What Are Houston Black Trans Leaders Doing? Plenty

I understand there's some grousing going on with some peeps in the Houston Black trans community claiming that 'our leaders aren't doing anything' when it comes to the Pinky shooting.

That couldn't be further from the truth.   I actually heard about the shooting on Thursday while watching the 6 PM news.   Didn't find out the woman in question ABC13 was reporting on was trans until the Chronicle's initial transphobic spin on the report was published and it was relayed to me late Friday evening.

This post went up on TransGriot  in response to the problematic transphobic article and to alert the community (and the nation) as to what the facts were at the time I wrote it.   There were some erroneous comments we had to immediately correct that Pinky had been killed.

That initial TransGriot post has not only gone viral (and has over 10,000 hits as I write this), it was linked to by the Dallas Voice and OutSmart magazine where I write a monthly column.

While I ended up in front of a FOX 26 TV camera last night with Houston GLBT Caucus president Mike Webb on the Isiah Factor Uncensored,  it doesn't mean that nothing is happening or that those of us who are considered leaders in this Houston trans community are just twiddling our thumbs.

I'm coordinating with our media contacts.   Both of our HPD LGBT liaisons were in Detroit attending Creating Change when Pinky was shot on Thursday.  I just caught up with one of them on Tuesday afternoon.   They are waiting to talk to Pinky, who was unconscious until Sunday, to determine next steps in this case and to hear from her what happened.  The detective in the case is also waiting to talk to her as well.

Atlantis Narcisse, Dee Dee Watters, Diamond Stylz and Jessica Zyrie are also working behind the scenes in our different lanes to find out what happened    We had allies in TENT ED Emmett Schelling and Eric Edward Schell calling the Houston Chronicle to address the transphobic coverage.

Our colleagues at BLM-Houston are standing by.  Ana Andrea Molina and the trans Latinx community are ready to help along with our Latinx community allies.  Equality Texas is wanting to know what they can do to help.

So are our trans brothers and trans GNC siblings. People around the country are asking me and other Houston leaders what can they do to help Pinky.

But next steps for how we proceed are on hold until we can talk to Pinky.   Remember that she was shot three times at point blank range and is STILL sore from it.   One of the bullets hit close to her throat so she couldn't talk.

We want to give her a little space and time to recover a bit physically and emotionally.

HPD also wants this fool off the streets as quickly as possible.  Anyone who would indiscriminately fire a gun at someone at a crowded gas station is a menace to society that needs to sent to the nearest TDC corrections facility.   Our HPD liaisons EJ Joseph and Alexa Magnan along with the detectives on this case want to solve it as well.

You can help make that happen by relaying any information you have on this case to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477) 

Sometimes activist work is tedious, multilayered and needs to happen behind the scenes, not in front of the unblinking eye of a camera.   If people in Houston Black Trans World were wanting us to head to City Hall and go off on Mayor Turner, the council, and HPD's command staff, not gonna happen. 

There are a lot of questions in this case we needed answers to before we take our next steps. 

One step we are planning is a Black trans town hall, with date and location to be determined

The thing that we can be most grateful for is that Pinky survived this horrific attack.   Next thing we all want is to get that waste of DNA who shot her off the streets and in jail as expeditiously as possible.  We want justice for Pinky. 

But there's a lot of work that needs to happen until those goals are accomplished.   

TransGriot Nominated Again For A GLAAD Media Award!

After finally winning the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Blog on my third nomination last year, I was not expecting to be nominated when the 2019 nominations were rolled out.

I was surprised and pleased once again to find out that I have once again been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Blog category

It's the third consecutive year I have received a nomination in this category, and is my fourth nomination overall in the Outstanding Blog category (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019).  It also puts me in the mix of making a little history should I be fortunate enough to win it again.

Ever since the GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Blog category started in 2011, we have never had a repeat winner of the Outstanding Blog award.   There was no Outstanding Blog award given in 2016 because a misguided attempt was made to end the category, and we bloggers fought like hell to get it back.

I did receive a Special Recognition award in 2016 during the GLAAD Gala San Francisco.  That was also my tenth anniversary year.

Alvin McEwen's Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters (2017) and I are in position to make that history should either of our names be called.

