J.R. Molina, Democratic candidate for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge, among other speakers, urged everyone to register and vote. This is the second time Molina, a Fort Worth attorney, has run for a spot on the nine-member judicial panel.

"I try to talk about tomorrow. That's what I want Democrats to concentrate on," said Molina said, who has practiced law for 34 years, been a state prosecutor and municipal judge.

The 61-year-old, an experienced death penalty attorney, claimed Republicans elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals tend to have their rulings turned back by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Speaking of the Republicans, Molina said many "bus drivers" were elected to the court to fly 747 jets. His time as an attorney, municipal judge and state prosecutor has earned him a pilot's license, he said.

D.L. "Dally" Willis, president of the Permian Basin Central Labor Union AFL-CIO, said the Odessa fete is one of the longest running Labor Day celebrations in Texas.

"It is a national holiday established by the U.S. Congress to recognize the work, goals and values of American workers and recognize their value to the community and the nation," he said.

"American workers have created the kind of salary and benefits that have become the envy of the world. That's one reason we have a middle income in the United States. As labor has gone up, so has the middle class," said Willis, whose organization represents about 5,000 workers in Midland, Odessa, Big Spring and 13 other counties.

Steve Buck, president of the Texas Federation of Teachers local in Midland, said the middle class and labor have suffered greatly during Republican administrations.

"It's time for us to change it by voting. I'm a big believer in the two-party system, but this state has become a one-party system," Buck said.

Ector County Texas State Teachers Association/National Education Association President Chuck Isner said he comes to the Labor Day celebration regularly, "because I believe it's important to recognize what labor has done for this community."

"While we have all the great corporations, without the average working person -- among them teachers -- our country would not function very well. So it is worthy of us to honor those people," said Isner, whose group has about 750 members.

Chairman of the Ector County Democratic Party John Wilkinson echoed Molina's sentiments saying, "We're not here to look back. We're here to look forward."

"We see it every day. We need a change in Texas and we need a change in the United States of America," he said. "There is a heck of a gap between the haves and have-nots and you see it every day."

Midland County Democratic Party Chairman Chris McCormack stressed that it's 60 days "and counting" before the Nov. 7 election. Repeating many of the same themes as fellow speakers, he asked those attending to make sure their economic and security interests were promoted.

"If enough people go out and vote, they can't steal all of them. The poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer and the middle class is losing ground," McCormack said.

Joe Aribe, education director of the Texas AFL-CIO in Austin, said the union is working on hiking the minimum wage $3 up to $7.15 per hour. He said the bill recently defeated in Congress would have abolished the 40-hour work week and minimum wage for people who work for tips in exchange for repealing the inheritance tax.

"The dollar has less buying power today than in 1949," Aribe said. "We're going to do everything we can to promote a fair minimum wage in Texas."

And in the governor's race, he said Democratic candidate Chris Bell's poll numbers have risen to the mid-30s tying Gov. Rick Perry, who is also in the mid-30s.

Odessa College Assistant men's basketball coach Mike Scutero said Odessa National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Gene Collins invited players to the event to get them out into the community.

Collins, who is also NAACP area coordinator for West Texas, said in the year since Hurricane Katrina, people have seen the government fail. "Time and again when crisis came to our doorstep, our government was AWOL," he said.

"If we are to do anything about it, we must start at the election site," Collins said, adding many people gave their lives for the right of future generations to vote. Just recently, President Bush signed a bill reinstating the Voting Rights Act.

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