Please Join Me in a Day of Service

March 18, 2019

April 6, 2019. Mark your calendar and plan to be part of a special day.

During the 86th Legislature, I’m honored by my colleagues to serve as the President Pro Tempore of the Texas Senate, which puts me third in line of succession for governor. That means I serve as governor when Governor Abbott and Lt. Governor Patrick are out of state at the same time. (I’m guessing those two currently aren’t traveling to anything together to reduce the risk that something might happen to both of them and I’d be governor for more than a day or two.)

There’s a long-standing Texas tradition that, at some point during the session, the three of us coordinate calendars and the two guys ahead of me conveniently depart the state, leaving me in charge. Let that soak in. There’s a day we know I’ll be in control of the Capitol. It worries me that, even now, at my age, all I can think of is the first time my parents left me at our house alone for a weekend. I was in my early teens. I’ll admit to nothing that I might have done wrong or crazy, but I will confess to lots of wild ideas.

We’ve set April 6th. Again, mark your calendar. I want you to be part of this neat day.

Being President Pro Tem and the unique opportunity to serve as “Governor for a Day” is a very rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to say thank you to Central Texas and the people who have allowed me to work for this community in public office.

One of the best ways to say thank you to a place we all love is to serve it. In between legislative sessions, my staff of wonderful, service-minded folks and I continue to serve the community and constituents in many ways. One of the ways we do that is by volunteering regularly. We have a Meals on Wheels route, pick up shifts at the Central Texas Food Bank and create artistic masterpieces for the Austin Empty Bowl Project, to name only a few things.

I thought it would be fun on my Governor for a Day if others joined us for day of service. We’re working with some great local non-profits to set up volunteer opportunities:

I’ve got information on my website about the organizations and how you can sign up to volunteer.

Please join us on this special day. Let’s all take a few hours on a Saturday to show some love for Austin and Central Texas and say thank you to this great place we call home.

I hope to see you April 6!