San Antonio mayor holds Obama rally at Mason

Video courtesy of Jake McLernon

On September 8, San Antonio mayor and keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention, Juilán Castro attended a rally at George Mason University in support of President Obama's reelection campaign. Castro’s speech at the DNC took place a few days prior to the rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Castro, 37, was first elected Mayor in 2009, after serving on the city council as the youngest member in San Antonio history. He is also the youngest serving mayor of a major metropolitan city in the United States. He was elected to the city council in 2001.

As a Democratic politician, Castro is a bit of an oddity. Texas as a state has voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1980, leaving little room for up-and-coming Democrats from the Lone-Star State. However, his youth and Hispanic ancestry are both key demographics that Democrats hope to win over, leaving him as an ideal keynote speaker for the national convention.

“Well first let me say I’m very impressed with George Mason,” said Castro. “This is the first time I’ve been on campus.”

Prior to the rally, Castro spoke to a handful of Mason students to discuss the campaign and the importance of Virginia in the presidential election.

“There’s no question that Northern Virginia has been growing a lot,” Castro said. “It’s a diverse community. It’s an important community. And the fact is that this election is going to come down basically to just a handful of states, and certain areas in those states, so this is an important area.”

At North Plaza, Castro was introduced by Organizing for America Virginia Latino Vote Director, Melody Gonzales, and Democratic Virginia Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn, representing the 41^st District. Democratic Delegate Mark Keam from the 35^th District, and Fairfax City Councilmember Daniel Drummond were also in attendance.

In his speech, Castro emphasized the importance of young people in the election.

“I hope folks will get out there and vote,” he said. “No matter who folks support we need more young voters to participate in the process. The knock too many times on young voters is that we don’t care enough, and the fact is that we have the most at stake.”

Castro will be making more campaign stops for President Obama later this year. Mason is the first university he has visited on the campaign trail. He has made various campaign stops throughout Fairfax, including Mount Vernon and Woodbridge.

President Obama will be running against former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who was recently nominated as the Republican presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.
The election will be held on November 6th.