Rick Noriega at The University of North Texas TONIGHT!

(via WhosPlayin)

State Rep. Rick Noriega, Candidate for United States Senate, is coming to the University of North Texas on Tuesday, September 25 in an event co-hosted by The College Democrats and UNT LULAC council #4789. The event will start at 7:00 in the Lyceum with a presentation on the Dream Act, a bill that State Rep. Noriega wrote while he was in the the Texas House.

At 8:00, Noriega will begin his speech, informing campus students as to why he should be the next senator from the state of Texas. A Question and Answer session will follow, so you can find out his position on almost any issue.

This will be a hot race next fall, so use this opportunity to learn about the candidate so you can have an informed voice when you vote.

*LULAC is a non-partisan organization that has not endorsed any candidate for political office
Sincerely,
Joseph Vogus
President of the College Democrats of North Texas

Even More from Watts at University Democrats

I thought we had it all when we got our report from Jess Faerman, UT University Democrats member about how Mikal Watts was received, but check out this comment from a sign-in form at RickNoriega.com:

After seeing Mikal Watts speak at the second University Democrats meeting of the fall semester and watching him dodge every bullet that students shot his way on TRUE democratic issues, I knew my vote would be for Rick Noriega.

Watts seems to have only one thing in common with Democrats: he wants to end the war in Iraq. He doesn't support gay marriage, he is not pro-choice, and he has been accused of paying off people to sway trials his way, and from his disposition, I got the same vibe.

Noriega came directly to me and shook my hand, regardless of the fact that I am 4 foot 11 and look like I should not be yet in college, regardless of whether my clothes indicated I had more money than the people sitting next to me.

Watts greeted everyone to the left of me, everyone to the right of me, then when I gave him the look letting him know I realized his character, he, for the sake of trying to not let people in, shook my hand half-heartedly.

He did not answer any questions presented to him, instead quickly attacked Senator John Cornyn, leaving everyone wondering what his actual views were... but everyone knew they weren't that of any yellow-dog Democrat. Not to mention the fact that he spent 1/4 of his time bragging about himself.

BurkaBlog has a play-by-play about how Watts didn't do so hot.

Watts He Talkin' About? Mikal Watts Inconsistent on Issues...

You read last week about Rick Noriega: Huge Hit at UT UDems Meeting! but competitor Mikal Watts didn't seem to do so well in front of a crowd of about 100 of the University of Texas Democrats last Wednesday (half the number who turned out for Rick).

"Most realized he was skirting answers," said Jess Faerman, University Democrats member. She had asked Watts about his stance on abortion - one that has not taken well to most staunch democrats. When asked about whether he would vote against choice, "he claims that he'd walk and not vote...he totally dodged that [question about choice]."

About gay rights, "he wasn't really being specific," said Faerman. He claimed he was for equal rights for gays - just not marriage and such. Returning briefly to the abortion issue Watts stood in favor of stem cell research, even with his belief of when he believes life begins. "If he is consistent with that he wouldnt be pro embryonic stem cell. He just didn't make sense. I found inconsistencies all over the place," says Faerman.

She did say that Watts was a better speaker and seemed to talk about more about the issues than Rick, but that Watts just seemed to have more inconsistencies throughout his speech, and avoided questions on the issues. Capital Area Democrats and University Democrats are planning on making an endorsement in this race, and according to this UDems member, it may be a close one.

Watts' campaign called it an "ambush:"

...it didn’t take long for the San Antonio lawyer to realize he’d stumbled into an ambush at his alma mater in Austin. After pitching his maiden campaign as a political candidate to about 200 members of the University Democrats - a group to which he belonged as a UT student - Watts found himself fielding a series of pointed questions that appeared to be aimed at making him look like a Democrat in name only.

Two independent sources I had said about 100 in attendance, but more importantly, Mike, these are democrats here talking to you. They're not ambushing you, it wasn't a setup. they're raising true concerns that democrats across the state are asking. Who are you, why are you anti-choice, and why did you contribute to judges presiding over your cases? If you're unable to answer these basic questions, you have no idea what's ahead of you. As for being labeled a DINO (Democrat in name only), at least one UDems member felt the same sentiment, saying "part of me says he'll cross party lines...these inconsistencies are so weird."

More coverage from Hal

Rick Noriega: Huge Hit at UT UDems Meeting!

We told you about two appearances that our next Senator from Texas, Rick Noriega made last Wednesday. I was unable to attend personally, but "Jazzy" Jess Faerman, UT UDems member Austin-area minor political celebrity, was front and center for Rick's speech. From this photo, you can tell that the entire lecture hall (capacity:200) is completely full, and was standing room only.

From The Daily Texan:

Noriega addressed the University Democrats, who are supporting his campaign, said President Benjamin Trotter, a government sophomore.

"He really needs to capture the youth because we are a working force," Trotter said. "We're powerful in the Austin community and when we give our endorsement, it means something."Less than two hours earlier, over 150 turned out at Scholz's Beer Garten to hear Rick at a Democracy for Texas event. Over 300 people in a day, and we still have a full year to go before the election!

"He's gaining a lot of grassroots support," says Fran Vincent of DFT. "We're a grassroots organization, so it just makes sense."

From The Daily Texan:

As the sun began to set, Noriega jumped on the stage at Scholz's and opened his speech by criticizing Bush's positive outlook on progress in Iraq. He then segued into the idea that politicians in Washington are merely for show and "don't get anything done," he said.

"We need work horses in D.C., not show horses," he said.

3 Events, 2 Noriegas, 1 Amazing Evening

Rick was in Austin, first at an event with Democracy for Texas, where over 100 supporters turned out to see the state representative. It was a "huge success, [and] great speech," from a comment by Deputy Campaign Manager Rick Cofer. Both Ricks then made it out to a University Democrats meeting at The University of Texas. "Tons of people, [Rick had a] great response," said Cofer. Video is expected later.

Personally, I was able to head out to see the other Noriega, Melissa Noriega, who I'm proud to call one of my city council members. She held an event at Irma's where about 150 folks turned out to support Melissa's campaign for the At Large Position 3 (election on November 6).

About two dozen candidates and probably about a dozen currently serving officials attended to support Melissa. Pictured here are Max Cardenas, President of Harris County Young Dems and new campaign manager for Manisha Mehta, candidate for City Council District E.

I was able to share a table with several friends of the Noriegas. One young lady described remembering block walking for Rick as a child, and another gentleman knew Rick from high school. I was even able to meet Melissa's father, and Rick's father - all very lovely people.

It just turns out that the table we were sitting at had some literature from Rick's first campaign. If you're unfamiliar, Irma's is full of old political memorabilia, from old newspapers to buttons and stickers, and even Rick's old information. I took the liberty to add my own piece to the history.

But some of my favorite people that I met tonight were my fellow bloggers. Charles Kuffner from "Off the Kuff" introduced himself as he was leaving, but I was happy to have met him. I sat at a table with Lyn Wall from "Feet to the Fire" and John Coby from "Bay Area Houston."

All in all, several hundred supporters showed up at multiple events across two different cities, and this is just the beginning.

Rick Noriega To Appear At UT University Democrats Meeting

The University Democrats of The University of Texas is having a meeting tomorrow, hosting current State Representative, Lt. Col Rick Noriega.

Details:
8:00 PM Wednesday, Sept 5th
Mezes 1.306
University of Texas Campus

Questions about the meeting?
E-mail Ben Trotter at president@udems.org, or call Ben at (940) 631-0095.