The Bandera Democratic Club drew over 40 attendees to hear from US District 21 candidate Dr. Kristin Hook and political activist Gabrien Gregory from San Antonio.
Candidate Joe P. Herrera, running for Texas State Representative from District 53 was not able to attend the meeting.
A short business meeting was conducted before the speakers. The August minutes and treasurer’s report were approved. Member Josh Greene gave an update on the card writing project.
Bandera Democratic Chair Lynn Oliver briefed the group on her week getting election workers appointed for the election with County Judge Richard Evans’ office.
The speakers started off with a presentation from Dr. Hook which outlined her background and why she decided to run for incumbent Chip Roy’s House District 21 seat.
Hook was raised in a single parent household in Corpus Christi and began working at age 14 to help her single mother with the family’s finances. She said she learned the importance of education from her mother.
Hook attributes her determination to the values of hard work, and grit she learned as she grew up with a mother who worked multiple jobs to keep the family together.
She learned early on that “your zip code can dictate your educational opportunity in our country and state.”
She describes herself as a “problem solving nerd.”
Determined to step out of the cycle of poverty, Hook attended college at the University of Texas/ Austin and participated for three years in the Teach for America program. She taught middle school science in Brooklyn, New York.
Hook aspired to earn a PHD. She became the first in her family to earn a PHD from an Ivy League College. Her PHD is in animal behavior. Her focus was animal biology, and she has specialized in reproductive biology.
She did post-doctoral research at the University of Maryland. She worked during the day in her research and at night she spent her time as a volunteer grassroots organizer for women scientists in the DC area.
She left her lab job in 2020 and jumped into public service working for Senator Elizabeth Warren as a member of her oversight team.
Hook is running on the belief that as a government leader she must fight for every single person in her constituency. She outlined her experiences at the national Democratic Convention and said, “I am so fired up.”
“We have an opportunity to make history in so many ways. Not only would I become the first woman to represent our district, I am also half Latina. On top of that, I would become the first woman in history to hold a seat in the House with a PHD in sciences.”
“I am not just running to make history; I am running to represent every single Texan who has been denied a seat at the table.”
Hook went on to say, “We have a lot of problems in our state, and we have a representative who does not take that job seriously. He is way too extreme, and I know we deserve better.”
After Hook spoke and distributed yard signs to the members of the club, Gabrien Gregory spoke about his time at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Gregory, who is from San Antonio, mentioned that the DNC was one of the most exciting conventions to which he’s been. It inspired him and he could see how the convention could motivate volunteers to work harder during these last days of the campaign.
“This cycle there is something is happening, across San Antonio whether it is the young people who are turning out to vote. I think we are going to see something historic happen since Barack Obama was elected in 2008.”
He has been meeting Democrats in surrounding counties like Kerr and Gillaspie counties. “That’s why I am so passionate and serious when I say something is happening. I have met people who are tired of the Republican stronghold over our freedoms and rights, and not just Democrats but Republicans, too.”
“Right now, I am excited to tell you about two things, my friend Abel Jimenez and I have started a TX 21 Dem Convention so that we can connect all of our 10 counties in TX 21.” This puts in place infrastructure to help all ten counties work together.
Gregory spoke about down ballot candidates who could possibly flip their district so that the Texas Legislature is flipped to the Democrats.
“All of the work we put forward in this group is going to flip Chip and keep us blue. I am very excited to pass that along to the leadership here so you can join us in San Marcos at the convention next year.”
The second thing Gregory spoke about was a Texas for Kamala Zoom call that has been not done before. “The emphasis on this is on voters all over the state, especially rural voters.”
Gregory thanked the audience for allowing him to speak and hoped they would invite him back again.
To end the meeting, President Essie Stewart spoke briefly on the Coat Drive Project.
From November 6th to November 18th , the coat boxes will be placed at the libraries in Pipe Creek, Lakehills, and Medina for patrons to donate gently used coats.
On November 19th, 20th and 21st, the coats will be made available to needy Bandera County residents through Helping Hands. The donated coats can be child through adult sizes. Clean coats will be prioritized over other donations.