As always, we have some tough competition in this category.   Mark S. King's My Fabulous Disease,  Sue Kerr and Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, and Gays With Kids are the 2019 finalists in this category.   

Will I get to add another one to my trophy shelf?   Won't find out until awards night.   The LA ceremony is happening at the Beverly Hilton on March 28, and the one in New York is on my May 4 birthday at the New York Hilton Midtown.

You can check out the rest of the 2019 GLAAD Media Award nominees here.

2019 Houston Pride Grand Marshal Nominee Finalists Named

Houston Pride revealed on Thursday night this year's class of 2019 Grand Marshal nominees at an event held at Guava Lamp that also revealed the theme for this year's parade.

The theme is 'Summer of 69', to reflect the fact this is the 50th anniversary year of the Stonewall rebellion that kicked off the modern TBLGQ rights movement.

Houston Pride Grand Marshal nominees are comprised of people who have made significant achievements and contributions to our local LGBTQ community. 

According to Lo Roberts (yep, we're related), the president of Houston Pride, 2019 was the best year ever for Grand Marshal nominations

This year's Houston Pride Grand Marshal nominees are:

Male identifying finalists:
Eric Edward Schell
Jason Black
Harrison Guy

Female identifying finalists:
Shannon Baldwin
Janie Lopez
Iris Rodriguez

Non-Binary finalists:
Becca Keo-Meier
Julien Gomez
Mike Webb

LGBTQ-Ally finalists: 
Erika Richie
Marian Luntz
Constable Alan Rosen

For a parade that had serious diversity problems under its previous president, .it is the most diverse Pride grand marshal class ever and nice to see.   It was past time that the Grand marshal nominees reflected the diversity of this city.

For the first time ever, Houston Pride has created a non binary Grand Marshal category.

Voting has already started for it.   The voting will run until April 7, with the winners being announced on April 25.  The honorary grand marshals will also be announced on that date.

Here's the link to vote....

Houston Trans Woman Shot, Misgendered By Houston Chronicle

Anytime and anywhere a trans woman is shot I have a major problem with it.   But when the crap happens in my Houston backyard less than a mile from where I live I take it personally.

A 24 year old Black trans woman known as Pinky was chased Thursday morning through a busy Chevron station parking lot just after 11 AM CST.   The gun wielding miscreant shot at Pinky twice, cornered her by the front door of the gas station located on the corner of Beltway 8 and Richmond Ave in West Houston, and fired three shots at her at point blank range.

She was taken to a nearby hospital in unknown condition.

The surveillance cam video obtained by ABC13 is disturbing and infuriating to watch.


I know that location well because it has a Frenchy's that I love to patronize.   That station because it is on a major street by one of our busy H-town freeways is always busy. 

So somebody saw something or knows something that will lead to the arrest and conviction of this fool.

The approximately 5' 8" Black male assailant wearing a gray hoodie got away in a light colored SUV, possibly a Honda.   HPD is definitely looking for his reprehensible behind.

If you have any information that will expedite that happening, you are urged to call Crime Stoppers at  713-222-TIPS (8477)

As for Pinky, her Houston trans family will definitely be checking on her to make sure she is okay, and once the waste of DNA is apprehended, stand with her when he is inevitably tried and brought to justice.

What also has me incensed and concerned about about what happened besides the fact it was in my neighborhood is that the Houston Chronicle dipped into the transphobic pool to report on this story.

Note to Jay R. Jordan:  A trans woman is a WOMAN, not a man.    It was not necessary for you to go there and try to justify your transphobia by adding the sentence about Pinky's ID.

I find it interesting you could point out the incorrect ID, but couldn't report Pinky's name 

Another point I need to make is this.  What is or isn't on that ID is not germane to this story.

Houston cis Black community and cis Black community leaders and politicians, several questions for you to ponder. 

When will you FINALLY step up and say it is NOT okay to shoot at or kill Black trans people and act on it?  When will our Black trans lives matter to you?   How many of us have to die this year before you finally conclude that enough is enough? 

And another FYI for you. Black trans Houstonians vote.

A trans woman was shot and ended up in the hospital as a result of what happened Thursday.   It is infuriating to me and the Houston trans community that once again, instead of respectfully reporting on it like ABC13 did, transphobia was injected into this incident by our main local newspaper.

