Today, as many Texans still struggle to survive in the cold amid a preventable catastrophe that has now stretched days, Texas Organizing Project’s (TOP) Executive Director Michelle Tremillio released the following statement:
“This colossal crisis was avoidable, but Gov. Abbott, our Republican senators, and our Republican-controlled legislature lack any accountability to the people they serve and any backbone to lead Texans out of this mess.
“TOP is working alongside partners right now to provide our communities’ most vulnerable with critical aid, and soon we will be revving our organizing engine into overdrive as we set our sights on making sure Gov. Abbott pays for this massive neglect at the ballot box in 2022.
“This winter storm has been brutal for all Texans affected, but even more so for low-income and Black and Latino communities already marginalized by Gov. Abbott and his rightwing allies. These are households that have been struggling to make ends meet because of Abbott’s failed pandemic response that has left many on the verge of financial turmoil. Unlike more well-off communities, these families’ worries won’t melt away with this week’s snow.
“For decades in Texas, a handful of corporations and politicians like Gov. Abbott have profited by privatizing our utilities and leaving the infrastructure millions of us rely on in a state of disrepair. As the overseer of the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT (Energy Reliability Council of Texas), Abbott must take full responsibility and answer for this failure that has since caused millions to suffer and has cost the lives of dozens of Texans.”
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Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.
This press statement was sent out 2/20/2021.