In February, we learned that failed candidate Wendy Davis was reportedly testing the waters as a professional public speaker. It seems Davis recently booked a gig as part of a John Ben Shepperd Distinguished Lecture Series.
According to the announcement, “The goal of the lecture will be to examine the state of affairs in Texas public education systems today, particularly with regard to funding.” Davis will also “touch on the Texas Dream Act and why it is important to the future economy of our state.”
Public education is one of two topics for which Davis’s speaking bureau recommends her (the other, of course, being abortion). She is the second in a series of three lectures on the topic of education. The third speaker, scheduled for October 22nd, will be former First Lady Laura Bush.
Davis’s web page on the American Program Bureau site lists three reasons to book her. Reason number two is “As the Senator who stood for 13 hours during a historic filibuster, Davis brings caché and name recognition to your event.” The site also claims Davis has “the power to glue audiences to their seats.”
She could not, however, glue them to the ballot box. Despite a gush of praise from national media outlets and raising millions of dollars, much of it from outside Texas, Davis lost the 2014 gubernatorial election by more than 20 points to Greg Abbott.
The lecture will take place at the Wagner-Noël Performing Arts Center in Midland on April 21st. It is a free event. No word on whether she’ll be wearing the pink sneakers.