MIQ 2016 Runner Up Competes In 2019 Miss Rio Pageant

The date and site for the 2019 Miss Universe pageant has yet to be determined, but Angela Ponce's historic trip to Bangkok to compete in Miss Universe has inspired other trans pageant beauties around the globe to try to make pageant history in their own nations.

One of those is in Brazil.

25 year old Nathalie Oliveira is starting her quest to be on the 2019 Miss Universe stage by competing in the Miss Rio de Janeiro pageant that takes place this weekend on January 26. 

It is a preliminary for the Miss Brazil Universe pageant that will take place later this year, and she is the first out Brazilian trans woman who has ever entered this regional pageant.

Oliveira was the winner of the Miss Trans Brazil pageant, and was the first runner up in the 2016 Thailand based Miss International Queen contest.     She also has a YouTube channel with over 15,000 subscribers that covers topics that include makeup, travel, and transsexuality

Good luck to Nathy!  Here's hoping she gets a step closer to being on the 2019 Miss Universe stage

SCOTUS Votes To Oppress Trans Troops

Why am I not surprised the four white conservatives and honorary white man Uncle Ruckus Uncle Thomas voted to oppress trans people and side with the Trump misdaministration on their odious trans ban.

Trans people serve in the armed forces of 18 nations, many of them our NATO allies.   The US should be leading in this area, not regressing.  Qualified American trans people who wish to serve our country should be welcomed with open arms, not told we aren't wanted.

There are trans people who wish to serve our country because they have traditions of military service that go back several generations in their families, 

Trans people are choosing military service for many reasons just like cisgender people. 

Forcing trans people to serve with a 'don't ask don't tell' policy didn't work for gay and lesbian troops, and won't work in this regard. 18 nations allow trans military service, including the ability to transition while they are in the military and it does not affect combat readiness or break the bank. 

It will cost far less for trans related medical care than it does to provide Viagra. It will cost an estimated $2-6 million a year for trans related care vs the $45 million that it cost last year to provide Viagra. 

There's also 15,500 trans people serving, some who have already transitioned and serve critical roles in our armed forces. 

Trans people should not only be allowed to serve, they should be allowed to medically transition while on active duty if necessary and have the VA cover trans medical benefits once they leave.

A sad day for this country/.

Sat Out The Houston Women's March Again

Did you not get the lesson that if your feminism isn't intersectional, you're doing it wrong?
Obviously you didn't, and that's why I and many Houston Black feminine leaders and our allies WON"T be at your little party-TransGriot,  January 19, 2018

And sadly, they STILL don't get it.

That's why when the Houston's Women's March (or whatever they call it now) took place today, I was chilling in my apartment writing and drinking hot chocolate.

Because just like the previous two years, the overwhelmingly white fauxminist centered leadership of it refused to include Black women, reach out to Houston grassroots advocates or the Houston trans community or listen to our concerns.

On top of that they co-opted a universally recognized symbol for a pagan goddess for their new logo

They refused to acknowledge our concerns in the Houston Black community that this march was not only taking place on MLK weekend, but also starting at the same time as the annual Houston MLK Children's March. 

Once they realized they had a PR problem of their own making, issued an insulting last minute late azz invitation to BLM Houston's Kandice Webber and Ashton Woods to participate.

The day these fauxminists finally decide to center the Houston march on women other than their pink pussy hat wearing selves is the day I finally venture downtown to join it. 

Until you get it through your heads that trans women exist in the Houston area in all our rainbow ethnic shades, and all women of color are at the table when you start the 2020 Houston Women's March planning instead of an oops afterthought invite after you mess up, I'll keep sitting this one out.

Until you fauxminists get it together, I'll be at Emancipation Park for the March For Black Women  where I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my presence is welcomed, and the invitation has been extended for me and girls like me to participate in it

Angelica Ross Featured In Sophisticates Black Hair Magazine

When I stated life as my true self 25 years ago, one of the things I started doing was picking up copies of Sophisticates Black Hair from my local Walgreen s and CVS magazine shelves

Sophisticates Black Hair Magazine, or SBH for short , has for over 30 years featured  hair styling and makeup tips geared toward Black women , but features our Black female celebrities looking fab at various events and on our fave television shows and movies..

