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.