Members of the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) have been getting involved in the political process this election season, ready to elect officials who will represent their interests and protect their health care program!
Have you voted already? You can still vote early through February 28 and Primary Election day is March 4. We encourage you to vote early, but above all, to VOTE!
Very few voters make it out during the Primary, but this is when your vote counts the most! Most political races in Texas are determined DURING THE PRIMARY ELECTION, not the November General Election! Please make some time over the next few days to go to the polls!
Remember, when you vote early, you do NOT have to vote in your precinct. You may vote at any location convenient for you within your county. Review early voting locations in your area here.
It is essential that we elect Senators and Representatives that support TRS-Care and the TRS pension fund. In our previous Voter Health Series articles, we discussed several contested and open seats in the Primary election. A large number of our elected officials will be NEW or have less than two years of experience by the time the next legislative session begins in January 2015. This means YOUR Senator or Representative in 2015 may know very little about issues affecting retired school personnel in Texas!
Campaign Mailers
We have received feedback from some TRTA members about receiving campaign materials in the mail. These mailers can be confusing at times and create concern about who to vote for. TRTA advises its members to be cognizant of what organizations are sending the literature. You can use www.google.com to review those organizations online and find out more about what issues they do and do not support.
TRTA does not endorse candidates for political office, but we urge you not to make decisions about who will represent you in the Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives based on one mailer. If you have received information in the mail that causes you concern, please feel free to email us at info@trta.org and tell us what organization sent the information.
We also advise you to contact other retirees and TRTA local unit officers to learn more. TRTA’s Local Unit Directory is the best way to find contact information for local unit officers: http://localunits.org/LocalUnitDirectory/. These TRTA leaders may be willing to share their information and insights with you.
We also mentioned the ATPE resource Teach the Vote in last week’s Inside Line. If you are looking for additional information about candidates and how they work with professional active educator groups, Teach the Vote is a good resource. Please feel free to use this resource as you do your research: http://teachthevote.org/races/2014.
Thank you for being a member of TRTA! Remember, you are a valued member of our organization, and your vote in the Primary Election is also valuable! Use your power and vote! If you are not a member of TRTA and want more information about joining, contact us at 1.800.880.1650.
