Tom Perez

Tom Perez Elected Democratic National Committee Chair

... to channel Sanders’ populist economic message in the campaign against Trump. Shortly after Trump’s victory, Sanders and prominent Clinton supporters like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N. Y.) coalesced behind Ellison’s candidacy in an apparent effort to unite the party. Perez entered the race in mid-December, reportedly after aides to then-President Barack Obama encouraged him. He has proven a formidable adversary for Ellison, picking up support from key Obama administration figures like former Vice President Joe Biden and former Attorney General Eric Holder. Shortly after Perez’s victory, Obama issued a statement congratulating him. “I know that Tom Perez will unite us under that banner of opportunity, and lay the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leadership for this big, bold, inclusive, ...

Protester Urges Tom Perez To Back Democratic Primary Challengers

... night, as a protester interrupted a forum with candidates for Democratic National Committee chair to demand primary challenges. As former secretary of labor Tom Perez was answering a question, an activist named  Natalie Green  rose from the audience with a banner reading #Resist. After introducing herself as a survivor of sexual assault, and saying that President Trump was “surrounding himself with white nationalists,” Green asked whether Perez would “commit to supporting primary challengers to fight against Democrats who refuse to resist Donald Trump’s agenda.”. “Please respect the forum and the way this event has been organized,” said Stephanie Ruhle, an MSNBC host who was co-moderating the forum. Green repeated her question, and after one more repetition — and after security removed the banner but allowed Green to stay — Perez launched into a polite non-answer. “Part of ...

Tom Perez On Why The Democratic Party Needs A Dramatic Culture Shift

... By Jonathan Capehart February 14 Follow @capehartj. Former labor secretary Tom Perez, a candidate for Democratic National Committee chairman, speaks during a DNC forum last week in Baltimore. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters). “We need a turnaround specialist because the Democratic Party needs to transform itself. It needs dramatic culture change.”. And Tom Perez thinks he is the person to do it. The former labor secretary under President Obama is now a leading contender in the crowded field to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The election is set for the weekend of Feb. 24 in Atlanta. LISTEN HERE. For more conversations like this, subscribe to “Cape UP” on i Tunes or Stitcher. “The first dimension of culture change … is we have to redefine our mission. It’s not simply the election of the president. It is the election of candidates from the school board to the Senate,” Perez said in the latest episode of “Cape Up.” He said that the best way to accomplish this is to make sure the endeavor is “a 12-month enterprise, not just a three-month enterprise before the election.”. President Trump’s successful campaign against Hillary ...

Ann Marie Staudenmaier, Tom Perez’s Wife

... this in common, as Perez graduated from Canisius High School, an all-boys Catholic high school in Buffalo, New York. 3. She Met Tom Perez at the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Ann Marie Staudenmaier and Tom Perez met at Jesuit Volunteer Corps. ( Facebook ). Ann Marie Staudenmaier and Tom Perez met while they were both volunteers with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. This is a volunteer organization headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, with most volunteers being young college graduates who stay with the organization for about a year. It is associated with the Catholic church, although not all of the volunteers are Catholic. Some of the notable alumni of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps include Hunter Biden, son of former vice president Joe Biden; Bob Casey Jr., a Democratic senator from Pennsylvania; and Bob Ferguson, the attorney ...

In Texas, Do You Have To Drive 120 Miles For A Voter Id

... on the panel, David S. Tatel, said, "The record tells us there is a subset of registered voters who lack ID. We have to think about the economic burden and the fact that minorities are disproportionately poor." He, too, cited the 120-mile drive statistic, the Post reported. And the talking point made it into the ruling in which the appeals court struck down the law. That said, the claim deserves some context. Where would someone have to drive that far. Uresti, the Texas state senator, had testified that the drive could be up to 120 miles for some Texans who live between San Antonio and El Paso - basically, the lightly populated western portion of the state. So that’s where we focused our attention. We found one newspaper reader who contributed some thoughts on the law to the Dallas Morning News. Kirby Warnock, of the Dallas suburb of Oak Cliff, told the paper that he has family in the Big Bend region, a rural area of west Texas along the Rio Grande. "If a person lives in tiny Imperial, or Terlingua, they ...

Tennessee Democrats Supporting Tom Perez For Dnc Chair

... development and grassroots campaign experience," Mancini said in a release. Perez, a civil rights attorney and former Labor secretary, is facing Congressman Keith Ellison to take over the party, which faced defeating losses in November. Former Vice President Joe Biden and ex-Attorney General Eric Holder have endorsed Perez. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren  have endorsed Ellison. The debate between the two candidates has been deep, and some have said it's divided the party on its direction. "I want to make this clear — this decision should not be viewed a 'wing-vs-wing' fight and anyone who characterizes it as such is playing into the hands of those who benefit from perpetuating the idea that the Democratic Party is divided,” Mancini said. Mancini said the decision to support Perez was unanimous among five party leaders from across the state. Tennessee DNC members include Chairwoman Mary Mancini, Vice Chairman John Litz, and three at-large members: Gale Jones-Carson from Memphis, Will Cheek from Nashville and Bill Owen from Knoxville. Donna Brazile, a former CNN contributor and political strategist, is the current interim ...

Tom Perez Nabs Dnc Chair Endorsement From Disability Rights Pioneer

... Supreme Court ruling required states to integrate people with disabilities into their communities, rather than institutionalize them, whenever possible. Paul Morigi/Getty Images. Former Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Calif.) endorsed former Labor Secretary Tom Perez to chair the Democratic National Committee. Coelho is one of several prominent disability rights activists who have embraced Perez’s candidacy based on his disability rights record. With just a few days left before the contentious election, Perez and the other eight remaining candidates are pulling out all the stops. On Saturday, New Hampshire Democratic Chair Ray Buckley announced that we was dropping out of the contest and endorsing Perez’s chief rival, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.). In addition to Ellison and Perez, other candidates vying for the top post are South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg ; Idaho Democratic Party Executive Director Sally Boynton Brown; South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Jaime Harrison ; ...

Dnc Picks Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez As New Chair

... (@justicedems) February 25, 2017. However, Ellison called for unity after the election, saying that Democrats “don’t have the luxury” of being divided. . @keithellison calls for unity in concession speech after #DNCchair vote: "We don't have the luxury to walk out of this room divided.". — Evan Mc Murry (@evanmcmurry) February 25, 2017. Perez succeeds outgoing Chairwoman Donna Brazile, who led the party as interim chief in the fallout from disclosure that internal party communications were stolen by hackers and leaked during the 2016 presidential campaign. U. S. intelligence officials have blamed Russian agents and said Moscow's intention was to help Trump win. Brazile said Saturday the party has worked with cybersecurity experts to address vulnerabilities. She chided Trump for his mockery of DNC cybersecurity and his doubts that Russians are at fault. "No, Donald Trump, you can't go to Staples and buy anti-Russian hacking software," she said, urging Congress to investigate whether Russians hacked the Republican ...