Thank you for Allowing Me to Serve You

Steve Ruiz with TDP Chair Gilberto Hinojosa, Former SD16 SDEC Committeeman David Griggs, TX Land Commissioner Candidate Jay Kleberg

For those of you serving as attendees, guests, and delegates at this year's Texas Democratic Party Convention I hope you have a wonderful convention. My wife, Heather, and I have recently moved out of SD9 and so I am no longer your SD9 SDEC Committeeman but it has been a privilege and honor to have served you in this capacity to further grow Democratic values and principles throughout Texas.

We need to rally around Beto, Mike Collier, Rochelle Garza, and all of our statewide candidates this November to not just register Democrats but to get every Democrat in the state out to vote.

We need strong, ethical leadership that represents the rich diversity of Texas. That is why I am endorsing Gilberto Hinojosa as State Party Chair and Shay Wyrick Cathey as Vice-Chair of the Texas Democratic Party.

As part of the SDEC, I have worked with Chair Hinojosa and I know the passion and conviction he has for Democratic principles. He has demonstrated complete support of our Democratic lawmakers as they continue to fight against extremist Republican legislation. Further, Hinojosa has been a true champion for ensuring that we begin organizing many of our different constituency groups and ensuring staffing and representation reflect the diversity of our state. Under his stead, TDP staff was able to successfully collectively bargain for fair wages and work hours and should be a model of how an organization can support the unionization of its workforce. In light of all of this, I have never had to question Gilberto's ethics.

If you don't know Shay, she has been involved in transforming North Texas Democratic politics. She was the longest serving African American member of the State Democratic Executive Committee in SD23 having served since 2006. She was appointed to chair the Legislative Committee (2006-2008) and appointed by current TDP Chair Gilberto Hinojosa to chair Convention Committee (2012-2014) and the Nominations Committee since 2016. She served on the 2020 Election Review Committee.

My other endorsements include Karroll Parker for SD9 Committeeman. Now that SD9 is wholly in Tarrant County, it needs representation that carries with it the experience ad knowledge that spans across Tarrant. Of all the candidates for SD9 SDEC Committeeman, Karroll Parker has served Tarrant County in so many capacities. From running county conventions for many years under former Chair Deborah Peoples to being interim Comptroller under current Chair Allison Campolo his experience is second to none. Also having run for political office before as County Clerk, Karroll has unique candidate and campaign experience that he can bring to the SDEC.

For SD10 Committeewoman, I endorse Cindy Rocha. Cindy resides out of Johnson County and has been a member of CWA. Cindy has been very much involved in Johnson County Democratic politics and with the Texas Democratic Women. In my tenure as Chair of COPE (Committee on Political Education (COPE) & Legislation Committee) with the Tarrant County Central Labor Council, I had the privilege of working with Cindy on the interviews and screening of candidates for union endorsements. We also research local legislation and identify political leaders that support or enact bad legislation.

Please join me in supporting these candidates and have a great time at Convention.

Sincerely,

Steve Ruiz
SD9 SDEC Committeeman