When I was griping about the fact that Bo Fraga jumped into the crowded City Council Position 2 at large race that Jenifer Rene Pool was attempting to win a seat in, I was concerned that if neither candidate finished in the top two or won, it would leave the Houston rainbow community with no representation on city council for the first time since 1997. What I feared would happen did as neither Pool or Fraga garnered enough votes to get into a runoff but the Houston rainbow community will have representation when the new expanded Houston City Council is inaugurated in the person of Mike Laster.
Laster ran in one of the two new districts that was created as a result of the city's population passing the 2.1 million mark and a city ordinance mandating the council be expanded when that happened. District J is a diverse district in Southwest Houston stretching from Bellaire and the Galleria area southwestward to Beltway 8 along either side of the Southwest Freeway.
It was designed to be an opportunity district for the Latino and Asian communities. 63% of the population in it is Latino but Laster as a longtime Sharpstown area attorney and activist had name recognition and cruised to victory with 67% of the vote over his two opponents Criselda Romero and Rodrigo Canedo.
He will not only be the first councilmember to represent the new District J, he made a little rainbow history by becoming the first out gay male to win election to Houston City Council.
The previous rainbow community persons elected to Houston City Council were now mayor Annise Parker (the first ever elected to council) and Sue Lovell, the person who succeeded her.
Congrats to Councilman-elect Laster for your history making victory and may you have much success in representing your District J constituents and the community.
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