Gabriel Nila

For Immediate Release – State Rep. Dawnna Dukes Must Resign Now

by Gabriel Nila on September 26, 2016 0 Comments

September 26, 2016 Media Contact: Matt Mackowiak

(512) 423-6116

Nila: State Rep. Dawnna Dukes Must Resign Now

Dukes Reportedly Wants to Wait until Jan., Causing a Special Election

AUSTIN – Gabriel Nila, the Republican nominee for Texas House District 46, has released a statement in response to a story in Quorum Report that embattled State Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) plans to resign in January due to health reasons:

“Maria and I both wish Representative Dukes a full recovery from her health challenges,” said Nila. “But the reality is that Dawnna Dukes has been under criminal investigation for many months. We do not yet know the conclusion of that investigation, but the allegations are very serious. If Representative Dukes intends to resign in January due to health reasons, there is no good reason for her to resign 100 days from now, after a general election, and needlessly disadvantage her successor and cause an expensive Special Election. The constituents of this district deserve to have new representation immediately, not months after the new biennial session begins. If Representative Dukes wins election to a new two-year term that she plainly does not plan serve, then this district’s new representative will be 150th in seniority and will be starting late to build a staff, seek committee slots, file legislation, and get up to speed for the session. For once, Dawnna Dukes should put the district and the taxpayers first and immediately resign.”

3 Cities, 1 Community

by Gabriel Nila on September 11, 2016 0 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Andy Hogue
andy.tcrp@gmail.com | 512.302.1776

Canned food drive continues successful ‘It’s Time for Unity’ efforts

3 Cities, 1 Community initiative will collect food for East Travis food banks

AUSTIN — After two successful rallies designed to foster dialogue between local law enforcement and the East Travis County community, the organizer says it’s now time to act.

In continuing the It’s Time for Unity campaign, Texas House District 46 candidate Gabriel Nila announced Wednesday the creation of the 3 Cities, 1 Community Canned Food Drive.

“We hope this will become an annual event regardless of who wins the election,” said Nila, a local educator. “We hope that by showing unity in this way open dialogue will continue.”

Nila stressed the importance of increasing cooperation between Manor, Pflugerville, and East Austin as a means of building community in some often under-served and under-represented areas of Travis County.

Canned goods will be accepted at the following locations Sept. 7-24:

Pflugerville: Springhill Restaurant, 2505 W. Pecan St., Pflugerville, TX 78660
Manor: Café 290, 11011 U.S. Hwy. 290, Manor, TX 78653
East Austin: Locations pending

Canned food may also be arranged for personalized pick up by calling Nila at (512)541-5122. All canned food and non-perishable items will divided and delivered to the following food banks:

Pflugerville: The Storehouse

Manor: Manor Food Pantry

Austin: Central Texas Food Bank

For additional information call Nila at (512)541-5122 or gnila@gabrielnila.com.

The need for another Probate Court

by Gabriel Nila on August 24, 2016 0 Comments

Probate Courts handle the affairs of deceased persons and they also preside over Guardianship cases for “Wards of the State”. In Travis County, the Probate Court also hears mental health care commitment cases for 40 counties. President Ronald Reagan won reelection in 1984, the same year that the Travis County Probate Judge took the bench. In those 32 years, the Probate Judge—who is now the highest paid judge in the entire state—has consistently refused to allow the State Legislature to create a second Probate Court for Travis County residents. Austin trails Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and even El Paso because one Probate Judge continues to enrich himself and obtain more power at the expense of Travis County citizens.

Taxpayers must wait 4 months for a 10-minute hearing. These unacceptable delays cause grieving family members additional anxiety and grief because they can’t access their loved one’s bank accounts. Bill collectors begin calling and harassing mourning relatives all because a severely backlogged Travis County Probate Court can’t adequately handle the Probate needs of 1.1 million citizens. During her 22 years in the State Legislature, my opponent has never introduced a bill to create a second Probate Court because she’s afraid of the Probate Judge. As the District 46 House Representative, I will introduce the bill to create a second Probate Court so that Travis County can finally catch up to Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston as large metro counties with more than 1 Probate Court. I’ll take on the entrenched, overpaid Probate Judge and strip power from him and give that power to another elected Probate Judge so that Travis County citizens can have their Probate matters handled timely and efficiently.

I’ll challenge the Probate Judge further and introduce legislation to provide funding for Travis County to build a brand new, state-of-the art courthouse in District 46. It’s time to replace the outdated Travis County courthouse and move it from downtown to District 46. We need economic development in our district and it’s time to bring and create jobs for our residents. I will work hard to bring a $200.0 million courthouse to the East side and reduce the influence of judges and lawyers that don’t live in District 46.

It’s Time for Unity – Tonight!

by Gabriel Nila on July 13, 2016 0 Comments

If you haven’t heard, we will be having a community Town Hall meeting! It’s Time for Unity is the next step in helping with the healing due to recent events in Louisiana, Minnesota, and in Dallas. Our goal is to create constructive discussion between the communities of Manor and Pflugerville and their respective Police Departments. Discussions include: what community-based programs that the Police Departments are doing are working, what can be improved, what else can be done.

