Stacey Dash Is Running For Congress - Bye Stacey!

Our friends in California have had their share of Democratic and Republican leaning actors running for public office in the Golden State. 

George Lloyd Murphy served as the Republican US Senator for California from 1965-1971 and basically was the person that role modeled the transition path from notable actor to a politician that Ronald Reagan and later Arnold Schwarzenegger successfully followed.

Seaking of Reagan and Schwarzenegger, both have been Republican governors of California.
Reagan parlayed his time as Cali's 33rd governor from 1967-1975 into two terms as the 40th president of the United States from 1981-1989.

Schwarzenegger parlayed his movie career into two terms as California's 38th governor. 'The Governator' served from from 2003-2011.

And I can't forget Sonny Bono.  He served as the Republican congressman from California's 44th congressional District from 1995 until his death from injuries sustained in a skiing accident in 1998

On the California Democratic Party side, there was Helen Gahagan Douglas, who became the third woman in US history and the first Democratic woman elected to Congress from California. 
She represented California's 14th Congressional District from 1945-1951. 

She ran for the US Senate in 1950, and was unfortunately subjected by Richard Nixon to the most vicious smear campaign in California history that ended her political career and started Nixon's until it ended in the disgrace the Watergate scandal.

Democrat Sheila Kuehl was a child actor and attorney who later served three terms in the California State Assembly's 41st District  from 1994-2000 and later in the California Senate's 23rd District from 2008-2008.

She was elected to the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2014 and is still serving her 3rd District constituents.

That pattern continues today, with unabashed Trump supporter Antonio Sabato, Jr announcing last year he was going to run for Congress in 2018 as a Republican and challenge Rep. Julia Brownley (D) in the 26th District that covers southern Ventura County.

Brownley has represented the district since 2013.

And now we have actress and former FOX Nose pundit Stacey Dash announcing that she is going to run for the US Congress in the 44th Congressional District currently represented by freshman Democrat Nanette Barragan.

It's going to be a tough slog for her, since the district is 70% Latinx and covers South Los Angeles. Three of the neighborhoods and cities represented by Rep. Barragan are Watts, Carson and Compton.  It also went overwhelmingly for Clinton 83%-12%   

And if Stacey Dash thinks that Black folks forgot that she sold our community out while taking paychecks from FOX Noise as a political commentator, she really is clueless about the fact her Black card has been revoked and we haven't forgotten what she said about us.

Here's the receipts.

And naw Stacey, I haven't forgotten that foul comment you made on FOX Noise about trans women.  Something about we can 'go pee in the bushes'. 

Naw Miss Thang, my unapologetic Black trans feminine behind doesn't pee in the bushes outside.  I pee in a closed stall in the women's restroom like your transphobic behind does.  When I'm done I wipe my azz, check the seat, flush and wash my hands when I'm done.




And I have no doubt that Black voters in the 44th District feel the same way about her that Gabrielle Union and much of Black America does.

Stacey's Black Card has been revoked for her sellout behavior.   We have long memories about it when people who share our ethnic background sell us out for their own personal and economic gain. (see Omarosa).

When the karmic wheel turns to put the sellout in a position where they need the Black community's help, payback is a you know what.

Republicans are about to learn the lesson once again that Black folks don't vote for just ANY Black face you put on the ballot as they accused us of doing when we eagerly sent Barack H. Obama to the White House for 8 years .

I have no doubts that the Black voters in the 44th Congressional District will not only return Congresswoman Barragan back to DC to rep them, but will eagerly be  heading to the polls November 6  to say #ByeStacey and derail her attempt to 'Dash for DC'.

And it's going to be fun watching that happen. . 

Can Y'all Stop Using Texas As A Political ATM?

Early voting has just started in the Lone Star State in advance of our March 6 primary election, and in Harris County and the other 15 largest counties in the state, first day early voting Democratic turnout is double the rate it was in 2014, while the Republican turnout numbers are slightly below 2014 numbers.

