A political rally hosted by the Freestone County Democratic Party drew a large crowd to the Teague Community Center Thursday, October 4, 2018.
Candidates for state and local government attended the rally for the opportunity to speak to voters and hear their questions and concerns.
Guy Manning served as emcee for the event; opening with an introduction from Kimberly Ratcliff, followed by the singing of God Bless America by the assembly, and prayer.
Mr. Manning spoke to the crowd, encouraging them to really get to know the candidates and incumbents appearing on the ballot in November; and vote for the one who reflects their vision for America.
Manning expounded on the importance of exercising the right to vote, a right that so many have gone to great lengths to secure. He urged those in attendance to not only vote, but encourage others to vote as well.
“Go to the polls, and carry someone to the polls,” he said, “Go in that booth November 6th, and vote your choice!”
Rick Kennedy, candidate for Congress, was first to speak.
A software engineer for over thirty years, this is Kennedy’s first bid for political office. As a father of three, he credits his children as his inspiration for entering the race against Republican incumbent Bill Flores.
Throughout his career he has worked successfully with people of many different backgrounds and beliefs worldwide; opportunities that he says have given him valuable insight and strengthened his love for his home state and country.
His plan for Texas outlines growing the economy and investing in education.
Kennedy believes that fostering a strong economy by creating more jobs in technology, energy and manufacturing and providing a properly trained workforce are critical to the future of Central Texas.
“90% of our populations, and therefore 90% of our workforce, is educated through the public school system,” he stated.
“We must invest in our public schools if we are going to continue to have the best educated, most productive workforce to maintain our position as the world’s largest economy.”
“As your Congressman, I will put country and constituents over parties and donors.”
“Vote for me and on November 7th we’ll get working to build the Texas, and the America, of the 21st century,” he concluded.
For more information, visit his website at rickkennedyforcongress.com.
Although Meg Walsh, candidate for Texas Senate District 5, was unable to attend due to a prior engagement at a town hall meeting in Bryan, her campaign manager Kenith Gonzales spoke to Walsh’s commitment to serve.
“She is the fire we need in the Texas Legislature,” said Gonzales.
Gonzales described Walsh as the opposite of Republican incumbent Charles Schwertner, a politician who he says has been voted one of the worst state senators by Texas Monthly Magazine, and one who he believes only represents his party and donors.
A single mom who worked two jobs while raising a dyslexic daughter in the public school system, Gonzales offered that Walsh knows that success demands hard work and perseverance.
Gonzales said that although people often overlook this district, Walsh’s campaign is building momentum and will continue to fight to represent District 5 and its constituents.
For more information on Meg Walsh, visit megwalshfortexas.com.
Wesley Ratcliff, candidate for State Representative District 8, is a native Texan, an Army veteran, a former NASA scientist, teacher, small business owner and now, a Freestone County cattle rancher.
Inspired by his life experiences so far, Ratcliff entered the race to represent rural Texans, working together to make Texas a better place to live and work.
“Logic is what we’ve got to have in politics,” he emphasized.
As a math and physics major, Ratcliff says he learned to apply logic to find solutions to even the most complicated problems, a skill that was effectively applied during his time as an aerospace engineer working with NASA at a pivotal time in the administration‘s history.
Now, Ratcliff hopes to bring the same logic to the Texas House of Representatives.
After a career in teaching, Ratcliff accepted a management position with IBM where he says he learned another valuable skill.
“You cannot be successful if the people that work around you don’t work with you,“ he said.
“You need somebody who cares. And I do care, I really do.”
He related how he was told by supervisors that his caring nature was a fault, however he says it didn’t stop him from being promoted.
When he was told that a plant would be closing, he bought it and successfully operated it for eight years, saving the jobs of his many employees in the process.
“I’m running because I don’t like what’s going on in our state, our nation, our county,” he concluded. “I think I can make it better.”
For more information on Wesley Ratcliff, visit ratcliff2018.com.
Pam Whitt, candidate for Justice of the Peace Precinct 2, has twenty-eight years of experience in law enforcement, and is currently employed as court clerk for Freestone County’s Justice of the Peace Precinct 1.
Following a career with the Texas Department of Corrections, Whitt went to work for Mexia Police Department before moving on to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Department.
Whitt has logged five hundred hours of training with Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCLOSE) and one hundred and fifty hours of court personnel training.
If elected, Whitt promises to serve with honor, integrity, and fair and equal justice.
Kathy Cheng, candidate for Texas Supreme Court Place 6, has practiced law for almost twenty years.
As a practitioner, she says she sees firsthand that justice isn’t for all, and cites the need for individuals who are capable of seeing things from different perspectives to interpret the law.
Cheng sees a need for diversity in Texas‘ highest court, noting that of the nine justices, all are Republican, and only two are female.
A first generation American and mother of three, Cheng aspires to uphold the oath of citizenship she took as a child and the ideals it represents.
“I want to make sure that we give meaning to those words we say in the pledge,” she proclaimed.
“There’s nothing more patriotic than to uphold the Constitution and our Pledge of Allegiance!”
To learn more about Kathy Cheng, visit chengforjustice.com.
Ed O’Neill was asked to address the crowd regarding County Proposition A to become Tier 2 counties.
He explained that the proposition, which will appear on ballots as “Changing [Freestone] County from Tier 1 county status to Tier 2 county status for purposes of municipal annexation…”, is in answer to a law passed in 2017 requiring a vote from impacted land owners before their property could be annexed in to a city.
However, the new law only covered counties whose populations were 500,000 or more.
O’Neill urged the group to vote for Tier 2 to preserve the rights of private property owners, protecting them from forced annexation, and allowing them the right to vote on proposed annexations.
Early voting for the General Election November 6th begins October 22nd.
To register to vote, find a polling place, or for more information go to votetexas.gov.
(Photos by Megan Hempel)
