Colin Allred

Colin Allred

Colin Allred

Ian Haney Lopez Connection

Ian Haney Lopez Facebook post dated April 19, 2017

Ian Haney Lopez Facebook post dated April 19, 2017: "Colin Allred, one of my research assistants for Dog Whistle Politics, is running for Congress. I'm thrilled! Now to see if I can convince him to run a campaign challenging dog whistling. Go Colin!!"

From a 2018 profile on Colin Allred:,

Colin Allred "is a millennial attorney with a tremendous amount of legal experience. He has served as a research assistant for professor and author Ian Haney Lopez, in the Office of White House Counsel under Kathy Ruemmler, in a law clerk externship for the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, as an associate at Perkins Coie LLP, and as an Obama appointee in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)."

DEI, Battleground Texas, Inspiration

During a 2018 interview, Colin Allred was asked [Excerpt]:

Renwei Chung (RC): You mentioned your passion for civil rights and politics was first sparked by reading former President Obama’s book titled, Dreams from My Father, and then furthered by the experience in your 1L constitutional law class and as a research assistant for Ian Haney Lopez’s book titled, Dog Whistle Politics. Can you expound on this?

Colin Allred (CA): Growing up I was always told to become either a doctor or a lawyer. So, my first couple of years in college I was pre-med. Then I read Obama’s memoir and was captivated by the way he talked about the law and civil rights. We shared some experiences as black men of mixed racial heritage who were raised by our white mothers, and I was hooked.

By the time I got to Cal, however, I was considering a career in sports law. But Professor Haney Lopez rekindled my interest in civil rights. The book I helped him research, Dog Whistle Politics, delved into the way politicians from both parties used implicit racial appeals to get elected. Unfortunately, recently those appeals are no longer so subtle.

Q: Why is diversity inclusion important in our legal and political systems?

Colin Allred responded: Our diversity is our strength as a nation and as a society. In this country, we mark our progress against the ideals laid down in our foundational documents: equality, freedom and justice. To continue the march towards those ideals, we have to have diverse voices in the room.

Diversity in the legal profession and in politics is fundamentally about representation and who has a voice in the creation and application of our laws, and it’s about providing role models for our kids that show them that they can grow up to be leaders, too.

We still have a long way to go to reflect the incredible diversity of faiths, colors, and creeds of our country and it’s vital that we make that diversity a priority.

RC: In 2014, you served as the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Director of Voter Protection for Battleground Texas, the first-ever statewide coordinated voter protection program. Why was this important to you?

CA: When I was in law school I spent a lot of time trying to understand the process defects that were holding back our democracy, and specifically the attacks on the right to vote. The Supreme Court has called the right to vote “preservative of other rights” with good reason. If you can vote, you have a voice and can protect your own interests.

As the Dallas-Fort Worth Voter Protection Director in 2014, I was proud to lead and oversee the voter registration efforts of hundreds of volunteers and a comprehensive poll watcher program that helped thousands of North Texans vote who might not have been able to otherwise. As attorneys, I believe we should all become voting rights activists.

RC: In 2016, you were appointed by former President Obama as a member of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of General Counsel, under Secretary Julian Castro. Several months later, you resigned when the new administration took over. Can you tell us about your experience?

CA: Working as an appointee in the administration of Barack Obama and with Julian Castro is one of the greatest honors of my life. At HUD, I helped protect and expand critical programs like FHA backed mortgage assistance and Section 8 vouchers, and to expand efforts to end housing discrimination against the formerly incarcerated.

I am immensely proud of the work we did there, and of the way we did it. Our guiding principal wasn’t what is the best political move, but what would be best for the American people and the millions of Americans who rely on HUD to help them have a place to call home.

Secretary Castro calls HUD the “Department of Opportunity” and I couldn’t agree more.

Common Defense

JStreet PAC endorsement

In 2024 JStreet PAC endorsed Colin Allred.

EMGAGE PAC

Colin Allred was endorsed by EMGAGE PAC during his 2022 Congressional race.

2022 support

Victory 2018

Colin Allred, former Tennessee Titans linebacker, defeated 11-term Republican incumbent Pete Sessions in the 32nd Texas congressional district. Allred won more than 52 percent of the vote. After four seasons with the Titans, Allred worked as an attorney in the Obama administration and was endorsed by the former president.

“We’re in this together… We’re all Americans, we’re all Texans. And starting tonight, we’re going to start acting like it,” Allred said during his victory speech in Dallas.

