Brief Description:
I am a "yellow dog" Democrat, who has become increasingly aware that the Republican Party does not have the interest of me, my familily, or my friends and neighbors, at heart. I am a Viet Nam Era Veteran of the Army Security Agency. I will celebrate 30 years of marriage in June of 2008. I have two daughters and 1 grandson. I am a Christian Minister at Friendship Community Bible Church in Sugar Land, Texas. I have served as a Harris County Grand Juror, a mentor to young men at Holub Middle School (Alief School District), a mentor to inmates at the Jester 3 and Carol Vance Units of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. I have 40 years of experience in the IT industry as a Programmer, Programmer/Analyst, Analyst, Business Systems Analysts and Software Engineer. I am currently Vice President of Sonetics Corporation (Computer Software), President of Houston Business Assets (Real Estate Investors), and Project Manager of Otten Consulting Group.

I have attended three State Conventions, and served as National Delegate and Texas Delegation Floor Whip at the 1988 National Democratic Convention. I have served as a Deputy Voter Registrar, Precinct Chair, Harris County Co-Chair of the Statewide Campaign of Judge Morris Overstreet, and Senate District 7 Campaign Coordinator for the Jesse Jackson Campaign in 1988. I am currently intimately involved in the Presidential Campaign of Senator Barack Obama, serving as a co-founder of the SD17 Obama Steering Committee.

If Elected to Office:
My first order of business, which I have already begun, is to put plans in effect to welcome and open up the process for participation by the people who voted in the Democratic Primary for the first time, those who participated for the first time in precinct caucuses, Senate District/County conventions, and those attending their first State Democratic Convention. We cannot take their participation for granted, nor can we automatically count them as Democratic Party operatives. We must woo them and persuade them that they need to work closely with us to be agents for change in our party, our state and our nation.

My second order of business will be to begin formulating plans and procedures for maximizing the turnout to support Democratic candidates in the November General election from the top of the ballot to the bottom. I will work within existing Senate District structure whenever possible, but will not hesitate to work outside the structure if working within it is an impediment.

My third order of business will be to begin preliminary analysis of the redistricting process to ascertain the availability of projected growth and demographics since the 2000 Census. Also to familiarize myself with the tools available to the Texas Democratic Party and the legislative process including the identification of the predominate players involved.

My fourth order of business will be to analyze current procedures for voting and participating in precinct caucuses and conventions with the thought that sign-in process are time consuming and should be evaluated for automation. Perhaps we can eliminate some of the frustration for voters particularly when we have great turnout.

I will attend SDEC meeting with the attitude that I am an agent for change, not merely someone attending and fitting in. Most of the work that I envision will not take place at SDEC meetings, where I see my primary objectives will be to take care of the fudiciary duties required of the body. I will reach out to SDEC members across the State to gain concensus on the agenda I hope to set for myself and those willing to participate with me. .

I will be at ease dealing with officials on all levels. I will not intimidated nor reluctant to voice my ideas on matters that are important to me or the people that I represent. I will always speak up for transparency, inclusion and respectful, and ethical treatment of members of our Democratic Party no matter what their position.

Contact Information
lawrence@statereview.com
(713) 855-8319