We are excited that there are outlets that have promoted the event. This includes: Media sent Press Release, Travis Tracker, KXAN, and KLBJ-AM, and various social media groups.

We look forward to joining us tonight at the Manor United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, located at 510 Burnet St, Manor, TX. The meeting starts at 6:30 pm. For more information, click HERE

Re: Amid Dawnna Dukes Probe, African-American festival is canceled

by Gabriel Nila on June 6, 2016 0 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Amid Dawnna Dukes Probe, African-American festival is canceled

On Thursday, June 2nd, Representative Dawnna Dukes announced that the African American Community Heritage Festival would no longer continue, according to Dukes “because of the unfair, untruthful criticism, it’s not going to happen, I’m not going to organize it.”

It is sad that due to the lack of severe integrity and financial accountability to the people of East Austin from Dawnna Dukes, the residents of East Austin will be denied access to further their higher education opportunities. As the candidate of choice for the community, I have committed myself to find alternative opportunities so we can empower our leaders of tomorrow, and I will do so once I am elected. Also, I promise to continue in some form to celebrate the proud heritage of East Austin through a festival that is financially managed transparently and through an organization that has no ties to myself but to the community so there will be no doubt of where the money raised through the festival has been going. Furthermore, I challenge Representative Dukes and Huston Tillotson to release the names and amounts of financial scholarships given to those individuals who received scholarships over the 17 year history of the festival.

The communities of East Austin, Manor, and Pflugerville should not and will not be put on the back burner due to integrity issues and personal financial gains of a certain few that have our current Representative has backed and endorsed. It is time for the citizens of HD 46 to have a Representative who will work to empower our youth and our proud community for a better future.

Contact:

Gabriel Nila

gnila@gabrielnila.com

Phone: 512-541-5122

ALL HANDS ON DECK

by Gabriel Nila on April 24, 2016 0 Comments

ALL HANDS ON DECK!

My friends, we have a great opportunity to talk about the Gabriel Nila Campaign and other Liberty and Conservative friends who want to make a positive change in Travis County. We are in need of your help to do that.

These next few months will be critical for me and other candidates. We will be working with great groups who have given us permission to participate and work their booths while talking about the issues that we are passionate about.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Volunteers – We love seeing people that support the Gabriel Nila Campaign and other like-minded campaigns to help share our message of Education and Opportunity. If you are able to join us at the following events, we would love to have you join us!

Manor Heritage Fest – April 30, 2016

Cinco de Mayo – May 7th, 2016

Deutschen Pfest – May 20th – 22nd, 2016

Juneteenth – June 18th, 2016

If you are in need of satisfying volunteer hours for your grass roots activist program or school volunteer requirements, come and join us! We can help!

Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDRs) – We will have the opportunity to help new voters register to vote for the November elections.

It’s your chance to act and your time to help! We will be signing up people to each event by 2 hour volunteer blocks. To help out, please contact Gabriel Nila via email: gnila@gabrielnila.com

#ItsTimeForYou

David Joseph Statement

by Gabriel Nila on March 19, 2016 0 Comments

I am happy to know that the Travis County District Attorney released the toxicology report related to the untimely and unfortunate passing of David Joseph. As was suspected by friends and family of Mr. Joseph, he did not have any questionable or illegal substances that would cause him to react in an irrational or psychotic manner. This will give Mr. Joseph’s family and friends some peace of mind that his behavior should not have caused him to be treated in the manner that Officer Geoffey Freeman did.

I hope that in the upcoming months, the Austin Police Department, Police Union, and a separate private citizens group will be able to look at the City’s practices to help identify ways that the Police Department can work to help, not harm, those who they have sworn to protect and serve.

(H/T Statesman)

A Tale of Two Chairmen

by Gabriel Nila on March 15, 2016 0 Comments

When I decided to run against the Establishment candidate, I made a call to the current TCRP Chairman, James Dickey, to get his thoughts on me running in a race that we knew would be a tough race to win. At the end of the call, James gave me some words of encouragement and gave me the “go ahead” to run for House District 46. During the primaries, I would meet James at meetings and we would discuss strategies and I would continue to get the positive words of encouragement.

Flash forward to now. With the Chairman elect, Robert Morrow, waiting to take his place as Chairman, I have been shown that I would not AND will not get any assistance from him. As seen in my earlier post (to read my Open Letter, click here) and with a recent interview on the Come And Talk It Radio Show, it is evident that Robert does not have faith in the candidates that he is supposed to be a leader for.

Some of the highlights of his interview include:

“Republicans of Travis County are the equivalent of neutered gerbils.”

“If you are in a district that is 60% majority Democrat….you are simply not going to win…”

And my personal favorite:

“You can run $2 million dollars on a state rep race as a Republican against the Dawnna Dukes…you’re going to lose.”