Background

Born and raised in North Dallas by a single mom who taught in Texas public schools for nearly 30 years, Allred was an All-Star athlete at Hillcrest High School before earning a full-ride football scholarship to Baylor University. Diploma in hand and prepared to attend law school after college, he deferred his acceptance to the University of California Berkeley School of Law when he signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent. Colin played the better part of five seasons in the NFL before sustaining a career-ending neck injury that opened the door for him to fulfill his dream of studying law and applying his legal training to help others.

As Special Assistant in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of General Counsel, Allred helped then-Secretary Julian Castro ensure that the most vulnerable Americans can live in dignity. Among his projects at HUD, Colin worked with Congress and the Office of the Inspector General to ensure that public funds were spent wisely without sacrificing services and to ensure that the Department complied with all applicable ethics laws and regulations. Here in Texas, he put his legal skills to work as the Dallas-Fort Worth Director of the first-ever statewide coordinated voter protection program led by Battleground Texas during the 2014 gubernatorial election.

As an attorney for the prestigious Perkins Coie law firm, Allred was a voting rights litigator and counsel to a range of clients including national and state political candidates and advocacy organizations. Colin’s experience also includes positions in both the Obama White House and the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Colin Allred and his wife Aly Eber, who is also an attorney, share a home in the M Streets neighborhood in East Dallas.

Campaign Against Pete Sessions

Colin Allred is hoping to take out Republican Rep. Pete Sessions by campaigning on "Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage and automatic voter registration" in Texas' 32nd District. He is a civil rights attorney and former Tennessee Titans linebacker.

As a civil rights attorney, Allred has spent much of his career outside the NFL defending against attacks on voting rights at the local and national level.

I’m the most progressive candidate, but we also have the most grassroots-driven campaign. We have hundreds of volunteers and we’ve knocked on 13,000 doors, which is a lot for a congressional primary this far out in Texas. And that’s how I think we have to beat Pete Sessions. I don’t think you’re going to beat long-term incumbent Republicans across the country by running generic Democrats on generic Democratic platforms. We have to have candidates who have a story to tell and who can appeal to voters who don’t always come out to vote.

Our future as a party is in the South and the Southwest: states like Texas, Georgia and Alabama. Those are the states that are going to flip, because they’re so diverse. Those are the states we should be investing in.

Campaign Manager

Marika Bresler Campaign Manager at Colin Allred for Congress.

Collective PAC

The Collective PAC endorsed Colin Allred for his 2024 US Senate race.

The Collective PAC endorsed Colin Allred in 2022.

Launched in August of 2016, the Collective PAC is backing several candidates in 2018, including Colin Allred TX (32)

TOP endorsement

Humanitarian Needs in Cuba letter

December 16 2021 , House Rules Committee Chair James McGovern (D-MA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY), House Appropriations subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Chair Barbara Lee (D-CA), and House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy Chair Bobby Rush (D-IL) led 114 Members of Congress in a letter to President Biden asking him to prioritize the well-being of the Cuban people as they experience the worst economic and humanitarian crisis in recent history...

In the wake of this year’s protests, the members urged the administration to support the Cuban people by suspending U.S. regulations that prevent food, medicine, remittances, and other humanitarian assistance from reaching the Cuban people...

Signatories included Colin Allred.

Joaquin Castro endorsement

PowerPAC+ Top 10 Priority Districts to take back House in 2018

From Steve Phillips:

Here are my recommendations for the top ten congressional district races to support to take back the House in 2018. To learn more about how I came up with this list, read my full explanation in my September 2018 column in The Nation magazine.

• CA-39 Gil Cisneros - OC Civic Engagement Table Action Fund
• CA-50 Ammar Campa-Najjar - Alliance San Diego Mobilization Fund
• GA-06 Lucy McBath - New Georgia Project
• GA-07 Carolyn Bourdeaux - New Georgia Project
• NM-02 Xochitl Torres Small - Organizers in the Land of Enchantment
• TX-07 Lizzie Pannill Fletcher - Texas Organizing Project
• TX-23 Gina Ortiz Jones - Texas Organizing Project
• TX-32 Colin Allred - Texas Organizing Project
• VA-02 Elaine Luria - New Virginia Majority
• VA-07 Abigail Spanberger - New Virginia Majority

If you would prefer to donate to one source, the PAC that I have created, PowerPAC+, will be distributing resources between all of these organizations.

Kamala Harris endorsement

Colin Allred was endorsed by Kamala Harris in 2018.

Council for a Livable World

In 2018 Colin Allred was endorsed by Council for a Livable World.

