Former Austin City Council Member Cole Secures Annie's List Nod

AUSTIN, TX — Former Austin City Council member Sheryl Cole has garnered the coveted endorsement of Annie's List, an influential political organization promoting the election of progressive women to statewide office.

Cole, who also served as Austin mayor pro tem during her time on council, is running for state representative for House District 46.

“Sheryl is committed to fight for more financing and better resources for public education, making healthcare and housing more affordable, reproductive rights and defending civil rights,” Annie’s List Executive Director Patsy Woods Martin said in a prepared statement. “She has been courageous and unafraid in speaking out for these causes, and to protect the most vulnerable, which is in alignment with our mission. We are thrilled to support her in this race and look forward to the changes she will help usher in serving as a Texas state representative.”

Cole's penchant for such issues resonated with Annie's List officials, who were further encouraged by her expressed interest to pursue similar initiatives should she win the statewide seat.

“Sheryl is committed to fight for more financing and better resources for public education, making healthcare and housing more affordable, reproductive rights and defending civil rights,” Woods Martin said. “She has been courageous and unafraid in speaking out for these causes, and to protect the most vulnerable, which is in alignment with our mission. We are thrilled to support her in this race and look forward to the changes she will help usher in serving as a Texas state representative.”

Cole said she was gratified to have secured the endorsement: “I’m thrilled to have the support of Annie’s List,” she said. “As an organization, Annie’s List has proven that we are truly stronger when we stand together and that decisions on policies that affect working families are better informed when we all have a voice at the table. I look forward to campaigning with Annie’s List by my side.”

As part of their endorsement, Annie’s List officials will support Cole’s campaign with advice, advertising and financial donations.

The Annie's List nod comes a week after Cole secured another high-profile endorsement from Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt: “I am proud to endorse Sheryl Cole for State Representative in House District 46," the judge said in a prepared statement. "Sheryl Cole will bring her laser focus to the Texas House to ensure that the people of District 46 get their fair share of the opportunity they helped build.”

Like Annie's List officials, Eckhard also attributed Cole's focus on social issues as a main reason for her endorsement: “The people of District 46 deserve to share in the prosperity of our region," Eckhardt said. "Taken as a whole, Travis County households enjoy higher income, higher education and the benefits that have established Austin and Central Texas as among the top places to live in the U.S. Yet the hard-working families of District 46 earn less, more of its residents live in poverty and fewer achieve higher education than even the national average. Sheryl Cole will bring her laser focus to the Texas House to ensure that the people of District 46 get their fair share of the opportunity they helped build. "

The dual endorsements add to substantive momentum for Cole as she pursues the state post. Last month, her campaign disclosed a sizable war chest in her quest to unseat longtime State Rep. Dawnna Dukes in the upcoming Democratic primary scheduled March 6. At the time, Cole already had raised more than $230,000 in emerging as the strongest contender to unseat Dukes.

Related story: Ex-Austin Council Member Raises $230K-Plus In State House Race

An attorney and CPA by trade, Cole graduated from the University of Texas at Austin before being elected as council member in 2006 as the first African American woman to hold that position. She served on the dais for nine years, distinguishing herself by championing myriad progressive issues — affordable housing, education, police accountability, marriage equality and the environment.

>>> Top photo courtesy of Sheryl Cole campaign office