There is enthusiasm in the Texas Democratic Party ranks and among liberal progressive Texans for the first time in a while.   Many Republican held legislative seats that went unopposed in 2014 and 2016 have now drawn Democratic challengers.   There's a competitive Democratic primary in CD 7, currently held by Rep.John Culberson (R) that drew seven quality candidates.

In Harris County, (Houston) lost in the bad news of the Trump upset win was the fact we flipped the most populous county in the state blue, and are eagerly looking to continue the process in this cycle.

The significance of this news is that Harris County provides 25% of the vote total in a statewide race, so if we can get turnout up here, it helps Democrats across the state.

And Texas liberal progressive peeps, after observing what happened in Virginia and Alabama, are fired up and ready to demonstrate we can do the same in the Lone Star State and start flipping Texas blue or at least get it to purple status.

But what that is going to take to make a Blue Texas a reality is money. 

One of the things that has pissed Texas Democrats off for a long time is that Democratic candidates from the rest of the country come to Texas to fundraise and taking money out of our state to spend in other races around the country . 

The problem with that repetitive pattern of using Texas as a political ATM because you assume we can't win here is that it deprives Lone Star State Democratic candidates running for office the funds we need to aggressively take on and beat  entrenched Republican office holders.

Texas is also the linchpin of the Republican Party efforts to cling to power on a national level.   It's why the Texas GOP has spent millions to voter suppress and gerrymander this state so they keep control of it.   According to an AP analysis, in 2016 the Republicans picked up four additional US House seats in Texas they wouldn't have if not for the gerrymandering.

It's also no surprise that a federal judge has decaled the 2011 Texas federal and state legislative maps unconstitutional because they were gleefully drawn by the Texas GOP to suppress African American and Latinx political power 

They are even more desperate to cling to power here in Texas because they know as we do that since 2009, demographics have not been on their side.   There are more non-white Texans than white Texans, and they know that if they didn't suppress or gerrymander the vote, this state would be purple or already well on it's way to becoming the political mirror image of California.

If that happens, the Republicans will be hard pressed to win a presidential contest, much less keep control of the US House of Representatives because they would have to fight for Texas' 38 electoral votes instead of relying on adding the Lone Star State's EV's in their total.

With the 2020 census and reapportionment looming on the horizon that will determine how the political fights of the 2020's shake out, it is incumbent upon us liberal progressive Texans in 2018 and 2020 to do what we can to cut into those Republicans margins in the Texas House and Senate despite the gerrymandered maps and put ourselves in the best possible position for that 2021 redistricting fight. 

We also need to have liberal progressive Texans running for statewide and countywide offices, school boards and judicial benches.   It's a win win for us in Texas and for you nationally if Ted Cruz is no longer patrolling the US Senate and Beto O'Rourke is.

But the critical piece in that effort to flip Texas blue is for the national Democratic Party and other national PAC's to stop treating Texas as a political ATM, fundraising, and taking that money to fund races somewhere else.

We need money for our races, too.   Y'all could also send more money here as well to help us flip Texas in 2018 and 2020 as well.

We'll do the rest of the work necessary to make it happen. 

Jeanne Ives Peddles Transphobia In Illinois Gubernatorial Campaign Ad

Illinois state legislator Jeanne Ives  (R)  is a longtime foe of the Illinois TBLGQ community who is primary challenging Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R).

A lot of people in the Land of Lincoln are unhappy with her after she unleashed an attack ad aimed at Rauner that ended up offending many people in Illinois, and members of her own party. 

The misleading ad featured not only a bearded man in drag, but attacked the Women's March, the Chicago Teachers Union and Latinx immigrants

 
She tred to play of the ad as 'edgy' and 'informative'/  Yeah, that what you conservaBeckys always pivot to when you get caught peddling racist, transphobic and homophobic crap.



Illinois Republican Party chair Tim Schneider stated that Ives should pull the ad and immediately apologize to the Illinoisans who were negatively portrayed in a cowardly attempt to stoke division."

"There is no place in the Illinois Republican Party for rhetoric that attacks our fellow Illinoisans based on their race, gender or humanity,"Schneider said.   