It also has an issue dedicated to the Ten Best Styled Women of the Year

So it was a big deal when Angelica Ross announced that she has an article in the latest issue of SBH with our forever FLOTUS on the cover

Congrats Angelica!  Looking forward to the day when you are on the cover of Sophisticates Black hair magazine.

2019 Williams Watch- On To The Australian Open Third Round

The Williams Sisters are still handing their tennis business in Melbourne for this year's edition of the Australian Open and cruising toward another Sister-Sister confrontation in the fourth round.

They handled their second round matches in different ways.

Venus continues to do it the hard way.     She had another three set marathon against France's Alize Cornet, but unlike the first round match, she didn't have to go to tiebreakers to determine who won the sets.

Big Sis also flipped the personal tennis script by winning the first set, losing the second, then turning up her game another notch to overwhelm her opponent in the third. 

She beat Cornet 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 to punch her ticket to the third round and a match with the world number one (for now) and the tournament number one seed in Simona Halep of Romania

Halep has also bee flirting with disaster herself the last two rounds, taking three sets to dispose of  Kaia  Kanepi of Estonia and  Sofia Kenin of the US.

Serena so far has looked like her old dominating self.

She rolled through another microwave tennis match, needing just 70 minutes to brush Eugenie Bouchard of Canada out of the tournament in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. 

It was shaky at times, but 22 winners and capturing the last five games to close out the match definitely helps you close matches out in a hurry

Little Sis may only be seeded 16th, but she is still considered the person to beat here as she pursues her record extending eighth Australian Open title and her 24th Grand Slam title overall

Unless the refs start messing with her.  And heaven help Naomi Osaka if they meet in this tournament.  They are on the same side of the bracket.

But first, before we start talking about potential future matches, she has to handle her third round business against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.    Yastremska has already taken out Sam Stosur  in straight sets and 23rd seeded Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round in three sets.

2019 Williams Watch- It's Australian Open Time!

'New year, new tennis season, and of course you TransGriot readers know I'll be keeping up with my fave tennis playing siblings in Venus and Serena Williams.

This will be the first time since the 2017 Australian Open final that both sisters will be playing in this tournament, the first Grand Slam of the 2019 tennis calendar.

You'll recall after Serena won that 2017 Open title, her 23rd overall, in straight sets, she discovered she was 24 weeks pregnant

The Williams sisters won't meet in the Aussie final this year, but potentially the fourth round because they are not only on the same side of the women's singles draw, they are in the same section of it.

WTF?

Their 2019 run in the Aussie Open began with Big Sis taking on 25th seeded  Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania in the first round.   Big Sis had to work after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker.   She flipped the script by winning the second set in the tie breaker to even the match, and then blowing out Buzarescu in the third set.

Nevertheless, she persisted and will advance to take on Alize Cornet of France after posting a 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 win.

16th seeded Serena started her quest for her 24th Grand Slam title with an opening round match at Rod Laver Arena  with Germany's Tatjana Maria.

Little Sis wasted little time in administering this tennis beatdown, with her spending a grand total of 49 minutes on the court to send Maria packing.  She fired 22 winners in this match, and took the opening set in just 18 minutes

She punched her ticket to what looks to be a much tougher second round match with Canada's Eugenie Bouchard after a 6-0, 6-2 straight set win.

Happy 90th Birthday Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jr

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” 
― Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today also happens to be what would have been the 90th birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.  It is a birthday commemoration taking place as we also remember that this year marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans at Jamestown.

While Americans love them some Dr King today, he wasn't as well loved when he was assassinated 50 years ago.  He had just a 25% approval rating according to Gallup polls at the time, and was beginning to stress a message of economic empowerment.

During his extraordinary life, in addition to pushing for the human rights of Black Americans, he was also calling out the war in Vietnam and constructively criticizing this country to live up to the ideals that it enshrined in the Constitution. 

He also called on this country to do right by its Black citizens and make good on the human rights check marked insufficient funds. 

