Many H-Town Races Going To Runoffs

No thanks to a last minute jacked up ruling from the Republican Texas Secretary of State Ruth R Hughs, the election results in Harris County and our Houston municipal election were delayed until well after midnight.

Mayor Sylvester Turner was comfortably ahead for most of the night, but unfortunately will be in a runoff against Trumper Tony 'I Don't Need To Be Mayor' Buzbee.

Mayor Turner released a statement early this morning once the runoff was assured.

"To those who voted for me, thank you. To those who did not, I will work hard to earn your votes 

"The good news about this runoff is that Houstonians have a very simple and very clear choice for mayor: An experienced leader who has been delivering for Houston for more than 30 years? Or a Donald Trump imitator who has no experience, no ideas and will say anything, do anything or spend anything to get elected? 

"I trust Houstonians to make the right decision for our city.

Controller Chris Brown won reelection to a second term, beating Orlando Sanchez.

In the City Council races, incumbent councilmembers Dave Martin (District E), Greg Travis (District G), Robert Gallegos (District I) and Martha Castex Tatum (District K) .

Castex Tatum won election for a full four year term of her own after succeeding the late councilmember Larry Green in May 2018 and finishing the remaining time on his term..

In an interesting development, all five of the at large council seats are going to runoffs.

At Large 1 incumbent Mike Knox will face Raj Salhotra. 
At Large 2 incumbent David Robinson will face off against HERO hating pastor Willie Davis. 
At Large 3 incumbent Michael Kubosh, who voted against HERO, will be challenged by Janaeya Carmouche. 
At Large 4 Anthony Dolcefino will square off against Dr Letitia Plummer for the seat being vacated by CM Amanda Edwards, who is running for the US Senate. 
At Large 5, Sallie Alcorn will battle Eric Dick for the seat being vacated by Jack Christie .

These Houston City Council district races are going to runoffs.

District A, Amy Peck will take on George Zoes in the battle to replace term limited councilmember Brenda Stardig. 
District B will feature a runoff contest between Tarsha Jackson and Cynthia Bailey 
District C will feature the expected runoff between Abbie Kaman and Shelley Kennedy
District D in a shocker, will have Carolyn Evans-Shabazz taking on Brad 'Scarface' Jordan from the rap group the Geto Boys to determine who replaces Dwight Boykins, who decided to run for mayor..
District F, Tiffany Thomas will face Van Huynh to replace incumbent Steve Le, who decided not to run for reelection. 
District H  incumbent Karla Cisneros will face Isabel Longoria, 
District J Sandra Rodriguez will face Edward Pollard

In the HCCS races, in District I Monica Flores Richart fell just short of winning the seat outright, and will face longtime homophobe and transphobe Dave Wilson.

In HCCS District II- Rhonda Skillern Jones will face Kathy Lynch-Gunter 

In the HISD races, incumbents Sergio Lira (Position 3) and Board president Diana Davila (Position 8) were ousted by their challengers Dani Hernandez and Judith Cruz   

Position 2 will be decided in a runoff between Kathy Bluefield Daniels and John Curtis Gibbs.
Position 4 will be decided in a runoff between Patricia Allen and Matt Barnes.   Patrica is the daughter of TX state Rep Alma Allen and sister of SBOE member Lawrence Allen 

But will it be enough to preempt a threatened state takeover of HISD?

In HD 148, the battle to replace retiring state rep Jessica Farrar will be between Democrat Anna Eastman and Republican Luis La Rotta

Down in Fort Bend County, in a closely watched special election race in HD 28,  Eliz Markowitz and perennial candidate Gary Gates will face off to determine who will replace the retired John Zerwas.

It is one of the nine seats Texas Democrats must flip in order to seize control of the Texas house for the first time since 2002   Markowitz was the lone Democrat running against five republicans for this seat.  and led for much of the night .

We'll see if she can capture the seat in a Fort Bend County that is turning purple.

Dave Wilson Runs For HCC Board, But Can't Spell

You longtime TransGriot readers have read my rants about Dave Wilson, who is a longtime transphobe and homophobe who has been responsible for helping spike two attempts at Houston passing inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances in 1985 and 2015.

When he's not busy trying to get transphobic BS inserted into the Houston City Charter, Wilson has been keeping himself busy doing his hatemongering as a member of the Houston Community College board. 

Saying in that misspelled flyer that he has 'uncompromising integrity' is a crock, being that he passed himself off as Black to narrowly win the HCC District II seat by 24 votes and knock off a 24 year African American incumbent board trustee in the process. 

He has been censured and reprimanded by his fellow board members for his antics.  When Rhonda Skillern Jones stepped up to challenge him for his HCC District II seat, he resigned, then filed to run in the HCC District I seat race against attorney Monica Flores Richart.

Needless to say I want his azz (and so does everyone at HCC) gone, and it's a major reason why I not only endorsed Monica Flores Richart in this race, I hope she is successful in taking his reprehensible behind out.    I love watching trans oppressors like Wilson get beaten at the ballot box.

