HCDP Message re: Coalition of Harris County Democratic Elected Officials

The following is a message from Harris County Democratic Party Chair Gerry Birnberg regarding the endorsement list of the Coalition of Harris County Democratic Elected Officials.

Now that the filing deadline has passed and we have a record number of Democrats seeking elective office – many of them in contested primary races – various clubs, organizations, groups, and individuals (or groups of individuals), including precinct chairs, will be making recommendations or endorsements concerning who they think voters should select in the primary election, many after interviewing the candidates or obtaining questionnaire answers from them.

I just want to remind everyone that the Harris County Democratic Party does not endorse candidates in contested primaries. If you hear of an endorsement by some Democratic club or some Democratic elected official or group of elected officials or some Democratic organization or some precinct chair, please do not be confused: that endorsement does not constitute the endorsement of the Harris County Democratic Party or of the 2010 Harris County Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign and it is not made on behalf of, or at the behest of, HCDP, nor does it indicate HCDP agreement or approval. The folks at the Harris County Project, which plays a substantial role in electing Democrats countywide in the fall, have asked me to inform Democrats that that group also does not endorse candidates in the primaries, and it has not participated in any process to favor or disfavor or endorse any candidates in the primary election. The role of the Harris County Project (and that of the Harris County Democratic Party) is to win elections in the fall, not to promote contested candidates in the spring.

Organizations and individuals (including precinct chairs) are entirely free to endorse candidates of their choosing (so long as they do not publically support or endorse a candidate seeking the Republican Party’s nomination for office). In fact, the fact that certain groups or individuals have endorsed particular candidates may be very helpful to some voters in deciding which candidates they wish to support with their votes, dollars, or efforts. But the Harris County Democratic Party does not engage in those activities, and wants to be sure there is no confusion over that fact.

Gerry Birnberg
Chair, Harris County Democratic Party
January 7, 2010

So now you know.

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2 Responses to HCDP Message re: Coalition of Harris County Democratic Elected Officials

  1. I think that this Coalition of Harris County Democratic Elected Officials making recommendations as to who the voters should vote for judge in the Democratic primary is a bunch of BS!!

  2. Rose Smith says:

    This is a terrible idea and shows how there is no order within the local Democratic party.

    The law firm behind this is a firm out of Beaumont.

    Can you imagine the strength this endorsement carries given that a voter who does not who they are will believe it speaks for the Democratic party?

    Totally out of line……ridiculous

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