“I’m excited and of course a little bit nervous, and I know that it’s a very important moment,” said Mayor Julián Castro, who will deliver the keynote address tonight and tell how far his family has come in his American story.
“It’s a 'made in America' story that is so common throughout the generations, no matter where folks have come from,” said Castro.
Part of that story is a grandmother who dropped out of elementary school and his mother who was the first in the family to go to college. Castro said they both became strong advocates for education that eventually gave him inspiration to champion education, too.
So far, the keynote speech he’ll deliver is the biggest political moment of his life, but he said he doubts it will lead to a calling for his own rise to presidential candidacy.
Separating the parties by policy
He said his speech will have a positive tone, emphasizing contrast between the parties. Castro said it’s really not about Republicans or Democrats, but instead, about the policies.
From health care, redistricting maps and voter ID, to women’s rights, immigration and equality issues, Castro said Democrats have made it a point to be inclusive of all people. But he didn’t dance around his belief that Republicans have acted unfairly toward minorities.
“The reason the Democratic Party is much more popular with the Hispanic community is because the policies the Democratic Party has pursued are substantively much better than the policies the Republican Party has pursued,” said Castro.
He’ll take the stage at the Time Warner Arena after an introduction from his twin brother, State Representative and Congressional candidate Joaquín Castro. And not far from his mind at the podium, “I’ll be thinking about my grandmother," said Castro, "and also about my daughter, who’s the next generation.”