It's interesting to not that the January 21 MLK Day will be taking place as a racist president  has shut down the government and is holding 800,000 federal workers pay hostage because he can't get funding for his wall.

We're also regressing instead of progressing on human rights, voting rights and building the Beloved Community' that Dr King talked about in his speeches.

The 'Beloved Community' is a place not only free of injustice, but a society that actively promotes an ethic of love, justice, and humanity in its legal, political, and civic life, as well as its religious, spiritual, and moral spheres.

We definitely have some work to do to get to that point.  It is not going to be an easy or quick path to getting there, and the road to it will have some potholes we'll need to fill.

But we will, and we must get to that point as a society.

 Happy Birthday, Dr King.  .

Trans Woman Messed With At Mississippi Casino

One consequence of the false anti-trans 'bathroom predator' rhetoric the Republican Party pushed to oppose trans rights laws is it invites scrutiny on any cis or trans woman who doesn't fit the stereotypical and goalpost shifting standards for what a woman is supposed to look like.

It has also emboldened transphobes to play gender police and mess with people going to the damn bathroom

One of the things Alexus Tate loves to do is head to the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica County Mississippi and enjoy the time she frequently spends there trying her luck. 

But the trip she took to the casino the day after Thanksgiving with a friend wasn't anything but pleasant for her because transphobia smacked her in the face.

I'm also not liking the transphobic 'born a man' line in this WREG-TV article   Back to the story. 

A female casino security guard loudly demanded to see Tate's ID as she left the restroom in front of other casino patrons.   A janitor confided to Tate that the security guard had made disparaging transphobic remarks about her as she entered the restroom, saying 'Why is 'it' in there?"

Tate immediately sought out other employees to address the transphobic incident and has been in contact with Gold Strike casino management.   The casino management claimed they were investigating the matter, but haven't been in contact with Tate since December.

Tate says while the Gold Strike management has been apologetic about the incident, has offered her free plays and hotel stays, what she wants most, the firing of the transphobic security guard, hasn't happened. 
MGM Resorts, who owns the Tunica casino in question, sent this statement to WREG-TV

“Inclusion is a core value for MGM Resorts, and all security officers are trained on our company’s policy of allowing guests to utilize public restrooms based on the gender with which they identify. Unfortunately, the security officer involved in this incident did not respond appropriately. The security officer in question was immediately corrected, the policy was clarified to the guest by a supervisor at the time of the incident, and the security officer involved was disciplined accordingly. We sincerely regret this incident and have apologized to the guest. We hope for the opportunity to make up for her poor guest experience 

“This incident does not represent our values or the conduct of employees across our company. Our employees train extensively on our policies, and we will continue to reiterate and emphasize our commitment to inclusion and our focus on treating guests appropriately. Our goal, as always, is to ensure all guests feel welcome and have a safe and enjoyable experience.”

Nice sentiment.  But until that message is sent with the firing of the security guard in question that transphobia isn't tolerated, and there are consequences for those who engage in it, these will be nothing but empty words 

GENDA FINALLY Passes the New York Senate!

I have been chronicling on the blog the tortured history of New York state's proposed Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) law that would give trans New Yorkers statewide rights protection and add them to the state's hate crimes law. 

Since 2008 it has overwhelmingly passed in the Democratically controlled New York General Assembly only to die in the Republican controlled NY State Senate without a committee hearing or even a floor vote..

In November, the Blue tsunami flipped eight senate seats and gave Democrats control of the NY State Senate with a solid 39-24 majority.

Now that the NY senate is firmly in Democratic hands, the GENDA bill finally began to move in that chamber instead of hitting the usual Republican legislative roadblock aided and abetted by DINO Democrats   

GENDA not only got its first committee hearing in the NY Senate, it passed out of committee and to the NY senate floor yesterday on a unanimous vote.

Today GENDA passed in the New York state senate on a 42-19 vote to send the bill to Governor Andrew Cuomo's desk for his signature to make it law.

Congrats to all my trans family in New York.  This is a day you have been waiting for since you were callously stripped out of the SONDA bill in 1993. 

And how apropos that GENDA passed on Dr King's birthday!

And today, Sylvia Rivera is smiling as the day she fought for on her deathbed has finally come to pass for trans New Yorkers.

