Dear BERNARDO, I cant begin to tell you how personally rewarding my time as your Chairman has been.

Were gonna keep ramping up activity right up until the state convention in June. But between now and then, some of my closest friends and family decided I needed to be rewarded in a different way. So they organized an event for later this month where they plan to recognize my six years as state party chairman by roasting (and I hope toasting) Betty and me. If youre in Austin on the 28th, I highly recommend that you join us. In the meantime, were not taking our foot off the gas pedal. In this months newsletter youll find information on our legal victory against the King Street Patriots, an update on our Promesa Fellowship Program as well as details on upcoming conventions. Thank you for being a Texas Democrat! Democratically Yours,

TDP Reception in Dallas April 12, 2012

Democratic County and Senate District Conventions April 21, 2012

TDP Reception in Houston April 25, 2012

The Roast & Toast of Boyd & Betty Richie April 28, 2012 Austin, TX

Primary Election May 29, 2012

Boyd Richie Chairman Texas Democratic Party

Democratic State Convention June 7-9, 2012 Houston, TX

Follow #TXD2012 on Twitter for news on the TDP and our Democratic candidates.

In This Month's Report

Take Action 2012 Democratic Candidates The Promesa Project County and Senate District Conventions State Convention VAN Democratic Receptions Voter Protection

Take Action
Republicans have decimated the schools that educate our children and are severely endangering the well-being of Texas women. The TDP released two videos last month asking you to take action against the Republican war on Texas women and children. More than 100,000 Texas women are losing $36 million in federal funds to other states and are being barred from life-saving cancer screenings. Children were not left unscathed. Republicans chose to decimate public education through $5.4 billion in cuts. We launched our Fight for Public Education campaign and our Enough is Enough campaign in support of the Texas Womens Health Program. Go to our action-item webpage where you can use an interactive map to contact the Republican legislators who voted for these cuts and are running for reelection.

2012 Democratic Candidates

Were very excited about the slate of candidates running under the Democratic banner in 2012. You can see a complete list of candidates who filed with the Texas Democratic Party here. A field of extremely well-qualified and attractive nominees will emerge from a number of exciting primary races. Texans are very quickly

realizing that in the battle of ideas, Democrats are the only ones bringing anything to the table. The Party of Rick Perry has wandered way off the path that reasonable Texans believe our state should be on, and Texas Democrats will be the ones to get us back on track.

The Promesa Project

This weekend the Texas Democratic Party is training a slew of talented college students from across the state who are serving as Fellows for The Promesa Project. Fellows have been chosen from universities in Texas with large Latino enrollments who are also in areas where they have the potential to greatly increase Latino turnout. Fellows will go through rigorous campaign training where they will learn how to use the VAN, manage volunteers, conduct phone banks, run a volunteer canvass and organize get-out-the-vote drives.

County and Senate District Conventions

The Texas Convention and Delegate Selection process this year will skip precinct conventions and begin at County/Senatorial District conventions. County/Senatorial District Conventions will be held on April 21, 2012. The conventions will be open to any qualified voter who registered to vote at least 30 days prior to the convention and who signs an oath of affiliation with the Democratic Party. We encourage all Democrats to attend their local Democratic Convention and make their voice heard. Individuals who want to express their positions on issues and help shape the Party platform as well as folks who wish to represent their area as delegates to the Texas Democratic Party State Convention should attend. You can find more information about your local convention on our website. The delegates and alternates elected at the County/Senate District Conventions then go to the State Convention. The State Convention will be held on June 7, 8 and 9 in Houston, Texas. Delegates and alternates elected at the State Convention will go to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina which will be held September 3-6, 2012.

State Convention
The Texas Democratic Party State Convention will be held June 7-9 in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The Hilton of the Americas is the official hotel of the Convention, and we have arranged a block of rooms to be reserved at a discounted rate for this event. You must book your room through the secure online reservation system on the convention page or call 888-508-5731. The hotel cannot take reservations directly. We look forward to seeing you all in Houston as we come

together to turn Texas blue!

VAN
The new legislative districts ordered by the federal court in February have been updated in VAN. They can be found under Proposed HD, Proposed SD, and Proposed CD. The new precincts are not yet available in VAN. Were waiting for the counties to send that information to the Secretary of State. We will get that information into VAN as soon as it becomes available to us. VAN Training Webinars As the campaign season quickly ramped up, we have more people using the VAN. We have recorded VAN webinars that are available for our users to hone their VAN skills. The webinars range from beginner to expert. They are a valuable to tool for people just starting out on the VAN and for our more experienced users. Please email Brian Hodgdon at bhodgdon@txdemocrats.org for more information about these webinars.

Democratic Receptions
As you know, after six years leading the Party, my term as your Chairman ends at our state convention in June. Id be honored if you could join me in three events around the state where we can reminisce and have a good time as fellow Democrats. The first event is a reception in Dallas on Thursday, April 12, 2012. That will be followed by a second reception in Houston on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. These receptions are leading up to our dinner in Austin on Saturday, April 28, 2012 where a number of familiar faces will roast and toast Betty and me. You can find invitations for all three events on our website, and you can reserve your tickets online or by calling the office at 512-478-9800.

Voter Protection
Last week, we won our lawsuit against the King Street Patriots. You might remember the group from 2010 when their so-called "poll watchers" started intimidating minority voters at polling sites. While they claim to be a nonprofit corporation, it's clear that the King Street Patriots are an illegal, unregistered political action committee intent on electing Republicans. The 261st District Court agreed when they granted us a summary judgment. Instead of reporting the names of their donors as required by law, the King Street Patriots plan to appeal. But rest assured, your Texas Democratic Party won't back down. Harris County Harris County rejects a higher percentage of voter registration applications than any other county in Texas, and the Harris County rejection rate is among the highest in

the nation. In 2008, your Texas Democratic Party sued Harris County and sought an explanation over the high number of voter application denials. This week, through a mediation, Harris County agreed to finally give us the information we need about the individuals whose voter applications are being denied.

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