For president. Lucas all right. Now, i have the honor and privilege of introducing our featured speaker tonight. When we were thinking about who to invite to our event tonight, we were looking and we were thinking, we came across secretary julian castro. And who better to speak to New HampshireYoung Democrats . Our core mission is to train, recruit and elect Young Democrats. We could not think of anyone more perfect to speak to us tonight as we continue to grow, as we continue to support young candidates. As someone who at the age of 24 26 . Was a city counselor in san antonio. And at the age of 32 became mayor san antonio. Before age 40 was secretary of housing and urban development. So he is the real deal. And on top of that, he has now dedicated himself to helping support progressive candidates not only here in New Hampshire when across the entire country, without further to do, please give a resounding New Hampshire welcome to secretary julian castro. [applause] sec. Castro good evening. It is wonderful to be here in New Hampshire. I heard that i was going to visit the best Young Democrats in all of the United States. [applause] sec. Castro first of all, let me say to lucas, thank you for that introduction, but more importantly thank you so much for your terrific leadership as president of the young New Hampshire democrats. Lets give lucas a big hand of applause for the work he has done. [applause] sec. Castro i also want to thank the fantastic financial director for the great leadership, she showed especially doing double duty as a state representative. Thank you for all the great work you have done. And a special shout out to your tremendous representative carol porter on a fantastic career. The difference that you have made. Thank you representative for fighting the good fight, for always having the interest of all folks in New Hampshire and throughout the United States in mind. And thank you for keeping my brother in mind. Some might not know that i have a twin brother. He says the way to tell us apart is i am uglier than he is. I hope to disabuse him of that notion. I also want to give a shout out to all the honorees here this evening. The folks who have been recognized for their hard work, especially the young people, everything you are doing to get your peers involved in the democratic process. This is what we talk about. This is what we hope for for people who are 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 years old to get involved in our democracy. You all are doing it right here in New Hampshire better than anybody else. Congratulations. [applause] sec. Castro i also want to just take a quick point of personal privilege to acknowledge the love of my life who is here, my wife erica. [applause] sec. Castro erica has been in Public Education now as an instructional coach for elementary math teachers, and she and i have two kids. Christian just turned two years old and our daughter is about to turn nine in march. I know i could not be up here or do what i do without erica. So, thank you. [applause] sec. Castro it is good to be back in the granite state. You all know that im a proud texan. Even though our two states are separated by a couple thousand miles, there is actually a lot are states have in common. For example, folks in both our states are known for their fierce sense of independence. [laughter] texas is known as the lone star state. The state motto of New Hampshire is live free or die. The people of both our states have a rich history of democratic leadership and participation in our nation. I dont have to tell you all that back in 1776, New Hampshire became the first colony to establish its own state government. [applause] that is worth cheering for. And in 2016, you all became the first to send an all women delegation to congress. [applause] sec. Castro that is Something Else to be quite proud of. Meanwhile in texas, over the years we have produced some great leaders and very proud democrats. Folks like aubrey jordan, and anne richards, and president lyndon johnson. And we also have some great Young Democrats. I spent a lot of time today at folks at a roundtable and at a couple other events. And what i learned is that you all take your politics is seriously as we take our barbecue, which is very seriously. [laughter] sec. Castro now, you all have a great crowd here tonight, and we are in manchester. But i know that we are also thinking about the challenges that we have in washington dc. If you are like me, you go on twitter or facebook or turn on cable news and you recognize that we have quite a mess in washington dc. That despite the great work of your representatives, carol porter, and so Many Democrats that are fighting the good fight, we have an administration that is leading our nation in the wrong direction. I dont know about you, but it makes me miss president barack obama. [applause] sec. Castro i miss having a president we can be proud of. I miss when we had a president who called all americans as worthy of great representation. I missed when we had a president who tried to unite our country and not divided. Someone who is intelligent. Compassionate. And levelheaded. You know, i had the privilege of serving for 2. 