Tag: Decade

Now Allred says he wants to look out for the district by becoming its public servant. Making matters tricky was that on the outside, he looked like a black kid, but the only family he ever knew was white. Allred's father, a black man who lived in Dallas, was not in his life. "It's a North Texas story," he said. Help from the village Allred was a smart kid who loved to read. "He played like every game was his last. Allred earned a football scholarship to Baylor, where he played linebacker. In his fifth season, he suffered an injury during a game against the Dallas Cowboys, with his mother, aunt and uncle in the AT&T Stadium stands. "I thought the community that I grew up in and that allowed me to do all these things wasn't getting the representation it deserved." Derek Smith, who worked at the YMCA that Allred frequented as a kid, said he would be a good congressman.

Trump’s move on Friday to notify Congress that he planned to sign a deal with Mexico in 90 days and would include Canada “if it is willing” appeared to avoided what many in the U.S. business community and Congress had seen as a worst-case scenario. “We were far better off before NAFTA — should never have been signed. We make new deal or go back to pre-NAFTA!” Trump said. While the two sides failed to meet a deadline set by the White House, both U.S. and Canadian negotiators insisted that they were making progress. Under rules set by Congress, the administration is now facing a 30-day deadline to provide a full text of the agreement. ‘Win-Win-Win’ “We know that a win-win-win agreement is within reach,” Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian foreign minister, told reporters in Washington after talks wrapped up on Friday. But “Canada will only sign a deal that’s a good deal for Canada, we are very, very clear about that,” she added. Under fast-track rules, Trump must notify Congress 90 days before signing the deal. ‘Woefully Incomplete’ “Actually fixing Nafta requires reaching a trade agreement with both Mexico and Canada,” she said. “Without a final agreement with Canada, the administration’s work is woefully incomplete.” The administration had constructive talks with Canada this week and is still hopeful the nation will join the deal with the U.S. and Mexico, a senior administration official told reporters Friday.

I told him in 32 years as a reporter, I've never seen it before: politicians agreeing to give away political power. The way it's done now is by lawmakers after the census every 10 years, and the governor wields a heavy sword with the ability to veto the maps. While there is little chance most seats will flip to the other party, the party can exert incredible influence over legislators, who could face a primary driven by party leaders if they don't put politics over districts. But if voters allow it, the maps would be drawn with competitiveness as a factor. Why did the political establishment finally agree to put it to a vote? Because they're tired of gambling on holding a majority in the Legislature and the governor's office every 10 years. In 2011, Republicans had a one-seat majority in the House and Democrats held a 15-seat advantage in the Senate. He favored the ballot questions' clear ground rules, as free from politics as possible, with solid definitions about "communities of interest" and keeping counties and neighboring cities, as often as possible, in the same legislative district. It shouldn't be hard when the two options for political power are presented: local voters or the party kingmakers who hold the real power over democracy. "Democracy has never been something where people go into a room and three hours later emerge with a final resolution everybody signed off on," said Thiry, perfectly describing how Colorado policy gets made.