The Council for a Livable World endorsed Colin Allred in his 2020 House race.

Colin Allred is a former civil rights attorney and professional football player. Previously, he served in the Obama Administration as Special Assistant in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Council endorsed him in his first successful race in 2018 when he ousted a Republican incumbent. His district includes a suburban area of northeastern Dallas County, the kind of area where Democrats made significant gains in 2018.

He currently serves on the House Foreign Affairs, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Veterans’ Affairs committees. There he has been a strong supporter of nuclear arms control and opposes building new, unnecessary and dangerous nuclear weapons.

Jolt support

Jolt Texas November 6, 2018 ·

Congratulations to our endorsed candidate Colin Allred on his win tonight! #JoltTheVote #Texas

TARA connections

Colin Allred is very close to the communist led Texas Alliance for Retired Americans.

TARA Hero Award

TARA meeting with Freshman Congressman

Just visiting

TARA champion

Gene Lantz, Judy Bryant, and Colin Allred.

2020 TARA endorsement

TARA support

Texas Alliance for Retired Americans May 23 2018:

TARA Field Organizer Judy Bryant congratulated AFL-CIO endorsed candidate Colin Allred on winning the CD 32 Democratic nomination to oppose Cong. Pete Sessions. TARA members worked in the labor campaign of block walks and phone banks.

Marching with TARA

Gene Lantz, Judy Bryant, Colin Allred.

DSA lobbying

Democratic Socialists of America - North Texas January 26 2019·

Earlier today our Healthcare working group and others met with Rep. Colin Allred to talk about #medicare4all.

"We appreciate Rep. Colin Allred (D-32) meeting with local supporters of Medicare For All this morning at his office in Richardson, TX. Our coalition, including labor organizations, immigrants rights groups, and the Democratic Socialists of America, delivered a letter urging co-sponsorship and support of the Expanded and Improved Medicare For All Act.

Colli connection

Colin Allred with Julie Ross and Soraya Colli.

21st Century Democrats

Colin Allred was endorsed by 21st Century Democrats in 2020.

Vote Common Good 2018 endorsements

Vote Common Good 2018 endorsements included Colin Allred.

Colin Allred for Congress Campaign Advisory Board

The Colin Allred for Congress Advisory Board is comprised of leaders from across the business, political, and non-profit sectors who will offer their expertise and strategic guidance to the campaign.

• Naomi Aberly, Chair of the Planned Parenthood Federation Board of Directors
• Tre’ Black, President of TreCo Investments Ltd.
• Inette Brown received BA and JD degrees from the University of Texas and practiced corporate law in Houston and Los Angeles.
• Becky Bruder, Community Board of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas
• Sec. Julian Castro, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• Jill Cochran is a self-confessed political junkie whose main purpose in life, since that fateful day in November 2016, is to turn Texas back to Blue!
• Hon. Wendy Davis, former Gubernatorial Candidate and State Senator
• Tim Doke, Senior Communications Consultant
• Abby Evans, Independent Marketing and Strategy Consultant
• Isaac Faz, Vice President of Dallas Hispanic Bar Association
• David Gail, Attorney at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
• Jennifer Guyot-Wallace, President of JGW Labor Relations
• Tracey Guyot-Wallace, partner at Jackson Walker, LLP
• Mita Havlick, public education advocate
• Trey Hoobler CEO, Hunger Busters
• Eric D. Johnson is a long-time educator in Dallas Independent School District.
• Sameena Karmally, founder of DFW Muslim Bar Association
• Elizabeth Kooy, Social Worker
• Harry Lake serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Koa Partners (Koa)
• Lisa Lake is the Director of her company’s philanthropic branch, Koa Canopy
• Clarisa Lindenmeyer, Principal at Proximity to Power
• Susan Matusewicz, Vice President at Briggs Freeman Sothebys International Realty
• Sydney McQuoid, Founder and President at McQuoid Coaching
• Tricia Miller
• Dan Mulhern, Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley
• Andrew Payne, Founding Partner of PayneMitchell Law Group
• Mandy Price, Partner at Barnes & Thornburg
• Tex Quesada, former President of the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
• Selwyn Rayzor, President of the Rayzor Company
• Julie Ross, Healthcare and Disability Rights Activist
• Steve Rudner, Chair of Equality Texas
• Trillion Small, Trauma Expert and Author
• Dan Syed, Attorney at Jones Day
• Linda Turley, lawyer
• Hon. Allen Vaught, former Texas State Representative
• Kwame Watkins CFM, LEED AP, NPDP, President of Jengo Consulting LLC