Al Edwards

Al Edwards is a superdelegate in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Positions, record and controversies
In 1979, Texas State Rep. Al Edwards authored Texas House Bill 1016, to make Juneteenth  (June 19th) a holiday commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas, a state paid holiday in Texas. http://www.aledwards.com/bio.html (retrieved March 22, 2008)

Rep. Edwards of Houston proposed legislation to ban "sexually suggestive" performances at high school athletic events and cheerleader competitions and to reduce state funding for schools that violated the ban. CBS News quoting Edwards: "It's just too sexually oriented, you know, the way they're shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it down. And then we say to them, 'don't get involved in sex unless it's marriage or love, it's dangerous out there,' and yet the teachers and directors are helping them go through those kind of gyrations." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/18/national/main681716.shtml (retrieved March 22, 2008)

Edwards was elected Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Black Caucus and held that position for six years. He was Vice-Chairman for ten years. http://www.aledwards.com/bio.html (retrieved March 22, 2008)

Al Edwards received National media attention because of his Cheerleader Decency Bill and was interviewed on The Daily Show (May 9, 2005) and on The O’Reilly Factor (April 20, 2005). The Daily Show link may take a while to load but it’s worth it. This is one of our Superdelegates that will decide the nominee. http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=110182&title=wiltfong-no-childs-sweet-behind (retrieved March 22, 2008)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,154185,00.html (retrieved March 22, 2008)

State Rep. Edwards has advocated amputating the fingers of drug dealers (1989) and flogging for inmates in state prisons in (1991). http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/legislature/stories/040405dntexedwards.536b4.html (April 3, 2005, Denton Record-Chronicle, (retrieved March 23, 2008)

Al Edwards is a thirteen term member of the Texas House of Representative, first elected in 1978. He represented the 146th District in the Houston area. Boris Miles defeated Edwards in the 2006 Democratic primary, but has been elected to return to the Texas House again in 2008. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5593210.html (retrieved March 22, 2008) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Edwards (retrieved March 22, 2008)

As a state Representative he was the Chairman of the Rules and Resolutions Committee, Chairman of Budget and Oversight of the Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee. http://www.aledwards.com/bio.html (retrieved March 23, 2008)

Al Edwards is such a strong and dependable supporter of Texas Republican House Speaker Craddick that he is commonly called one of “Craddick’s Ds” by newspapers and bloggers. When Texas House Democrats fled to Ardmore, OK to prevent a sufficient quorum that the Tom Delay and the Republicans needed for their gerrymandered redistricting, Edwards stayed in Austin, instead of supporting the party. http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/2008/02/craddick-ds-next-generation.php (retrieved March 23, 2008) http://www.houstondemocrats.com/archives/2005/05/voting_records.html (retrieved March 23, 2008) http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A601867 (article dated March 14, 2008; retrieved March 23, 2008)

Republicans are also where he has received most (over 99%) of his reported funding for his 2008 election (see "Money in Politics" section below).

2008 superdelegate
Al Edwards is a thirteen term member of the Texas House of Representative.

Al Edwards, born March 19th 1937, is age 71.

Edwards is a native Houstonian. He is the sixth child out of the sixteen children. He is the son of Reverend E. L. Edwards, Sr. and Josephine Radford Edwards.

Edwards received a Bachelors Degree from Texas Southern University in 1966 and a Certificate in Corrective Therapy at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

He was involved in the Civil Rights Movement where he participated in peaceful marches and demonstrations throughout the United States of America with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Reverend Jesse Jackson, Mr. Carl Stocks, Reverend William (Bill) Lawson, and others.

In 1979, he authored House Bill 1016, making Juneteenth (June 19th) a state paid holiday in Texas.

Also, in 1979, he started the Al Edwards Real Estate and Mortgage Company.

Edwards served as the State Chairman for Reverend Jesse Jackson's campaign for President of the United States in both 1984 and 1988 in Texas.

In 1987, he was arrested in Houston and went to jail for peacefully demonstrating against apartheid in South Africa.

Representative Edwards served as Chairman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus from 1991 to 1997.

Al Edwards was called to ministry in April 1993. Reverend Al Edwards is a member of Progressive New Hope Church. Reverend Edwards received his Doctorate of Divinity from World Bible Christian University in San Antonio.

This information comes from: http://www.aledwards.com/bio.html (retrieved March 22, 2008)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Edwards (retrieved March 22, 2008)

Money in politics
Edwards received most (over 99%) of his reported funding for his 2008 election from Republican Bob Perry.

“Former Democratic Rep. Al Edwards, defeated two years ago by Miles, won back his seat Tuesday. Edwards, a Craddick ally, got a $25,000 boost from Houston homebuilder and longtime Republican contributor Bob Perry. Miles has been a Craddick opponent.” That’s $25,000 out of his $25,150 of campaign funding.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8V7DID00.html mar 5,2008 (retrieved March 23, 2008)

http://txprod.ethics.state.tx.us/public/363991.pdf (retrieved March 23, 2008)

That’s the same Bob Perry, which in 2004, gave $4.45 million to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and has funded (in millions of dollars) many groups that used negative advertizing against Democratic candidates in 2006.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/001518.php (retrieved March 23, 2008)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_J._Perry#cite_note-TPM-9-14-06 (retrieved March 23, 2008)

Committees and affiliations
As a state Representative he was the Chairman of the Rules and Resolutions Committee, Chairman of Budget and Oversight of the Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Edwards was elected Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Black Caucus and held that position for six years. He was Vice-Chairman for ten years.

In 1999, Edwards was appointed Chairman of Texas Emancipation Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission by Governor George Bush.

Representative Edwards served as Chairman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus from 1991 to 1997.

Edwards served as the State Chairman for Reverend Jesse Jackson's campaign for President of the United States in both 1984 and 1988 in Texas.

http://www.aledwards.com/bio.html (retrieved March 23, 2008)