I also found it interesting that a candidate trying to get back on the board of a community college, pays so little attention to his campaign material that he let a spelling error slide by.

What is it about transphobes and their propensity for spelling errors? .

But here's hoping that we're calling Monica Flores Richart 'trustee-elect' at the end of the night

TransGriot Update:  Monica Flores Richart is in a runoff against that hatemonger
 .

The TransGriot 2019 Houston Municipal Election Endorsements

Since one of the things I talk about on this blog is politics from a trans perspective, I do pay attention to what's going on at the city, county, state, national and international level when it comes to what's happening in the political world.

As a person who is also a writer and advocate, it's also my job to know and pass that info on to you.  I want people to be more informed voters when it's time for you to head to the polls.

The early voting period starts October 21 and runs until November 2.  Election Day for our Houston municipal election and the special Texas House elections will be on November 5

Speaking of voting, if you wish to participate in our upcoming Houston municipal election or the Texas House special elections, you'll have until October 7 to register to vote in order to be eligible to do so.

Now that the basic information is out of the way, let's get to the endorsements.

***

Mayor- Sylvester Turner
Controller- Chris Brown 

City Council
District A- Iesheia Ayers Wilson
District B- Tarsha Jackson
District C- Shelley Kennedy
District D- Carla Brailey
District F-  Anthony Nelson
District G- Crystal Pletka 
District H- Isabel Longoria
District I-  Robert Gallegos 
District J- Sandra Rodriguez 
District K- Martha Castex Tatum 

At Large 1-  Georgia Provost
At Large 2-  David Robinson 
At Large 3- Janaeya Carmouche
At Large 4-  Dr. Letitia Plummer 
At Large 5- Ashton P. Woods

Houston Community College System Trustee 

District 1- Monica Flores Richart 
District 2- Rhonda Skillern Jones

HISD Trustee

District II- Kathy Blueford Daniels
District III-  Daniela Hernandez 
District IV- Larry McKinzie
District VIII- Judith Cruz

Texas House Special Elections

HD-28 -  Eliz Markowitz 
HD-148- Penny Morales Shaw 

METRONext- YES

Handle Your 2017 Election Business Tomorrow

If you missed your opportunity to early vote, don't get upset because Election Day is tomorrow..

You'll just have to handle your election business at your usual precincts instead of the early voting locations that were open until November 3.

Polls will be open from 7 AM-7 PM CST.

While this is a Houston centric election reminder post, I am keenly aware of the fact there are people running for office across the country in critical elections, including four trans candidates in Minneapolis, New York State and Virginia looking to make history tomorrow..

Our Lone Star State ones for governor, lieutenant governor, the Lege and other critical positions in our state government aren't happening until next year.   It'll be 2019 for the city of Houston elections .

But we do have control of the HISD school board up in this election cycle with six seats up for grabs,  two HCC boards seats , five Houston city propositions and several state constitutional amendments that require you to say YEA or NAY to.

As usual the Houston LGBT Political Caucus has their endorsed slate of candidates you can vote for the endorsed candidates on their card

Who are those endorsed candidates?   Glad you asked.

Houston Community College Board of Trustees
HCC Trustee District IV -  Carolyn Evans- Shabazz
HCC Trustee District IX-    Pretta VanDible Stallworth

Houston Independent School District Board of Education
HISD Trustee District 1-   Elizabeth Santos
HISD Trustee District III- Carlos Perrett
HISD  Trustee District V-  Kara DeRocha
HISD Trustee District VI-  Holly Flynn Vilaseca
HISD Trustee  District VIII- Anne Katherine Sung

And for the first time the Caucus has also come out with an official position on issues pertinent to our community.

City of Houston Propositions
FOR City of Houston Propositions A, B, C, D and E

If you're wondering how to vote on those Texas Constitutional Amendments,  here's analysis from Daniel Williams, one of the smart people I pay attention to when he talks about Texas politics and the Texas Legislature.

So consider this a practice run for 2018 and 2020 and go handle your electoral business.

Transgender Day Of Remembrance Event At HCC Southeast Tuesday

Trans Awareness Week in the runup to the November 20 TDOR tends to get busy for me as we take time to not only educate others in our community about our lives, but memorialize the people we have lost due to anti-trans violence.

I also enjoy speaking and doing events at our various Houston area colleges and universities..

Thanks to Prof. Antrece Baggett, I've been invited to participate in their upcoming Transgender Day of Remembrance event at the HCC-Southeast Campus along with Dr. Ilija Immanuel Gallego.

It's also a timely one in the wake of our disastrous election a week ago.

The HCC-Southeast College TDOR event is sponsored by the SE College Black Student Association, Women and Gender Studies Program, Counseling Center, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the History Department.,

The HCC Southeast campus is located at 6815 Rustic St just off I-45 near Gulfgate Mall.   The TDOR event on the HCC-SE campus will start at 6 PM in the Angela Morales Building in Lecture Hall A.