Happy 111th Anniversary AKA!

Couldn't let today pass without showing some love to all the women in my life who are the pretty girls that wear 20 pearls and proudly wear the salmon pink and apple green color of Alpha kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 

Those women include my mother and sister.  There were more than a few times I had to drive her to her sorority meetings and read her Ivy Leaf magazines when she was done with them.

As the first sorority created by and for African American women back on the Howard University campus on January 15, 1908, they have grown from that campus to become a worldwide organization of over 200,000 college educated women.

AKA women have and continue to blaze trails in a variety of professional fields from business, medicine, science, education, sports, the media and politics as they role model their 'Service to All Mankind' sorority motto.

Happy Founders' Day Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.!     

A Houston Municipal Election Is Happening In 2019

It's a new year, and one of the things we have happening in the 713 in 2019 beside the county turning deep blue is our Houston civic elections.

Thanks to Proposition B passing back in 2015 in large part because the fake faith-based haters were fixated on killing HERO, we now have city elections every four years. 

The terms for mayor, city council and the controller were expanded to four years as well, and our term limits were adjusted . That means you are now limited to just two four year terms instead of the three 2 year terms we had under the old system.

Mayor Turner is going for his second and final term, and as of today no significant challenger has filed to run yet.  Right now it's attorney Tony Buzbee, Kendall Baker, Demetria Smith and 2015 mayoral election loser Bill King who have either declared or are thinking about it.   Wrestler Booker T had also declared last year that he was running, but he hasn't been heard from lately. 

Five council members are term limited.   CM Jack Christie in At Large #5,  CM Brenda Stardig in District A,  CM Jerry Davis in District B, CM Ellen Cohen in District C and CM Mike Laster in District J.

As you probably guessed the races with term limited council members are drawing a crowd of contenders filing for them.

Tarsha Jackson and Renee Jefferson Smith are the announced candidates so far running for the District B seat being vacated by CM Davis. 

In District C, the district that contains the Montrose gayborhood, the list of candidates is growing, with Shelley Kennedy and Nick Hellyar being just two of the people running for the seat being vacated by CM and Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Cohen.

In District D, the southeast Houston district I grew up in, Jerome Provost, the son of longtime Houston photographer Georgia Provost, is taking on incumbent CM Dwight Boykins.

The aforementioned 'Miss P' is taking on CM Mike Knox again for the At Large #1 seat.   Raj Salhotra is also running in the At Large #1 race.

District E, the Kingwood-Clear Lake seat, is held by CM Dave Martin.  District F is currently held by Steve Le,  District G by CM Greg Travis, District H by CM Karla Cisneros, District I by CM Robert Gallegos,  and District K by CM Martha Castex Tatum.

Tatum won a special election last year after the tragic death of CM Larry Green, and is running for her first full term.

Advocate Shere Dore has announced she's running for the At Large Position #2 seat currently held by CM David Robinson.

So far haven't heard if anyone is challenging CM Michael 'God put me on City Council to oppose the HERO' Kubosh  for the At Large #3 seat.   The suburban evilgelicals made an assumption I'm jumping into that race against that Drag Queen Story time hater.

CM Amanda Edwards holds the At Large #4 seat , but hasn't drawn a challenger as of this writing.

Laurie Robinson is running for the soon to be vacated At Large #5 seat

A lot can change between now and August 19, which is the last day to file for a place on the 2019 ballot.   People who are thinking about running for municipal office have until then to put up or shut up. 

And yeah,since I'm being asked.  I'm seriously thinking about it.  As for which seat I might be running for. we'll see.   Trying to decide between an at large or district race.

First day to file is on July 20, 2019.   Filing fee is $1250 for mayor, $750 for the city controllers office or $500 for a city council seat. 

You can also in lieu of cash collect petition signatures to place your name on the ballot.   However, we still don't know the exact number of signatures you need to collect to get on the ballot that way, and won't find out from the City Secretary's office until at least June.

Note to anyone running for office and seeking my support for your municipal political run. 

If you are a Republican evilgelical, anti-trans, anti-gay, openly opposed the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance in 2014, or supported its GOP sponsored repeal,  don't even think about asking for my support in this election cycle.

See y'all at the polls on November 5.