Texas Democratic Party Statement on One-Year Anniversary of Winter Storm 2021

AUSTIN, Texas--One year ago today, Texans survived one of the worst disasters in our state’s history. This preventable event led to the largest forced power outage in U.S. history – mere seconds from a complete collapse. As temperatures continued to drop, millions of people across Texas suffered for several days in the freezing cold, hundreds lost their lives, and many are still dealing with the devastating effects and trauma from our state government's failure to fix and secure the grid to keep our power on.

Today, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa released the following statement reflecting upon the one-year anniversary of the Texas Winter Storm of 2021:

“The incompetence of our Republican leadership to protect us during one of the worst disasters in our country’s history is a colossal failure that cost hundreds their lives. To this day, we are observing the greedy, corrupt choices of Texas Republicans who protect their own interest over the people they were elected to serve. The grid didn’t fail due to extreme weather -- it was a failure of Governor Abbott and Republican leadership over decades to plan and invest in our state’s infrastructure and after an entire year, we are still dealing with their incompetence.

“As we reflect on the treacherous events of that week, we must hold those accountable for what happened. We must not forget those lives lost because of carbon monoxide poisoning as they desperately searched for a place to keep warm. Or the victims whose loss of power or water for such a long period of time pushed their already vulnerable health conditions to a perilous point from which they would not ever recover. Those lives should not have been lost and those responsible should not ever again be allowed to lead our state.

“On this one-year anniversary, and on the second day of early voting, I call on all Texans to commit themselves to participating in our election process. We must choose leaders who will protect us and serve our needs instead of those of a large corporation or a campaign donor. We deserve better and all the victims of the 2021 February Freeze deserve justice. It is in our power to give them that justice by voting those responsible out of office and making sure they never again put our lives in danger. Together, we can take action and ensure a better future for us all.”

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