I'm not much into predictions, but I checked into a comment I made at Blue Island on October 14 in reference to Black Republicans. ...I hope that the Johnny Come Lately Republicans don't get caught on the wrong side of the impeding political shift. I've talked to a number of African-Americans who have joined and left the GOP, all within the last 4 years. Little did I know that old, new, Black, White, Hispanic, it didn't matter; they all got caught up in this one.

The national shift towards the Democratic Party may have made it all the way down to Dallas. With 99% of precincts reporting, it looks as though Craig Watkins will defeat Toby Shook and become Dallas County's next District Attorney.  Watkins, who has promised changes in the DA's office, built on a surprising run at the D.A.'s office in the 2002 election.  I had my doubts about Craig's campaign over the last couple of months, but I'm excited about his victory and the opportunity to clean up the mess that Bill Hill is leaving. In addition, Democratic County Clerk Candidate John Warren is leading Republican incumbent Cynthia Figeroa Calhoun, and Republican County Judge Margaret Kelleher is trailing Democrat challenger Jim Foster. I would have taken all bets that Kelleher would retain her seat, but that's why we vote. 

                                                 CNBC and CNN have given the U. S. House of Representatives to the Democratic Party. 

Early projections show that all 12 Dallas bond proposals should pass easily.  Prop 10, which is for the acquisition of land in Cadillac Heights for a future Dallas Police Academy seems to be the least popular.

                                                           Republicans felt they had an African-American candidate they could rally around in Maryland's Michael Steele.  Steele however will be defeated in his race for the Senate by Democrat Benjamin Cardin.  Steele had won the support of a number of Maryland's Black Democrats, but it wasn't enough on election night. 

Deval Patrick becomes America's 2nd black governor as he defeats Kerry Healy in Massachusetts.

On Monday, the Texas Rangers introduced Ron Washington as their new manager in hopes that he could right the ship Buck Showalter had been sailing in the wrong direction.  Mr. Washington became the 1st black manager in the history of the club.  He has spent the last 11 years as infield and 3rd base coach of the Oakland A's. I'll be the first to admit that Ron Washington was not who I had pegged for the Rangers dugout.  I was rooting for the Rangers to hire Trey Hillman, who grew up in Arlington, has worked for the Rangers, and led the Nippon Ham Fighters to a win in the Japanese World Series last month.  But the Rangers new manager brings a proven record of coaching success and a superior knowledge of the game. This is the beauty of a fair and open process, and why it is important for black managers and black coaches to have the opportunity to interview for jobs.  The sports experts and prognosticators didn't give Washington much of a chance at the Rangers gig.  But give Ron Washington credit, he went into the interview (do coaches take their resumes to an interview?) and blew Rangers owner Tom Hicks and general manger Jon Daniels away with his ...

North Texas Liberal  has posted an exit poll that is being conducted by West Texas A&M University.  If you early voted anywhere in Texas, take a couple of minutes to respond to the exit poll at this link.

As I was driving home from work today, I was surfing through my presets, and landed on KERA 90.1 - NPR Radio.  My favorite show All Things Considered was on, and I quickly realized they were speaking on a subject that was near and dear to my heart: The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. On November 13, a groundbreaking celebration will be held to mark the start of construction on the King Memorial, which will be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  As reported in the story on NPR (listen online here) a moratorium has halted the addition of any new structures and buildings on the Mall, which makes this project even more significant. I visited the site of the memorial last July, and the location is exceptional.  The tribute to Dr. King will be right next to the Tidal Basin, across from the Jefferson Memorial, and in close proximity to the Lincoln Memorial.  This exclusive piece of real estate has been coveted by other would be commemorative projects. Rumor has it that some folks who want to build a memorial to Ronald Reagan had their eyes on the site, in expectation that fundraising efforts for the King tribute would come up short. Commemorative Plaque in Washington, D.C. This Saturday ...

On Friday September 1 of this year, Marcia Page was named President and CEO of the Foundation for Community Empowerment.  The Foundation seeks to revitalize "low-income" areas of Dallas.  I recently wrote about the Annual Conference the group (and it's research the Williams Institute) held where they focused on disparities in the city of Dallas.  Marcia Page was gracious enough to answer a few questions I had about her position as CEO and other projects the foundation is working on.    DSB: Marcia, I was very excited when I saw the press release announcing that you had been named President and CEO of the Foundation for Community Empowerment (FCE).  What was your initial reaction to your appointment? MP:   I was both surprised and excited about the new opportunity.  I have spent all of my life working in a for-profit, corporate environment, so just the thought that I might have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of so many gave me a sense of peace and a rush all at the same time.       DSB:  How long have you been working with FCE and how did you begin your work there?   MP:    I became an executive on loan from Texas Instruments to ...