia and members of the North Texas Democratic delegation about where Democrats go from the devastating 2011 legislative session, which targeted public education, women and the poor. Special guests included Democratic House Leader State Representative Jessica Farrar and Cliff Walker, executive director of the House Democratic Campaign Committee.

Less than a month before the Texas Redistricting case began, New Leaders hosted a briefing with Gerry Hebert, the lead attorney representing the Texas Justice Fund plaintiffs and Matt Angle, principal of Angle Strategies and director of the Texas Justice Fund for a first-hand report on pending litigation.