Gov Rauner's campaign quickly called out the ad, stating "This TV ad has no place in Illinois.  It just shows how unelectable Representative Ives really is."

But in the wake of that ad, Ives campaign has received $2.5 million in donations from a conservative mehgadonor who funded Roy moore's failed campaign.   It has also raised her profile amongst those Illinois conservatives wishing to send Gov Rauner packing.

So stay tuned to see if this transphobe who also hated on gay marriage back in 2013 gets out of the Republican gubernatorial primary

TransGriot Houston Area Texas Primary Endorsements

Early voting for the Texas primary elections starts on Monday and runs until March 2, with the primary election itself on March 6.    To help you TransGriot Texas readers out, it's time for me to announce the folks that I am endorsing for various races in the Democratic primary

I went through the Big 4 endorsements, plus my own observations about some of the candidates to come up with this list.   May be adding to it over the next few days until the start of early voting.     

Governor- Lupe Valdez 
Lt Governor- Mike Collier

US Senate- Beto O'Rourke
US House District 2- Todd Litton 
US House District 7- Laura Moser 
US House District 10- Madeline K. Eden
US House District 14- Adrienne Bell
US House District 18- Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee 
US House District 22- Sri Preston Kulkami
US House District 29- Sen. Sylvia R. Garcia  
US House District 36- Dayna Steele

GLO Commissioner- Tex Morgan
State Board of Education #4  Lawrence Allen 

TX State Senate 15- Sen. John Whitmire
TX State Senate 17- Fran Watson 

TX House 27- Rep. Ron Reynolds
TX House 28- Megan Scoggins
TX House 29- Dylan Forbis
TX House 126-Natali Hurtado
TX House 133- Sandra G. Moore 
TX House 134- Allison Sawyer
TX House 138- Adam Milasincic
TX House 139- Randy Bates
TX House 142- No Endorsement
TX House 146- Rep. Shawn Nicole Thierry
TX House 147- Rep. Garnet Coleman

TX 14th Court of Appeal #3 - Jerry Zimmerer 

TX 14th Court of Appeals #8-  Margaret Meg' Poissant
55th Civil District Court- Latosha Lewis Payne 
113th Civil District Court- Rabeea Collier
185th Civil District Court- Jason Luong

188th Civil District Court - Scot 'Doll' Dollinger
234th Civil District Court - Lauren Reeder
269th Civil District Court- Shampa Mukerji
281st Civil District Court- George Arnold

246th Family District Court - Angela Graves-Harrington
280th Family District Court - Barbara J. Stalder
309th Family District Court - Linda Marie Dunson
313th Family District Court - Natalia Oakes
County Criminal Court #2 - Harold J. Landreneau
County Criminal Court #5 - David M. Fleischer
County Criminal Court #7 - Andrew A. Wright
County Criminal Court #11 - Gus Saper
County Criminal Court #12 - Juan J. Aguirre
County Criminal Court #13 - Raul Rodriguez
County Criminal Court #15 - Kris Ougrah
County Probate Court #2 - Jim L. Peacock
County Probate Court #4 - James Horwitz
County Civil Court at Law #2 - Jim Kovach
Harris County District Clerk - Marilyn Burgess
Harris County Clerk - Diane Trautman
County Treasurer - Dylan Osborne
Harris County Commissioner #2 - Adrian Garcia
Harris County Commissioner #4 - Penny Shaw
Harris County Justice of the Peace Pr 3, #2 - Don Coffey
Harris County Justice of the Peace Pr 7, #2 - Audrie Lawton
County School Trustee At Large #3 - Elvonte Patton
County School Trustee Pos 6, Pct 1 - Danyahel (Danny) Norris

Other Texas Democratic Primary races I'm endorsing
US House District 27-Vanessa Edwards Foster 
TX House 62- Valerie Hefner    
TX House 75- Rep. Mary Gonzalez
TX House 94- Finnigan Jones   
TX House 123-  Rep. Diego Bernal

Texas Supreme Court Place #2- Steve Kirkland
116th Civil District Court- Tonya Parker
Williamson County Justice of the Peace Pct 4  Stacy Hackenberg

Joy Reid Shuts Down Another Conservafool

When are these conservafools going to learn not to step to Joy Reid with their 'alternative facts' because she will call them on it?

