The Lovely Mrs. Melissa Noriega Appears at Houston's 171st Birthday Party

Melissa Noriega (pictured here with Texas State Senator Mario Gallegos) attended Houston's 171st Birthday Party at the George R. Brown Convention Center last night. Although she was unable to attend the Harris County Young Democrats meeting, she was still able to win the endorsement of the organization.

Mayor Bill White and Former mayor Bob Lanier were in attendance, as well as many of our local representatives. James Rodriguez (candidate for City Council District I), and wife Wendy Montoya also made an appearance after stopping by the Young Dems Meeting. Astros Star Jeff Bagwell there, and ABC-13's Shara Fryer served as Mistress of ceremonies.

(h/t to The Insite)

Harris County Young Dems Candidate Forum

Even with some leftover rain from Tropical Depression Erin lingering, the atmosphere was certainly upbeat as candidates from across Harris County, including representatives from state-wide and national campaigns showed up to mingle with the Young Democrats. This is definitely promising, as it shows that candidates recognize that us, the "you-tube" and internet generations can make a significant difference in their elections next year.


Rick Cofer, Deputy Campaign Manager, and Melissa Noriega from Rick Noriega for Texas

About one and a half dozen candidates attended a happy hour after work with the Young Dems, asked for petition signatures to aviod filing fees, and spelled out their platforms. In several cases candidates told us why their opponents suck, "with all due respect," of course. The atmosphere was quite intimate, as the ratio of Young Dems to candidates was only 3 or 4-to-1.

I grabbed some cards from a few folks, but will get up a full list when I get a chance. Just some of the candidates in attendance:

Presidential Race:
Hillary for President represented by field staff.

Statewide office:
Rick Noriega for US Senate - Represented by Melissa Noriega and Rick Cofer, Deputy Campaign Manager (Rick himself was unable to attend due to military training)

County-wide office:
Steven Kirkland for 215th Civil District Court
Fred Cook for 215th Civil District Court
Marc Isenberg for 80th District Judge

City-wide offices:
Lawrence Allen for Houston City Council District D
Manisha Mehta for Houston City Council District E


Candidate Steven Kirkland meets with young dems.