5 years in president obamas cabinet. And i remember the night that he called me to ask if i would be interested in serving. It was april 16, 2014. I remember that date because it is not every day the president calls you to ask if youd like a job. I was in the drivethrough at Panda Express when i saw my cell phone say private. I picked up the phone. It was the president. He wanted to know if i would be interested in serving as secretary of housing development. At the time i had been mayor for about five years in my hometown of san antonio. We had just passed an initiative that the voters approved to expand highquality full day prek in our city, so that young people could get a great education. [applause] the city was doing well compared to its peers. And i was enjoying what i was doing. But i also thought about all of the tremendous opportunity that hud helps extend to people who need it. And i thought about why i got into Public Service in the first place. My brother jaoquin and i grew up with my mother and my grandmother. My grandmother victoria had come from mexico when she was six or seven years old with her younger sister. Their parents had passed away and in 1922 they came through eagle pass, texas and ended up in san antonio where they lived with extended relatives. She never finished elementary school. She worked her entire career as a maid and a babysitter. She raised my mother as a single parent. And my mother raised my brother joaquin and me as a single parent, too. My mother has been active in the mexicanamerican civil rights icanoent, the old ch movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Growing up with my mom was Something Else. Still today, she used to only carry the red purse that symbolized womens pay equality. [applause] you will enjoy this, representative. She had a little placard, this cartoon on the wall of her office. A long time ago in the basement of city hall. It said, god is coming back, and boy, is she pissed. [laughter] and i remember the day that joaquin and i ran out to the mailbox on april 3, 1992. We were seniors in high school and we found in the mail backs mailbox two packets. We had applied to a whole bunch of colleges, gone to Public School in the city. And we got inside the house and ripped open the package. You all remember, especially those of you who are young people, when you apply to college you wanted to get a packet and not a letter. If you got a letter it was probably a thanks, but no thanks. We opened up the packet and the letter inside said, congratulations and welcome to the class of 1996 at stanford university. [applause] and i wished that at that time i had one of those cell phone cameras that you always have today so that i could have taken a picture of my grandmothers face when she saw that we had gotten in, because she never could have imagined that that kind of opportunity would have been possible for herself, for her daughter, even for us. And it was such a special moment. One of those moments when you feel like your American Dream is coming true. Than a couple weeks later we got the bill. [laughter] that wasnt such a happy day. At the time, stanford cost between 27,000 and 28,000 per person per year. The year that we applied, my mother had made about 19,000 in and my grandmother was getting 200 a month from her Social Security check. So there was no way these two women who had worked hard their entire lives could afford to send us off to get this great education. The only reason that i can stand here with the opportunity that i have had in life is because of course my family worked hard and i worked hard, my brother worked hard as well. But also because there were perkins loans, and there were pel grants, and there was work study. And this country has been at its greatest when it expects hard work from individuals and or families, but then rewards that hard work with a meaningful opportunity in life. [applause] so, heres the thing. Heres the thing. Today, there are a lot of folks who are working harder and harder, but they are not getting that opportunity. They are not getting ahead. The thing is that things have changed in our nation. Workers are working faster and harder than they used to, but being paid relatively less. Automation is growing. Machines are doing more of the work. Companies that used to employ 500 folks in a factory today are employing 50. And with those new opportunities and new industries, we have also seen globalization, in some cases moving jobs overseas to other countries. A few years ago, i was in india on republic day, their day of national pride. One of the government officials that i was with told me that in the state that that city was in alone, there were 400 engineering programs. Today, our country finds itself in an unprecedented competition for jobs and for investments with nations that are rising around the world, that are producing tons and tons of young people with the intelligence and the ambition and the drive and creativity to produce the ideas and the companies and the products that are going to help drive prosperity in the 21st century. And in this world, in a world in which brain power is the new currency of success, what it means is that we dont have anybodys talent to waste. We need every Single Person to thrive in the United States of america in the 21st century. [applause] it also means that we cant go backwards. That we need a vision that is positive and strong for the future. But heres the problem, the other side doesnt have a flag. The other side doesnt have a plan. When he is not golfing or tweeting or vacationing, the president is dividing us instead of bringing people together. He has broken promises. You remember those carrier jobs that he said he saved . Most of those have gone away. And he and republicans in Congress Just passed another tax cut that is going to benefit the wealthy and big corporations that contribute to folks in d. C. Instead of people who need it. On top of that, they have had ethics scandal after ethics scandal. Cronyism, misuse of tax dollars. One cabinet secretary already resigned because he was taking private jets everywhere. And just a few days ago, another cabinet secretary, when asked why he was flying first class, said it was too dangerous for him to fly in coach class. [crowd boos] and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Earlier this week, the white house proposed a budget which would slash billions