During a press conference Monday morning, U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-San Antonio) officially announced former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to San Antonio on Thursday, Oct. 15. as part of her presidential campaign tour.
Clinton will be at the historic Sunset Station at 1774 E. Commerce Street. Doors will open at 11 a.m. and the event will begin at 12:30 p.m.
“We know this is a real kickoff of her Latino outreach effort. It’s going to go into high gear now,” Congressman Castro said.
He joined State Sen. Carlos Uresti, former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte who recently ran for mayor, U.S. Selective Service Director Lawrence Romo, and other community leaders to publicly endorse Clinton.
Castro also said that his twin brother, former San Antonio mayor and current HUD Secretary Julián Castro, will return to their hometown this week to introduce and officially endorse Clinton at the event. Julián is on the short list of people Clinton is considering to run with her for vice president on the Democratic ticket, should she win the party’s primary election.
The event will take place just two days after the Democratic candidate debate on Tuesday night. Local Clinton supporters are also hosting a watch party at Alamo Beer’s brewery in the Eastside. While everyone is welcome to attend – and many local politicians are expected to show up – there are also watch parties organized by other Democratic candidates around San Antonio. Supporters of U.S. Sen. (D-Vermont) Bernie Sanders, for instance, are hosting a watch party at La Botanica. The live debate starts at 7:30 p.m. CST (local time), is hosted by CNN and Facebook, and Anderson Cooper is moderating.
“Secretary Clinton has a long history in San Antonio and in the Latino community. One of her first jobs in politics was going door to door and registering voters whom at the time were not able to speak English, they we’re Spanish speaking only,” Joaquín said. “She did her very best to bring them in to our American democracy to help them participate and vote.”
He stressed that Clinton is excited and looking forward to coming back to San Antonio. “She, more than anyone, is best qualified to be president of the United States in 2017.”
“We want to have a great turnout,” Uresti said, inviting constituents from all parts of San Antonio and beyond to come show their support.
Van de Putte highlighted the several months that Hillary Clinton spent in South Texas during her youth. She mentioned an important visit years ago to her mother and great grandparents’ home.
“In 1972 there was a very young, energetic recent college graduate who came knocking on the door to check to see if they were registered,” Van de Putte said. “She worked alongside people in this community who knew how important it was for the Latino community to participate in the upcoming presidential election. That bright, energetic, compassionate woman was Hillary Clinton.”
*Top image: U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro endorses Hillary Clinton for president and officially announces her San Antonio visit. Photo by Rocio Guenther.
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