Progressive Views – Democratic Party of Kendall County, Texas

Progressive Views: Too Many Billionaires Controlling Our Lives

CEOs are now being paid 280 times that of a typical worker. This happens because the system is rigged for the wealthy. The richest 1% of our population own 34% of the nation’s wealth--more than 10 times that of the bottom 50%. The top 100 richest families gave $2.6 billion to federal elections in 2024. There are numerous things we can do to address the issues, such as enact laws that make all political contributions public with full disclosure of the donors and antitrust laws.

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April 7, 2026

Action / Issues / Kendall County / National / Vote

Progressive Views: Your New Democratic Chair

This article introduces Suanne Pyle, the new Democratic Chair for Kendall County. She has been a Democrat her entire life, but her career in politics started with the Wendy Davis campaign for Governor in 2014. She previously served as Treasurer for the Kendall County Democratic Party (KCDP) the last 3 ½ years, along with several other responsibilities.

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March 17, 2026

Issues / Kendall County / Participate / Vote

Progressive Views: My “Farewell” As Party Chair

Laura Bray, outgoing KCDP chair, writes about the accomplishments of her tenure and thanks all of the people who helped her over 5+ years. She names the new chair, Suanne Pyle.

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March 4, 2026

Issues / Kendall County / Party / State / Vote

Progressive Views: Early Voting Starts Tuesday for the March Primary

Early voting begins on Tuesday and runs through February 27. Early voting is held at the KCEO office on Fawn Valley. (Unfortunately, due to changes passed by the Texas Legislature, Comfort will not have an early voting location.) Election Day is Tuesday, March 3. Kendall County will have eleven polling locations, and you can vote at any one of them.

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February 17, 2026

Issues / Kendall County / Vote

Progressive Views: County Government is a Texas Treasure

Take a look at the Kendall County, Texas website to learn more about your county government, its structure, and the people who manage it. While all county departments are important, two critical, and often unheralded, components of county government are the County Auditor and Election Administrator. These are appointed positions versus the 18 elected positions in county government.

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February 1, 2026

Progressive Views: Make Voting Easier and Upcoming Deadline

Image by Renee Silverman is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0

Action / Issues / State / Vote

Progressive Views: Make Voting Easier and Upcoming Deadline

Texas ranks 46th in “ease of voting,” according to a 2022 study in the “Election Law Journal.” The study states, “voting still is not easy in Texas [as compared to 2020]. Implement these 4 steps to make voting easier in Texas: implement online voter registration, allow anyone to cast an absentee ballot, simplify the process for a mail-in ballot, and broaden the range of acceptable photo IDs.

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January 28, 2026

Action / Conservation / National

Progressive Views: Successes and Warnings for Endangered Species

The whooping crane and bald eagle are two examples of birds that have survived due to extensive conservation efforts, but the Trump administration is doing nothing to support conservation efforts, instead FWS withdrew the final Land Protection Plan for the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge in the panhandle, the oldest national wildlife refuge in Texas and the FWS lost nearly 20% of its staff. These attacks mean extinction for wildlife and habitats.

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December 23, 2025

Conservation / Issues / State / Volunteer

Progressive Views: New Texas State Parks Coming Soon

In an election in the fall of 2023, voters approved the $1 billion “Centennial Parks Conservation Fund,” named in honor of the 100th anniversary of Texas State Parks in 2023. According to an article in the Texas Tribune, “The fund allows the parks department to expand access to natural spaces across the state, while preserving native ecosystems and cultural landmarks.” Three of these planned park expansions are Enchanted Rock State Park which is adding more than 5,000 acres, the new Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area near Pipe Creek, and the new Post Oak Ridge State Park in Lampasas and Burnet counties.

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November 25, 2025

Action / Constitution / Issues / Kendall County / Local / State / Vote

Progressive Views: Understanding YOUR Constitution and Why It Impacts YOUR Life

Legislation proposed that is not explicitly covered by the Texas Constitution must be approved by 2/3 majority in each house and be offered to the citizens for a vote. If a majority of citizens voting in the November election approve the amendment it becomes part of the constitution. Future changes would require another constitutional amendment. 17 have been certified for the ballot. The 17 propositions on this year’s ballot cover taxes and tax exemptions, dedicated funds, judiciary, public safety, water infrastructure, and personal rights. Your vote is important! Prepare and make your vote count.

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October 26, 2025

Action / Issues / Kindness / National

Progressive Views: Where’s Jed Bartlet When We Need Him?

There were 154 episodes of the award-winning series called The West Wing. The Jed Bartlet character was a Nobel Prize-winning economist who at times could be a bit full of himself. Bartlet also listened to all sides of an argument when making decisions and often admitted he was not infallible. He loved his wife and daughters, giving them great respect. I look forward to the day we get back to the norms and values that make our system work. Moderates must stand up to extremists no matter their party. Let’s all work to end the hostility that threatens our democracy.

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October 13, 2025