Sign Up for Email Updates

Stay ahead of the curve. Sign up to get the latest in Precinct 2207 news and information on upcoming events by email by clicking on this link.

How We Voted

So, how did Precinct 2207 vote compared to Dallas County as a whole?

In general, not that differently, though we did like Rick Noriega and Diana Lackey a bit more and also showed a slight leaning toward some of Lupe Valdez's challengers.  In the presidential race, we voted voted pretty much in line with the rest of the county.

The details: 

Presidential Candidate	Precinct 2207	Dallas County
Clinton	40.05%	38.11%
Obama	59.4%	61.35%

U.S. Senate Candidate	Precinct 2207	Dallas County
Rick Noriega	56.6%	50.12%
Ray McMurrey	12.6%	15.3%
Gene Kelly	21.0%	25.24%
Rhett Smith	9.8%	9.34%

Dallas Sheriff Candidate	Precinct 2207	Dallas County
Lupe Valdez	44.0%	50.85%
Sam Allen	11.1%	12.47%
Pete Schulte	21.5%	11.49%
Roy Williams	23.4%	25.11%

Dallas Assessor-Collector Candidate	Precinct 2207	Dallas County
Diana Lackey	53.69%	45.0%
John Ames	21.3%	26.7%

Meet Bill Blocker, Lake Highlands Democrat

Just a few years ago if you had told Bill Blocker that one day he would be attending a Democratic convention as an Obama delegate, he would have called you crazy. He was, after all, a solid Republican voter who had voted for George W. Bush more than once. 

But like a lot of Americans, Bill had begun to be wary of the politics of division. Then one night during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, he caught Barack Obama’s keynote speech and remembers thinking,  "I hope that man runs for president, because I want him to be my president."

When Obama began his campaign for president, Bill became an early and committed supporter and, on caucus night, found himself elected by fellow Obama supporters to represent them at the 16th Senatorial District Convention. At the convention, Bill was fascinated by the process and not only came early but stayed late. Bitten by the political bug, he says he is looking forward to turning Lake Highlands blue this fall.

Bill works in the banking field where he met his future wife, D’dee Blocker. He rode the banking waves of the late 1980’s and early ‘90’s as the institutions he worked for merged into Republic Bank, the First Republic, then NCNB. Several name changes later, the institution became Bank of America where Bill currently serves as Vice President of Technology and Technology Software Design.

Bill and D’dee are the parents of two college age children and a daughter Emily, who turned 14 on April 15 and attends Forest Meadow Junior High.

"We just got back from Texas A & M University where our daughter Caitlin is a freshman. It was Parents Weekend as well as her birthday so we had a great time celebrating. Our son, Zachary is a Journalism student at the University of Oklahoma. Both of them are graduates of Lake Highlands High School."

"We've been in the area for a double of decades now.  When our children came along we looked all over Dallas for the neighborhood we wanted to live in, and Lake Highlands was an easy choice."

"The people in our precinct are great and easy to meet.  I'm looking forward to knowing more of them during this political cycle."

Johnson-Rayburn Dinner

There still are a few tickets left for this year's Johnson-Rayburn Dinner on Wednesday, April 16 at the Westin Galleria.

For those who haven't been before, the dinner raises money for local state house races and has been an important source of funding for local candidates. The Republicans now have 79 seats in the Texas house of representatives (down from all-time high of 88 seats after the 2002 cycle). With a six seat pick up, Democrats could take back the majority. Succeeding in this task is critical, not only because of the impact on state and local issues, but because Texas likely will pick up four seats in Congress after the 2010 census. Increasing our strength in the Texas house means being able to have a voice in how those seats are allocated. The good news is that the there are a couple of very competitive local races right in our neck of the woods with really super candidates.

As if that weren't enough of an inducement, former Congressman Charlie Wilson (of movie fame) and Mike McCurry, former spokesman for Bill Clinton, will be among the featured guests at this year's dinner.

Tickets are $100. If you are interested, contact Michael Li at 214-675-6879 or by emailing michael.chihpoh.li@gmail.com.

Don't Forget to Vote Tuesday

Don't forget that the Democratic primary runoffs are tomorrow (Tuesday).  There are three races on the ballot:

•  the race between Dale Henry and Mark Thompson for Texas Railroad Commissioner,

• the race between John Ames and Diana Lackey for Dallas County Tax Aseessor/Collector, and

• the race between David Jordan and Gracie Lewis to be judge of Criminal District Court No. 3

Voting will be at Forest Meadow Baptist Church.  Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.  

Send in Your Convention Pics and Videos

Gloria Chapman sent in this video clip of the start of the convention.  The man leading us in the National Anthem is a local singer named Rick Bernard James.  You get some sense of his range and ability from the clip, but it was even more powerful in person.

UPDATE:

Paco Villamar sent in these photos from the convention.  The first picture was taken around 8:30 a.m.  Even though the convention wasn't supposed to get under way for another two and a half hours, you can see the lines were already thick.  As it turns out, it took all that time, and a little more, to get everyone signed in and inside.

One of the striking things about the crowd was how diverse it was.  Our precinct's own delegation had Anglos, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, immigrants, life-long Democrats, 'recovering' Republicans, lawyers, marketing executives, homemakers, executive assistants, SMU faculty, DART drivers, gay and straight, young and old.  Our oldest delegate was 76; our youngest 20.

This clip from Paco will give you some sense of the buzz.

Many precincts had signs so delegates and alternates could identify each other outside the coliseum. However, the Obama team from Precinct 1119, which is in Preston Hollow, out did just about everyone. Showoffs.

Almost convention time.  Still slow going on the line.

More pictures here

P.S.  If you have other pictures or video, send them in and we'll get them posted.

Hello and Welcome

Hello Fighting 2207!

I am Jason Mattox, your recently elected precinct chair! I am truly humbled by your support in the recent Democratic primary, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to build on the firm foundation that Nick Harper has built for our precinct in past years. With your help, I look forward to increasing communication and activism in our very special spot in the metroplex. Clearly, the best news for our precinct is that we have motivated, skilled, tech-savvy and action-oriented leaders like Michael Li helping to lead that charge. Michael deserves our thanks for not only setting up this great blog site, but also being such a leader in our recent precinct and senatorial district conventions. In the coming months, I hope we can all come together to make the Democratic Party more of a force for positive change in our neighborhood. Be on the look out for a kick off social gathering in the summer as well as postcards and/or emails updating you on Democratic Party activities. Thanks again for your continuing support.

Jason