Apparently, because Robert has “been at this game for a very long time in Travis County” and knows who will win and who will lose in the local races, he has written me off completely. Why? It could be a few reasons. I was the first political Candidate to speak out against him and openly asked him to step aside from the position. I am a newcomer to the political realm, in spite of the fact that I have been working with the Party on outreach projects that others (including Robert) did not participate in. It could be that I was a co-host of a local long standing TV show, where I was able to speak of the conservative ideals that I believe and speak out about what is good and what is wrong from a local standpoint.

I will say that there is one thing that Robert has not taken into consideration. I am the FIRST Latino Republican to run against the Establishment candidate in 20 years. In a district that is evenly split on white, African American, and Latino voters, I have a better connection to the voters because of my personal history as a single father, a leader, and as a teacher who is fighting every single day to help kids break their path to the school to prison pipeline. In other words, I am the wild card that polls and experience can’t take into account.

A leader knows when to make use of those qualities to help make a change in a District. You, Robert, are not that type of leader.

An Open Letter To Robert Morrow

by Gabriel Nila on March 8, 2016 0 Comments

You have spoken about throwing out the 11^th Commandment: Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican. Luckily, I believe that rule is a great rule. You see, one of the important lessons that I learned from the leaders that I have followed is to respect those who you don’t agree with. It is a lesson that I have followed as a leader myself. It allows people to determine the value and the quality of a leader.

I have listened and I have watched you since were elected as the TCRP Chairman. I have heard the negativity that has been expressed by you and by those who have interviewed you. I have seen other groups asking Republicans to change party affiliations because of the hatred you are spewing online.

This does not sound like a Chairman that should represent me.

This past weekend, I decided to reach out to you so I can congratulate you on your win. I also wanted to hear from you that you would make changes to your demeanor or tone once you assume responsibility as County Chairman. You refused to make any changes.

That does not sound like a Chairman that should represent me.

You openly admitted to me that I will lose voters because of your unimpressive rhetoric. You want me to disassociate myself from the Chairman who is supposed to guide me and be a mentor so that I can become a successful candidate and a better Representative when I win my race.

That does not sound like a Chairman that represents me.

I need a Chairman who will be able to successfully work with me without creating a stir within my district and who will be able to work with me at events where we will be talking about my campaign. I need a Chairman who will help me fight the Establishment candidate and will help highlight the reasons as to why we need a change in my district.

You are not the Chairman that can do that.

I am asking you, Robert, to step aside from your newly elected position so we can find a viable Chairman who will be able to lead and perform the necessary outreach so the message of conservatism can be met with open minds and open hearts.

Your actions will determine the future of the TCRP this coming election.

Gabriel Nila

Candidate for Texas House of Representatives District 46

Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy Survey Review

by Gabriel Nila on February 14, 2016 0 Comments

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Texans for Responsible Marjuana Policy (TRMP) asking to complete a survey on marijuana reform. In the past, I had been a strong anti-illegal drug, pro-DARE person. In the past 15 years or so, I softened my views on marijuana when I saw the impact of the use on people who were experiencing lower back pains due to injury and how their reactions were in comparison to when they were taking prescribed medication. My viewpoint on the use when I noticed not only the impact on people who used marijuana to help other medical issues, including PTSD, epilepsy, and psoriasis.

Side note: For the record, I have never used marijuana or any other illegal drug, so most of my changed views are from the result of independent research and conversations with people.

The image below shows the results of survey I submitted. Overall, I am in favor of decriminalization and expanding the use of medical marijuana. There was a concern that I had over industrial hemp, strictly from a Federal Reserve and DEA issue. I did not want to have the federal government make these growers’ lives uncomfortable.

When I spoke to Heather Fazio, from the TRMP, to express my concerns concerning industrial hemp and what their group was working on to help the potential hemp farmers, she had agreed to find additional information to help ease any concerns so that I can change my view and throw in my support this cause.

While Heather was working on that, I decided to do some additional investigations on my own. I met with Sheila Hemphill from the Texas Right to Know and she provided some great information about industrial hemp and specifics as to the type of hemp that they are promoting for industrial use. The particular type 0.3% THC hemp was recently approved in the 2014 Farm Bill. The bill allows for this particular type of hemp to be grown and research performed by colleges and state agriculture agencies without having the federal government from coming down and terrorizing them for growing an identified legal product.

I returned to the TRMP and provided the information to Heather and advised her that we now have a few different ways to make industrial hemp a viable product that can be grown in Texas. I advised her that due to the research that we have done together as a candidate and an organization I can officially change my opinion so that industrial hemp growers can be productive and flourish in a state that promotes the value of freedom and liberty.

As for the incumbent in the district, here is the image of how she voted:

The choice will ultimately be yours. Do you want the Establishment Democrat candidate who will not answer the questions that you feel are important to you or do you want someone who will take the effort in getting additional information so that an informed decision can be made? The choice is clear. The choice should be Gabriel Nila

It’s Time for You