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Texas
Related: About this forumThe La Quinta Tour-- A Guest Post By Texas Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Wakely
-by Tom WakelyOn July 22nd I announced I was planning on running as an Economic Populist for Governor of Texas. On August 4th I set out on a 60 day tour of my state not only to introduce myself but to gain a better understanding of why people are not voting. You see, Texas is neither a red state nor a blue state; it is a no-vote state. When over 60% of registered voters arent voting, there has to be a reason and I wanted to find what that reason was. So to find exactly why people in my state arent voting and what would motivate them to get out an vote, I decided that the best place to start was to visit them where they work and play.
My first step was to map out a travel schedule and since I planned to drive the state I selected La Quinta Inn and Suites, a chain of low-cost limited service hotels, as the place where I would hang my hat each night. My travels would take me from south Texas to north Texas. From central Texas to east Texas and all points in between. I calculated I would put little over 3,500 miles on my vehicle in August, staying on the road for 20 nights. I estimated the travel costs at $1,500. I called a friend up in Austin and he funded my first month on the road.
Over that first month on the road, I talked to dozens of Texans each morning in the La Quinta hotels dining room where a free breakfast was served. I didnt tell anyone I was running for Governor because I wanted to find out what they thought about politics in general and Texas politics specifically. I also wanted to find out if they voted or not. I think it is safe to say that the vast majority of folks I spoke to were registered voters but didnt vote. When I asked them why they didnt vote, the response was basically the same in town after town "why should I vote; my life wasnt going to change." I also took the time that first month on the road to talk to the staff at each of the hotels I stayed at. No one I spoke to earned over $10 an hour and without exception, not a one of them told me they voted. When I asked them why, they told me basically the same thing the hotel guests told me, "why should I vote; my life wasnt going to change." By the end of my first month on the road I estimate I talked to around 600 people; about 100 hotel employees and 500 guests.
My second month on the road took me back to the Texas/Mexico border towns I had already visited but also to many places I hadnt been to since I was a child, cities like Amarillo, Lubbock and Abilene in the Texas panhandle. I also visited places I had never been to-- tiny communities like Goliad (pop. 1,900) and Garfield (1,700). Once again, I stayed in La Quinta hotels in or near the town I was planning to visit. I also added another venue to my tour-- Washaterias (for you Yankees, a laundromat). This time around, I told everyone I met that I was running for Governor on a platform of addressing income inequality in Texas. I told the folks at the hotel breakfast, the housekeeping staff, and the dozens of women I met in the washaterias that I was advocating for a $15 minimum wage and without exception, everyone I spoke to said "YES!" The only thing the women in the washaterias added to the conversation was "healthcare."
Read more: http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-la-quinta-tour-guest-post-by-texas.html
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