DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES VISIT EL PASO

AUSTIN -- El Paso's clout as a Democratic stronghold drew two major
gubernatorial candidates to the city Sunday, each promising that they
could tackle border issues.

Hair care mogul Farouk Shami, 66, and Houston Mayor Bill White, 55,
are both hoping to earn the Democratic Party's nomination in the March
2 primary.

Shami, a political newcomer, did not stray from the platform he has
pushed during most of his campaign stops.

The Palestinian-American said Texas needs to create more jobs and
should look to a businessman, not a politician, to accomplish that
task.

He pointed to his own success at building a hair-care empire from
products like BioSilk and CHI as an example of what he could do for
Texas.

Shami said over the next few months he plans to develop factories in
cities that include Houston, Austin and El Paso to manufacture solar
panels and train people to install the panels.

He said the plan will create 150,000 additional jobs in the state that
will also provide health insurance benefits to employees.

"The number one thing for everybody in the state of Texas is to have a
secure job," Shami said. "I don't think there is anybody running for
governor, except me, that can provide jobs, innovate and create jobs."

Jobs are the answer to almost every problem the state faces, said
Shami.

He believes job growth is the only way to tackle border security,
saying it will cut down on crime and drug-trafficking by keeping
people employed.

He said creating jobs on both sides of the border would deter Mexican
citizens from illegally crossing into Texas.

Shami also said job creation would decrease the violence in Juarez,
where more than 4,000 people have been killed as part of an ongoing
drug war.

"Human beings are not born criminals," he said. "They are not born to
be drug traffickers. Let's give them hope. They need hope. They need
jobs."

Shami and White attended the Democratic Hall of Fame Banquet at the
Airport Wyndham Hotel in El Paso on Sunday.

Both spent the afternoon meeting with local supporters.

Shami today will also visit the La Fe health clinic, two schools in
the Ysleta Independent School District and colonias --neighborhoods in
unincorporated areas of the county.

White, who left Sunday night, touted a long history with El Paso that
he plans to further develop over the next year.

He visited the city when he served as a deputy secretary of the U.S.
Department of Energy under former President Bill Clinton. He also made
stops in the city when he was the state's Democratic Party chairman
and several months ago when he was considering a bid for the U.S. Senate.

On Sunday, White picked up endorsements from El Paso elected officials
that included Mayor John Cook, all but one of El Paso's lawmakers in
the state Legislature, three county commissioners and two city
representatives.

Some of those who endorsed White said the candidate understood the
concerns of border communities and could bring jobs, improve education
and make health care more attainable.

Combating high dropout rates in public schools and escalating college
tuition have become priorities in White's campaign.

He also said he will push to make El Paso a center for using solar
energy to reduce electric bills and to create new jobs for the future.

White said he recognizes that it is important to address border
security without interfering with lawful commerce along the border.

"We do need some federal immigration reforms as well as more resources
to keep our border secure against a criminal element, while having a
realistic basis for regulating those who are working and paying
taxes," White said.

White is considered a leading candidate in the race for
governor.

Shami, though, tried to paint White as a career politician and said
that Texans are looking for something different.

White counters that he also is a businessman, who brought those
practices to public office.

Neither candidate offered detailed plans for how they would make the
improvements they propose.

White's decision to enter the race shrank the field of candidates
vying for the Democratic nomination. Several candidates dropped out of
the race.

Shami, humorist Kinky Friedman and Fort Worth teacher Felix Alvarado
are the remaining challengers in the race. Friedman, though, has
hinted that he may bow out. He expects to make a decision this week.

In the meantime, White has been collecting key endorsements from
Democrats across the state.

Gubernatorial candidate Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison even used his
candidacy to explain why she should be the Republican Party nominee.

Hutchison said she, not Gov. Rick Perry, had the ability to beat White
in the general election. She has virtually ignored other Democratic
candidates in the race.

White has said he believes Hutchison's decision to remain in
Washington, instead of stepping down to challenge Perry full-time,
puts her at a disadvantage.

He said he hopes to attract Hutchison supporters if she does not win
the Republican Party's nomination.

"Senator Hutchison has highlighted shortcomings in public education
and in higher education," White said, comparing her positions to his
own stances on such issues. "She, like I, believes there has been too
much politics played with political appointments under our current
governor."