My media shero once again had to shut down an attempt by a conservative to spread disinformation on her show.   This time it was Amy Tarkanian, the former head of the Nevada Republican Party, trying desperately to spin and defend Trump from Reid calling out the pattern of being drawn to abusive Republican men and not calling them out on it.

As you probably guessed, Joy wasn't having it.   Reid challenged Tarkanian to come up with just one instance that Trump defended a woman who had accused a Republican male of sexual assault or abuse. 

And as you probably guessed, Tarkanian couldn't do it.   Enjoy the video

Houston Victory Fund Campaign Training Happening This Weekend

One of the important political things that is also going on in Houston this weekend that I was bummed I couldn't take part in was the Victory Institute Candidate training that started February 1 and will end today.

The Victory Institute is the training arm of the Victory Fund now headed by my former mayor Annise Parker, who is the first elected official to every head the group.   The campaign training is a nonpartisan intensive multi day course offered by the Victory Institute, and the first one for 2018 happened in my Houston backyard.

Personal circumstances kept me from participating in it, but some of my trans family is here from different parts of Texas and the country taking part in it so that they can go forth from here and do their part to #TransformPolitics.

But I do want to take part in one of these training in the near future.

So if you're wondering whether Del. Danica Roem in Virginia or Councilmembers Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham in Minneapolis aare one hit trans political wonders, nope they aren't

The trans community is serious about being the chefs of our political destiny and not being on the right wing political menu.

Rep. Maxine Waters SOTU Response Speech

For those of you wondering what happened to Rep,. Maxine Waters'  SOTU response speech, she decided to delay it until Wednesday night 

The speech was broadcast on BET, and it was worth waiting for because she put her foot in Trump's oversized rump as she called out his white supremacist mispresidency.

And yes, once again Rep. Waters called for his impeachment.

Here's the video of it.

Rep Joe Kennedy Invites Trans Solider To State of the Union Address

45 is giving his first State of the Union address after not doing it last year, and Rep. Joe Kennedy III, who is giving the Democratic response to it, has invited trans soldier Staff Sgt Patricia King as his guest at the event.

Staff Sgt King is not only the first person to have her gender confirmation surgery paid for by the military, she is also there as a representative of the over 15,000 trans people currently serving in the armed forces.

She's also  a reminder that Trump tried to ban people like her from openly serving in our military. simply because he was trying to appease the evangelical wing of his base.

King has served for nearly 20 years and transitioned after her last deployment in 2013, but whether she does more time in our armed forces depends on whether the permanent injunctions against the Trump military ban stay in place.

She also points out the fallacy in the conservafool talking point about trans military service that people will be breaking down the doors trying to get in to do so.

"There are much easier ways to get surgery covered rather than enlisting in the military. (facing the possibility of deployment, and dealing with the stigma of being a transgender service member.," she said.  "Every one of us who raises our right hand is prepared to give everything in defense of our country."

Note To Nikki Haley: All Music Is Political

Laughed my azz off at Nikki Haley's comment complaining about politics at the Grammys and saying that music and politics shouldn't mix.

I also find it more interesting the critique coming from Haley in light of the fact that one of the first things that GOP administrations do is cut funding to arts, music and education,

She was also born in 1972, when the music industry was blowing up.   The 70's and the 80's were one of the most creative and unapologetically political periods for popular music.

