Blog

by Kevin Henning, KCDP Chair
for the KCDP weekly newsletter, March 29, 2020

WOW, lots of things to cover. Yes, we will be doing most things digitally for a good bit.

CARES Act

Trump signed the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill that passed the Senate 96 – 0 and by a voice vote in the House. It is heartening to finally see this bi-partisan effort. No doubt more will be needed down the road but this is a great start. Thank you Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer for hanging tough and getting a decent deal.

TDP Convention

The Texas Democratic Party Convention, in San Antonio from June 4 to 6, has been canceled. It will be done virtually and a TDP team is in the process of working out the new Convention plan. We’ll provide the final details when we have them. We have fifteen official delegates listed below. We can add more to the list until April 20, so let me know if you are interested. I want to thank them for signing up to be our delegates. The Convention is always exciting and educational and I know that the TDP will do its best to make the digital version as close as possible to the real thing. You will not need to be an official delegate to tune in and see the happenings.

Kendall County Delegates (as of today):

• Laura Bray
• Richard Caldwell
• Susan Dollar
• Jessica Elbel
• Dan Griffin
• Kevin Henning
• Peggy Layton
• Brooke Orr
• Janet Reyes
• Richard Reyes II
• Stephan Rogers
• Julie Rosenberger
• Luke Rosenberger
• Sheryl Sicklesteel
• Barbara St George

Pandemic

Both Kendall County and Boerne are providing information on the pandemic on a routine basis. Mayor Handren is providing excellent leadership in this time of crisis. County Judge Lux and Emergency Management Coordinator Jeff Fincke are constantly assessing potential dangers and are major participants in creating the action plan to minimize the infection rate in Kendall County.

You can get to the city and county information by going to these websites:

• Kendall County
• City of Boerne

Boerne Mayor Tim Handren is doing a daily Facebook Live segment that is well worth watching. Here is that link: Boerne City Hall videos on Facebook

While the pandemic has thrown our lives in turmoil, I think we are coping extremely well. Yes, there has been panic buying but you can pretty much get anything you want at HEB or Walmart (maybe not toilet paper and sanitizer). Home Depot and other garden stores are going crazy with folks buying plants since so many are now stuck at home. You are encouraged to volunteer in our community where safe and appropriate. Giving blood and donating money to organizations like Family Services are always wonderful ways to help. Laura Bray sent the following press release to the papers that captures our feelings of support for the many folks doing all they can to keep our world safe and as normal as possible:

Kendall County Democratic Party and Boerne Area Democrats Joint Statement on Operations during Boerne’s Emergency Declaration

The Kendall County Democratic Party (KCDP) and Boerne Area Democrats (BAD) are complying with current emergency protocols, so our meetings are temporarily suspended. (The next scheduled meeting of the Boerne Area Democrats on April 9 is cancelled.) Our joint office at 518 E. Blanco, Suite 103, is also closed until further notice.

KCDP and BAD wish to thank all the first responders and healthcare workers who are doing so much to protect us. We also wish to thank Mayor Tim Handren for his leadership during this situation and all the city and county workers, store clerks and restaurant staff, and other employees who are working in essential businesses during this time of social distancing.

Elections

The City of Boerne is moving the May 2 City Council election to the fall so it will now be on November 3, the same as the Presidential Election.

Planning

Becky Strain is leading a planning effort to develop a Get Out the Vote strategy for the fall. A draft should be available in April. We will build on the successful 2020 Primary Plan and will incorporate digital options. The candidates are rapidly developing their digital techniques and we are planning for a virtual townhall with Wendy Davis in April.

Laura Bray is kicking off a virtual training effort that will help us all move to the next level as Kendall County Democratic Party volunteers. We will need everyone to step up to realize our ultimate goal of turning Texas Blue.

Social Distance and Please Stay Safe.