of dollars for medicare and gut funding for basic services that help families put food on the table, that help families find a decent place to live and give their children a good education. And right now, New Hampshire has a front row seat into how this is affecting people all over the country. New hampshire faces the secondhighest rate of opioid deaths in the entire nation. I have heard from folks that it feels like every family knows someone who has been affected by this in the state. And yet, in response, the Trump Administration puts kellyanne pollster, in charge of the task force on the opioid crisis. And puts a 24yearold staffer with no relevant experience to help out. It is clear that when it comes to ensuring that you and your families can prosper, this administration and this congress do not have a clue. But we get it. Democrats do get it. We have always known what we stand for. Number one is expanding opportunity to everybody. That was the idea behind fdr and the g. I. Bill. It was what motivated my fellow texan, president lyndon b. Johnson, with medicare and medicaid. And it was the reason that barack obama had the Affordable Care act passed into law so that more americans could get health care. [applause] and the thing is that today we need a new blueprint. A blueprint for opportunity in the 21st century. One that aims to make sure that the United States is the strongest, smartest and safest nation on earth. What does it mean to be the smartest nation in the 21st century . It means investing in universal prek. [applause] it means paying our teachers what they deserve. [applause] and because the economy requires more education and skills than ever, it means making at least the first two years of Higher Education free. [applause] and expanding job efforts throughout the United States. It means unleashing everyones potential. Ensuring every woman has the right to make her own decisions about her body. [applause] see the vast potential of our dreamers so they can contribute to the forward progress of our nation in the years to come. It means making sure that everyone, no matter the color of your skin your background, is free from discrimination in the United States. [applause] that is what it means to be the smartest nation in the world. And to be the strongest nation starts with providing every american with the basic Building Blocks of dignity in this 21st century. That starts with universal health care in our country. So that every american can get access and get Good Health Care when they need it. [applause] it means raising the minimum wage so that workers get paid for it. And it means repealing and replacing the tax plan that was just passed and putting in one that is fair for middleclass and working families in the United States. [applause] and finally, what does it mean to be the safest nation in the world in the years to come . I can tell you what it doesnt mean. It doesnt mean hurling personal insults at foreign leaders over twitter. It doesnt mean being the only nation to withdraw from the paris climate agreement. [applause] it doesnt mean cowering to the nra and avoiding universal background checks and a ban on militarystyle assault weapons. [applause] we live in a world that is more connected than ever. Being the safest nation requires of course a strong military, but also building up our relationships and alliances around the world instead of tearing them down. When we do those things, we will become the strongest, smartest, and safest nation for many, many years to come. And so, i came here tonight for two reasons. First of all, to say thank you, gracias, for the work that you all are doing. I have to say, the New HampshireYoung Democrats are the envy of Young Democrats across the nation. [applause] what you all are doing is special because you are not only encouraging people to get involved and go vote and volunteer. To heck with the volunteering, you are having people actually run for office and become elected officials. [applause] and contribute to policy making. So, i want to thank you for what you are doing to lend to the energy and the spirit of 2018. The contributions you are making to the forward progress of your community. I went into Public Service when i was 26 years old. I went in because i felt that i had been very blessed with opportunity and i felt Public Service was one way to make sure that other people can have the same opportunity in life that i had. [applause] but i remember that when i threw my hat in the ring, some folks said, wait your turn. Some folks said, maybe not now, maybe later. Some folks said, get more experience then come back. And i want to speak to each and every one of you all who is thinking about one day running for office and getting involved in Public Service. Number one, before you do it, make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons. Make sure that you know what you believe. It does not mean that you have to know every policy issue and outcome before you jump in, but it means that at your core you have to know what your principles are so that you will never compromise on your principles. Make sure that you are doing it not for yourself or for your friends, but for the people you are trying to serve. Know that theres never going to be a perfect time for you to do it. Theres always going to be one thing in life or another that comes up that could keep you from jumping in that feels like a bit of a challenge. Dont wait for that perfect time if you feel compelled into Public Service. And if you are doing it for the right reasons and to serve other people, then you dont have to wait your turn, and dont let anybody tell you that you do. [applause] so, thank you. And the second reason that i came here was to challenge you. We have got a big year ahead of us. And i know that there are a