News flash for you Nikki. Art, music and politics have been joined at the hip.    Some of my fave songs have had political themes in them like Stevie Wonder's 'You Haven't Done Nothing' slamming the Nixon Administration.   In fact Stevie has written a lot of politically themed songs over his distinguished career..   Billie Holiday's 'Strange Fruit'.  Sly and the Family Stone.  The Isley Brothers 'Fight The Power.'   The Impressions 'Keep on Pushing' which was inspired by the civil rights marches of the era.    Freda Payne's 'Bring The Boys Home'  critiquing the Vietnam War.   Edwin Starr's 'War'.  Various Parliament-Funkadelic songs.  Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes 'Wake Up Everybody.  George Clinton's 'Bullet Proof/, Public Enemy's Can't Truss It.  NWA's F*** tha Police.  Beyonce's' Run The World'

And that's just from the R&B, rap and hip hop side.   Black music has always been unapologetically political    Music of other genres has also been political like Men At Work's 'It's A Mistake' and Nena's '99 Luftballons' being two examples on the same theme of an accidental nuclear war. 

So it's laughable that you, being part of a misadministration that politicizes everything including NFL players simply taking a knee during the national anthem protesting police violence against our community and turning it into something sinister, are now whining about the Grammy Awards and the numerous political shots they took at your reprehensible boss up to and including Hillary Clinton reading from Fire and Fury..

So just deal with the fact that all music is political, and thanks to the First Amendment to our Constitution, here will be more musical critiques of your boss coming over the next two years

British Labour Party Continues Trans Supportive Shortlist Policy

To address the problem of lack of feminine representation in the British Parliament, the Labour Party for over a decade has instituted a policy of having all women shortlists when looking for MP candidates to run in some of  the various parliamentary constituencies.

It is hoped that by instituting the policy, it would increase the number of women MP's in Parliament  The shortlist policy has also helped trans women who are active in the Labour Party as well.

Because of that policy, several trans women ran as Labour MP candidates in the 2017 cycle, and one nearly broke through to become the first out trans person ever elected to the British Parliament.

Sophie Cook came within a few thousand votes of becoming the first Labour candidate elected to the Conservative stronghold Shoreham and Worthing seat in 20 years.  Cook received almost 21,000 votes and made it one of the biggest swing seats in that 2017 British election cycle

But the British TERF's have been acting a fool lately across The Pond and ramping up their hate speech they aim at our British trans cousins.   They have fixed their attention on the inclusion of trans women on Labour Party shortlists, and have been raising a serious stink about it to the pont they started raising funds for a lawsuit to kill the policy.

When Dawn Butler, the Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities expressed  her support for trans women being on the Labour waitlists, she was viciously attacked by the TERF's. 

Stella Creasy, another Labour MP who expressed support for trans equality and Paris Lees' appearing on the cover of British Vogue was also savagely attacked by the out of control TERFBeckys 

The TERF's are also tripping because Lily Madigan, a 19 year old trans teen who was elected to a leadership role in the Labour Party, applied for the Jo Cox Women in Leadership Programme, but was turned down for it after enduring a storm of criticism and abuse for putting in the application for it

Madigan is more determined than ever to make her dream true of becoming an MP   Dr. Heather Peto, another trans women who is active in the Labour Party, has also made it on to a shortlist in the next general election for the Rushcliffe seat.

The good news is that despite all the negativity being stirred up by the TERF's and other anti-trans hatemongers, the Labour Party will continue their policy of placing trans women on the shortlists 

At the Labour Party's recent National Executive Committee meeting, a party spokesperson said "At the NEC yesterday is was confirmed that all women shortlists are and have always been open to all women, which of course includes trans women." 

"The party will continue to consult with key stakeholders about the wording of this policy and will issue guidance to CLP's"

And a win not only for our British trans cousins, but for transkind as well .

Sen. Booker Calls Out DHS Secretary For Silence About Trump's Racism

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) put Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen on blast during a Senate oversight committee hearing today or cosigning Trump's racist comments about Haiti and other African nations

He also called he out for her convenient bout of amnesia when question about Trump's comments.

“The commander in chief, in an Oval Office meeting, referring to people from African countries and Haitians with the most vile and vulgar language — that language festers,” Sen. Booker said. “When ignorance and bigotry is alive with power, it’s a dangerous force in our country. Your silence and your amnesia is complicity.”
He also call Nielsen out about DHS ignoring the overwhelming evidence concerning white supremacist terrorism in this country.

