Dear Friend,

It’s been a great two years as your Senator for District 29. Although the 82nd Legislature was my first, it was a very productive one. I passed 41 bills, among them:

* Increasing access to healthcare in our community.
* Supporting Even Start, AVANCE’s early childhood, parenting, and adult literacy program.
* Securing tax revenue for El Paso from Freedom Crossing Center sales at Fort Bliss.
* Creating incentives for solar energy use through net metering.
* Protecting workers against wage theft.

I advocated for a fair and balanced approach to budget process, strongly opposed discriminatory Voter ID and Redistricting Bills, led the fight to fund legal aid for the indigent, and engaged citizens in legislative work through District Advisory Committees.

I will continue working to: Advocate for public schools and support our students and teachers; ensure the growth and development of U.T. El Paso, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center (including the Paul Foster School of Medicine), and El Paso Community College; build economic opportunity and our health care industry through the Medical Center of the Americas; improve access to health care, particularly for women, children, and people with low income; preserve the environment; and improve transparency and strong ethics in government.

Although I did not have an opponent in the primary, I do have an opponent for the general election in November. I need your support. If you wish to volunteer for the campaign you can call campaign headquarters, 915.521.3500, and you can contribute by clicking here. You’re also invited to my campaign kick-off event at 5 p.m. Wednesday at my headquarters, 100 N. Ochoa. We will have music, food and refreshments.

LET’S WORK TOGETHER

I’m also promoting the Unity Campaign in El Paso, and I hope you get involved.

Statewide, the Texas Democratic Party is working hard to get out the vote for the Democratic ticket from President Obama on down. We have a real champion in Paul Sadler for U.S. Senate, who with your support just might surprise people. We also have a fight on our hands to elect state Rep. Pete Gallego to El Paso’s second congressional seat, District 23, which includes a part of El Paso County and stretches down to San Antonio.

President Obama has accomplished much, and we as Democrats are proud of his work. Among the many achievements:

* He passed health care reform.

* He passed the stimulus.

* He saved GM and helped the auto industry come back.

* He took decisive action to weaken America’s enemies.

* He ended the indefensible Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

So what are we doing in El Paso and Texas?

We’re working to turn out the vote in El Paso and other major Texas cities and towns. We can lead the way and change the tide. We are competitive now, and in years to come we will rise up and turn Texas Blue.

It’s going to take hard work, effort and the willingness to talk to our friends and neighbors.

In El Paso, I hosted the initial meeting of the Unity 2012 campaign with precinct chairs, volunteers and elected officials. Precinct chairs, congratulations on your recent elections and appointments! It was heartening to see so many new, young faces show up. They are the future of the party and of El Paso!

We agreed unanimously to recommend to El Pasoans that they Vote Straight Party (Push 6). Remember, there are only 42 days left.

We are working together on:

* Group walking for our candidates, including Joe Moody for State Representative.

* Training precinct chairs.

* Support for the Promesa Project, which involves young leaders reaching out to other young people.

* Connecting with our friends, neighbors, and family in a variety of ways, including social media; but most importantly, the old-fashioned way, face-to-face and person-to-person.

We have 370,000 registered voters in El Paso County. We should have at least 50 percent participation. Yet in 2010, only about a quarter of registered voters turned out.

We can double the effort and double the vote in 2012. That is our challenge as Democrats. Together, we can do it!

Thank you for your continued support, and don’t forget to come by and say hello on Wednesday.

Sincerely,