Happy Labor Day!

This photo is very special to me. It is a depiction of a street protest over unfair labor practices organized by my Grandpa Harry in New York in the 1930s. He's the guy on the left in the dark suit looking at the camera. I use this photo as the wallpaper on my desktop to remind me of his work on behalf of the everyman. Labor Day is, therefore, very important in my family.

Most of you probably know that Labor Day got its start in 1882 as labor unions wanted a day for the working man. It's the first Monday in September each year, and became a federal holiday in 1894. American Federation of Labor (AFL) founder Samuel Gompers was, apparently, once asked what Labor wanted. He replied:

“What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures.”

Not such a bad sentiment. Seems downright mainstream.

Today was the kind of day that makes all the work and time away from family worthwhile. I had the pleasure of campaigning this afternoon at the Pasadena Rodeo Grounds with the local unions. The men and women of the local pipefitters, electricians, plumbing, longshore and construction were out in force, even on an overcast day, celebrating Labor Day weekend. The barbecuer's were out in force in muddy fields surrounding the area. I sampled a bunch and got to talk to the attendees about how excited we all are about 2008 and how we wish it would hurry up and be election time already because of the great opportunity we've got this time.

Everyone was very happy to hear about the strength and depth of the Democratic slate this time around, and how slight Republican chances have become.

This was retail campaigning at its essence, as Mayor White and I and a bunch of other judicial and city council candidates, including Tanner Garth, Fred Cook, Bob Schaffer, Richard Risinger (JP) and others got to judge the brisket at 2:00 p.m. Sylvia Garcia, Peter Brown, and Gerry Birnberg were also a part of the celebration.

Mikal Watts, US Senate candidate, and his family, were there, too. He was followed around by a throng of staffers, video equipment, and his family. His staffers were very professional and seemed to have their fingers on the pulse of the race.

Man it's nice to hang out with the union crowd.

Earlier in the Week

Talk about timing! Earlier this week, I attended the Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association's Clarence Darrow Award dinner. David Dow was the honoree, and he spoke from his heart about his work opposing the death penalty, and about the Kenneth Foster commutation that happened earlier in the day. Regardless of your view of criminal justice and the death penalty, it was a stirring ceremony.

Finally, engelhart4judge.com traveled to the east side of town to attend the Peter Brown event on Harrisburg on Thursday night, August 30, 2007. I met Judge Richard C. Vara, Justice of the Peace, Pct. 6, Pos. 1. I also got to spend some time with Kathryn Griffin, councilman Peter Brown's Community Outreach Liaison who had terrific advice. I also met Amy Brandon, Ph.D. who is a professor of Government at San Jacinto College, North, and Alfredo "Freddy" Blanco, an east side Precinct Chair, and a strong activist for his community. His daughter is also in a very prominent position with the DNC. I thought the Napoleon Dynamite-inspired "Vote for Pedro" t-shirts were a great idea.

Looking Forward

Hope your Labor Day is fun and relaxing. I'll report back after engelhart4judge.com 2008 travels to Austin to meet with the UT Dems at their first meeting of the year on the 5th. My wife, Eva, will attend the Mikal Watts event in Houston on the 6th, and Jaye Sutter, my manager, will be at the SD6 petition signing party at the same time.

Mike








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