John,
Today is a wonderful holiday to spend time with loved ones and share gratitude for the precious things in life.
For those of you who I have met, for those I have the honor of having earned your support, please accept my appreciation, on behalf of my family and this campaign.
We are on the cusp of a great political victory in 2020 here in the Texas 10th, and we owe that to the wonderful synchronicity of movements and individuals who share this territory. I want to take a couple minutes to put pen to paper, to recognize how we’ve arrived at this auspicious moment.
I give thanks to the movement for immigrant rights in Texas. It was these folks, grassroots organizers and affected families, progressive leaders and statewide organizations, who made Austin a national flashpoint in the struggle to resist hateful, anti-immigrant attacks, when we fought Texas Senate Bill 4 in 2017. This movement elected a local sheriff who opposed mass deportation policies, and it was this movement that gave me the opportunity to serve as the lawyer for the City of Austin, suing the State of Texas to stop SB4, alongside the biggest cities in Texas. Before Beto made big gains in the electoral context, the movement against SB4 unified progressive forces statewide, and showed how powerful we can be.
I give thanks to the Indivisible movement. I would never have run for Congress in 2018, but for all of the wonderful individuals who stepped up to resist Trump, and who were willing to fight against every official who enables his regime. TX-10 was supposed to be a “safe” Republican seat, but that didn’t stop dozens of Indivisible activists from knocking doors, making calls, writing postcards, and spreading the word. While national pundits and party leaders thought it was a waste of time, it was folks like Indivisible who put the work in, to make TX-10 a national battleground district.
I give thanks to all of the workers and unions who are fighting and winning big gains across Texas. From airline workers and auto workers to teachers and even political campaign workers, new unions are forming and labor is winning across Texas. My own political career began with AFSCME Local 1624 here in Austin, and all the members who encouraged me to take on McCaul. The labor movement built the middle class in America, and it is the labor movement that will bring it back in the years to come.
I give thanks to the environmental movement, to the folks fighting the fossil fuel industry and resisting climate change. I am inspired every day by the youth leaders who are building an international movement to save our planet, and by the activists who have kept the flame alive for decades, even in a hostile context here in Texas. We are building momentum to close polluting fossil fuel facilities, while envisioning an environmentally-sustainable future.
I give thanks to everyone fighting to protect our right to vote. Every day brings a new voter suppression tactic in Texas. And every day finds a new champion to stand up for democracy. I have had the honor of standing alongside the students at Prairie View A&M, students, young Democrats and even 96-year old Democrats, all of whom are fighting hard to ensure that every person can vote. Like we say, Texas is not a red state, it’s a non-voting state, and it’s the movement to end voter suppression that will make transformative change possible.
I give thanks to every volunteer and donor who have made this campaign hum. Thousands of you have donated, and over a thousand more have volunteered. We know that the incumbent has personal wealth and corporate cash, but he can’t buy people. And it’s you who will get to show the nation, that Texas 10—the district of LBJ and JJ Pickle before it was a “red” seat—will be a progressive seat once again.
And most of all, thank you to my family, who have supported me through this. In particular, my wife Hindatu, who two years ago joined me in starting this work, to fight Trump and McCaul and the forces of hatred and division, and who has continued to support me as I quit my job this past February and devoted myself full-time to winning this seat. Hindatu and our children are why I fight, and why I can fight alongside you.
Thank you for everything you do to make this a better world. We send our love and prayers, our solidarity, and our commitment to continuing this work for political change in Texas.
Together we will win!
Love and respect,
Mike Siegel
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PAID FOR BY MIKE SIEGEL FOR CONGRESS
PO Box 2409
Austin, TX 78701
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