Not Down With Endorsing Chelsea Manning's Run For US Senate

I have been saying for years that trans people need to run for office, and many have answered that call.   In the 2017 cycle we even had several get elected to the Virginia General Assembly, two to the Minneapolis City council, and several others to city councils and a school board across the country.

In my home state of Texas in this 2018 cycle we now have five trans people running for office.  Four are running for the Texas state legislature, and one is running for Congress.

Kim Coco Iwamoto is now running for the Hawaii lieutenant governor's chair.

And sadly, we also have a barely out of federal prison for violations of the Espionage Act Chelsea Manning now deciding she wants to run for office. 

She's primary challenging current US Senator. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland).  Really?   A sitting senator who is a longtime friend to our community in that chamber? 

How do I know that?  When I was lobbying on Capitol Hill back in the late 90's, he was one of the representatives at that time who was ahead of the curve when it came to trans rights issues.

Cardin was also one of the congress members who gave me and other trans advocates participating in the 1999 GenderPac Lobby Day a warning about the backlobbying that had been done to us on Capitol Hill.

While I'm always down for qualified trans people running for office, and it really makes my day when trans people run and win, I'm not ride or die with this Senate race for a few reasons.

*Chelsea is a polarizing figure inside and outside the trans community.  You either think she's a hero or a traitor.  (I lean in the traitor direction)

*She has little chance of beating Ben Cardin 

*Trans vets have a massive dislike of her because they believe her actions almost screwed with our fight to get open trans military service in the US.  Some trans vets I've talked to about her also believe she brought dishonor to the up until that point sterling service reputation of transgender troops in our military

*Senators have access to classified data, and Chelsea, would not be trusted with it after being convicted of handing over nearly 750,000 documents to RussiaLeaks.

And if you think I'm kidding about what the trans vets think about her, here's Shane Ortega's thoughts about Chelsea Manning.

***

WTF 2018, Chelsea Manning cannot be elected to the US Senate! 

It simply boils down to she is not qualified nor mature and tactically patient enough to lead. She has already had the opportunity to serve the nation and failed.

What is that example?   That example of failed leadership is being the poor way in which she chose to be a whistle blower.  She could have used discretion or the chain of command in releasing and reporting her findings and she chose not to do that.  She was held accountable by UCMJ (Universal Court of Military Justice) for that.

Truly loyal service members respect the integrity of the UCMJ and chain of command. They would never release 700,000* classified documents to Wikileaks. They would go to an official news company as they have practice in releasing this type of information.

That did not happen, and because it didn't. Marines and Navy Seals were killed because of it and documents she released were found in the cave with Osama bin Laden. 

Her crime was not being transgender or positive intentions to reveal the the truth. It is the manner and fact of the deplorable zealous way that it was enacted. 

Furthermore her behavior surrounding her gender while imprisoned was also not up to standard.

She used that as an excuse for her behavior and has truly benefited off her white privilege.   No other transgender women who were incarcerated have walked away with $100,000 donated dollars and a book deal pushed by non-profit organizations.

***

Curious as to who put the bug in her ear to primary challenge Cardin.  He was an enthusiastic supporter of  Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary, and she overwhelmingly won in Maryland by a 62.5%-33.8% margin.  Cardin has also been a huge critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin

That's one of many questions she needs to answer.  Even if she does, it's not going to change my mind about the fact that I can't support or endorse her in this race.

Because Manning was convicted of an Espionage Act violation, and only had her sentence commuted by President Obama, it's highly unlikely she'd get another clearance.

That means Maryland Dems toying with the idea of voting for her, without that crucial security clearance, she would not be able to see classified documents or sit in briefings, meetings or Senate committee hearings in which classified information is presented.

And no, she hasn't put in the work or time in this community to think she can represent us at the federal level.

24 Seats To A Democratic House Majority

As many of you may or not be aware of, 2018 is an election year in which we will determine the makeup of Congress for the next two years.

This midterm election year is even more critical, because it will also determine what happens during the rest of the Trump Misadministration.

