When Perez said white guys, he said it without any malice or resentment. "That's who they are, aren't they?" he responded when I asked about his choice of description for the local Democrats. But his throwaway comment spoke volumes, a better description about what is wrong with the Tarrant County Democrats than any poli-sci professor could ever come up with. Because if you look at the local Dems, you see two major problems: They aren't doing a very good job recruiting new candidates to get on the ballot, and they aren't doing a real good job in outreach to the local Hispanic populace. And everyone, even the poli-sci profs, will tell you that the keys for the Tarrant Democrats in re-establishing themselves in this county are recruiting new candidates and galvanizing the county's growing minority populations. "It's not like this is the white man's burden," Perez said. "It's partly our fault. We have to get the voting numbers out, and we have to be responsible to get good representatives that can win in our communities. But I really see this as a lost opportunity with the Democrats. We want to be at their table. ... Right now we don't even know where and when the dinner is."
Texas' primary election will be held March 12. Within Tarrant County, there are 57 races for judges, justices of the peace, state representatives, and Congress. Of those 57 local races, 37 will be run without a Democratic candidate. Three out of the seven state representative districts have no Democratic candidate. In the municipal and county courts, 27 of the 29 races will have no Democrats running. In the eight justice of the peace races, half will have no Democrats. The executive director's position within the county party has been vacant since November, with no firm date on when the position will be filled. State Sen. Mike Moncrief, long a leader in the local Democratic Party, is not running due to redistricting. Republicans hold all of the countywide elected offices, and though the Democrats have candidates in those races (district attorney, district clerk, county judge, etc.), most are expected to have little chance in the general election. In the 2000 presidential primaries, about 83,600 voters chose Republican ballots, compared to only about 26,800 for the Democrats, out of a countywide voter list of roughly 800,000. These numbers were somewhat skewed by the inclusion of George W. Bush on the ballot, but during the past decade, it is safe to say that Republicans have had a three-to-one advantage in ballots. As recently as 1990, Republicans had 22,000 fewer straight-ticket voters than Democrats. In the 2000 election, Republicans held a 44,000-ballot edge over Democrats in straight-ticket voters. That's the bad news. And it's not really news at all. For the better part of two decades, Tarrant County's shift from a Democratic stronghold to a Republican one has been well documented. Longtime Democrats like County Commissioner J.D. Johnson, District Attorney Tim Curry, County Judge Tom Vandergriff, and a whole slew of judges, reading the shifting political winds, switched parties. Across the state, the Democratic Party has been gutted by losing its moderate and conservative wing. Once again, Tarrant County is not unique in Texas in its loss of a large base of Democratic voters. What is unique is that Tarrant is probably the farthest of all of Texas' county Democratic organizations from reversing the tide. Houston Mayor Lee Brown, a Democrat, won a third term last fall and Hispanic Democrats there won more council races than ever before. In Dallas, two Democrats -- Laura Miller and Tom Dunning -- ran against each other, with the far more liberal Miller winning. In Dallas County, the local Dems were able to field candidates in 56 out of 98 races for the March 12 primary -- hardly a strong showing, but far better than their party compatriots to the west. Among the top-of-the-ticket candidates for statewide office, the Democrats have fielded an unusually strong slate this year. Either Tony Sanchez or Dan Morales would be a good bet to challenge Rick Perry in the governor's race; Ron Kirk or Victor Morales likewise will not a be pushover for Phil Gramm's vacated United States Senate seat. John Sharp came close to winning the lieutenant governor's job last time and will be a strong candidate again this time around. Most observers expect the Democrats to pull much higher numbers during this primary than they have in the recent past, particularly because of the highly contested race for governor. And given Sanchez' and Dan Morales' heritage, many expect Hispanics to get out and vote in much higher numbers this year than ever before. Statewide, Hispanics make up 32 percent of the population, with African-Americans representing 11 percent. This voting block is crucial to giving the Democrats a chance to win the governor's office and some of the other statewide races. Another trend in the Democrats' favor is the news events of the past year. After Sept. 11, voters are more likely to see the government as an institution that can help them, a substantive switch in the government-is-against-the-common-man philosophy that has been the staple of conservative thought during the past two decades. Then there's the Enron scandal. Voters in Texas and across the country now suspect that the privatization of retirement and social services might not be such a good idea after all, and that maybe these private corporations don't have the best intentions for their workers. I'll admit this is a glass-half-full scenario. But the trends are there: the rise in Hispanic and black population. The strength at the top of the Democratic ticket. Economic issues that seem to favor blue-collar and working-class voters. At the very least, local Democrats should be involved, recruiting more candidates, and making gains that might turn their fortunes around. Instead, they seem to be sitting on the sideline, waiting and watching, hoping for some magic spell that will change the numbers in Tarrant County. But in politics, those who wait usually lose. "To be honest, (the Tarrant County Democratic Party) is waiting it out," said Mamie Bush Johnson, the last Democrat to hold countywide office (she was defeated for county criminal court judge in 1998). "Why spend the money when the statistics and hard work have shown that you can't win? Until the tables slowly turn, why waste all the time, money and effort? "When it comes right down to it, very few people want to be the sacrificial lamb," said Johnson, an African-American who is now a minister at Rising Star Baptist Church in Fort Worth. "I personally am not willing to do it any time soon. I believe I was a very good judge, but when it was all said and done, I lost because of party affiliation. We are tired of losing and investing in the next election." |
Subway sandwiched between past and progress.
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