From the Dallas South News Wire (Office of Bill White and Craig Watkins)
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins announced his endorsement for Bill White as Texas’ next governor on Feb. 11. Watkins is the state of Texas’ first black district attorney and was elected in November 2006.
District Attorney Watkins, said, “Endorsing Bill White is a ‘no-brainer’, He is the only candidate, Democrat or Republican, who recognizes the needs of the diverse electorate in Texas.”
Over the past three years in Dallas, Watkins has reduced the crime rate, created safer communities and believes White will do the same for Texas. Nationally recognized for exonerating the wrongfully convicted, Watkins is “more than positive the judicial system in Texas will be in better hands under a White administration.”
Watkins’ first campaign activity will be a precinct chair dinner hosted by White in South Dallas, near the Fair Park at St. Martin’s Place at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12. St. Martin’s Place is located at 2603 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Watkins will introduce White and speak briefly.
Watkins is very impressed by White’s background and record as the Mayor of Houston.
The son of San Antonio school teachers, White helped build a law firm and managed a successful business before being elected Houston’s mayor in 2003. He was re-elected twice with 86% and 91% of the vote. During White’s administration, Houston led the nation’s cities in job growth, adding more jobs than thirty-four states combined. At the same time, he cut property tax rates five years in a row and helped seniors with tax relief. White also started a special initiative to give returning veterans the welcome they deserve with coordinated social services, reductions in red tape, and employment opportunities.
After Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike, Bill White mobilized effective disaster response including first responders, businesses and churches. For his compassionate, hands-on leadership after Katrina, White received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2007. Previously, he served as Deputy Secretary of Energy of the United States.
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