For of you hating the direction of Dear Cheeto Leader's mispresidency , the lack of will by the Republican controlled House and Senate to do anything about it while eagerly passing a tax cut for billionaires and corporations, November 6 is your chance to strike back and #FireTheGOP.

While the Democrats thanks to the Sen. Doug Jones (D) win in Alabama only need to flip two more Senate seats to regain control of the Senate,  they also have the problem of having to defend 26 senate seats while the Republicans have to defend just eight in this 2018 cycle. 

And Al Franken's seat that he resigned from wasn't supposed to be up for reelection until 2020.  That extra  Senate seat being  up for grabs in Minnesota only adds to the Democrats challenge in taking the chamber back from the Republicans. 

In the House, the Democrats political challenge is a lot more doable despite GOP gerrymandering and voter suppression laws in many red states.   What they have to do is flip 24 congressional districts in order to make Rep. Nancy Pelosi  the speaker of the House again.

What's the significance of the Democrats getting control of the House?  If that happens, they can block any bad legislation that Trump wishes to pass.   

And for those of you who want Dear Cheeto Leader impeached, the process starts in the House Judiciary Committee. It's much more likely to happen in  a Democratic controlled House chamber  than the Republican controlled one we have now.

In addition, accountability investigations of the Trump administration that aren't happening now will take place with far more frequency under a Democratically controlled House Congress.

nd yes, if by some miracle they get control of the Senate.   The trial and vote to remove Trump from office happens in the US Senate.   Failing that, they will also in a Democratically controlled Senate will also be able to investigate the Trump Misadministrations.

Can they make that happen?   It depends on what you the voters do this November.   

It's Inauguration Day For Councilmembers Cunningham and Jenkins!

Today was the public inauguration in Minneapolis for Councilmembers Phillipe Cunningham and Andrea Jenkins, Mayor Jacob Frey and their council colleagues in the Minneapolis City Hall rotunda. 

After the public inauguration, and the mayor's inauguration speech,  they and their city council colleagues immediately went to the council chambers to meet and elect a new council president and determine who the various committee chairs would be.

It's going to be an exciting but busy day for Andrea and Phillipe in Minneapolis today.  They'll find out their committee assignments, and after that get busy with the nuts and bolts work of helping to run Minneapolis.

And looking forward to hearing them talk about it the next time I get to spend quality time with either of them.

Minneapolis Council Members Cunningham and Jenkins Get Acclimated To Their New Job

With us being in the second day of the new year, that means that the trans folks who were elected in those groundbreaking historic elections back in November now over the next few days and weeks get sworn in and start to handle their constituents business.

Here's now Councilmember Andrea Jenkins in a picture from her FB page getting sworn in this morning in Minneapolis.

Here's Councilmember Cunningham's inauguration pic.   He's ready and eager to do the job for the residents of his northside Ward 4 along with his staff .

There's also in the wake of the election, interviewing and hiring the staff for your council office.  And yes, you also have training to go through as a councilperson like any other job. 

There was a three day orientation in which Andrea and Phillipe spent several days learning the nuts and bolts basic rules in filing ordinances and bills, voting procedures and getting up to speed on local state and federal policies that impact the city

And at $98,695 a year, the salary is nice as well.

Yes people, you have to put in the work to be an effective legislator, and having the pleasure of knowing both of them, I know they are more than prepared and ready to hit the ground running as councilmembers.

The big public one takes place on January 8 in Minneapolis when all the councilmembers gather in the City Hall rotunda to be sworn in starting at 9:30 AM CST.

Following that swearing in, the organizational meeting for city council will take place in which the Minneapolis City Council leadership will be elected.   Remember Philllpe beat the incumbent council president Barb Johnson in his race who had been in that Ward 4 seat 20 years and spent the last eight of her term as the Minneapolis City Council president.

The new council president, once elected by majority vote of the council, then will assign members to various committees and appoint the committee chairs.

January 8 will not only be a historic day not only for Andrea and Phillipe, but the city of Minneapolis and the trans community as well.