The event is open to students, faculty, staff and the community, so hope to see my Houston trans fam and allies there if you can attend.    

Panel Discussion At HCC Northline

You know the old saying about when life hands you lemons, make lemonade?  And I'd consider a lemon situation what I was dealing with prior to Wednesday.

In the middle of that drama I received an invitation from Marie Angel Hernandez to take part in a trans* panel discussion on the HCC Northline Campus. Since I needed something else to focus on besides my own troubles, I'm accepting that invitation.
 
It's taking place at 1 PM in Room 115 on the HCC Northline Campus  . Address is 8001 Fulton St.  And yes, in case you're wondering, it's at the northern terminus of the MetroRail Red Line.

So yes, looking forward to a wonderful conversation with the students of HCC Northline and my fellow panelists.

Should be fun, and hope you will join me there to watch it.

Houston LGBT Hater Dave Wilson Masquerades As Black Person To Get Elected

I know the Republicans are shady enough to pull some crap like this because back in the 80's here in Texas and elsewhere in the South they used to run in Democratic primaries and if they survived them, wait until they got elected in the general election, then switch parties. 

But they may have hit a new low in this recent election cycle. 

With the opportunity they were presented by the Texas Voter ID Voter Suppression law, they went after 24 year Houston Community College board member Bruce Austin.

Dave Wilson is a longtime Republican, Tea Klux Klan member who ran in the 2011 mayor's an an anti-gay platform.   He knew he had no shot in Hades of getting elected in a predominately African-American district with that record if he showed his face.  But because Houston civic elections are non-partisan and party labels aren't placed on the ballot behind the person's name, that aided and abetted this chicanery of misrepresenting himself as a Black person.  

Wilson's flier he passed out in the community were decorated with photographs of smiling African-American faces -- which he readily admits he just lifted off websites -- and captioned with the words "Please vote for our friend and neighbor Dave Wilson."

The fliers also implied he had support from longtime Democratic State Rep Ron Wilson, who long ago lost credibility in the African-American community and his seat in 2004 to current state Rep Alma Allen for being too cozy with GOP legislators and supporting the 2003 Delaymandering.

And Wilson's reprehensible strategy allowed him to win a six year term on the HCC board by only 26 votes

The HCC board has come under justified and intense criticism for some questionable insider business deals and spending choices.  They are legitimate questions to ask and run on during a campaign.
  

But if you're pissed off about what's been happening on the HCC board and want to run to get on that body to change it, don't deceive people.

The fact that Dave Wilson cynically did so is not something to be cheered, it's something that goes against the very spirit of democracy that Republicans and Tea Klux Klan types claim they love so much.   It also speaks volumes about Wilson's own lack of character and how confident he is that his conservative political philosophies can win in the marketplace of ideas with my people.  

And it gives African-American voters in my hometown, my home state and beyond its borders another reason to despise Republicans and conservatism.

My Unexpected Participation In HCC Southeast's Gender Conference

Wanted to write this post earlier, but took a nap after I got home.

Had an interesting day that started early for me at the HCC Southeast campus.  I was there at the invite of Professor Antrece Baggett to witness the first annual Women of Color Conference that started at 8 AM in the Angela V. Morales building.   I had every intention of chilling out for the next several hours and being an interested spectator.

But you know what has been said about intentions.

The format for this first annual event was rather interesting.   The organizers asked for student submitted papers and Power Point presentations on various subjects.   Nine students eventually did so on subjects ranging from the challenges of .single motherhood to Madam CJ Walker, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Dr. Angela Davis.

Because the organizers were concerned about the lack of trans content in this conference, since I was in the house I was asked to do a Trans 101 speech.  I was honored and willing to do so, however I only had a 20 minute window to fit the potential speech in.   Since I'd just come back from doing a presentation at the University of Arizona only two weeks ago, what I said then was still relatively fresh on my mind and this was a college environment I felt confident I could successfully handle that challenge.  

I basically did a 15 minute extemporaneous speech in which I hit the necessary Trans 101 informational points I wanted to leave with my audience, left five minutes to ask questions and had some fun while doing so.  

I also ended up picking up business cards from an attorney specializing in employment law and an EEOC rep who were in attendance to do their own presentation.    I was also approached by several students when the conference concluded a little after 2 PM  who asked me more questions about trans issues and shared their own stories, observations and concerns with me.

Just another day at the office for Moni.

Thanks to all the students who stood up in front of their fellow classmates and guests to do their presentations.  You did a wonderful job and that took some courage to do so.   I also thank the faculty of HCC Southeast for the opportunity to speak about trans issues and looking forward to doing so once again. 

HCC Southeast Panel Discussion On 'For Colored Girls'

If you TransGriot readers thought I was parked in front of the television watching the Bayou Bucket clash between my beloved UH Cougars and Rice at the Rob last night, I actually was spending some time down I-45 from UH enjoying a panel discussion on the Houston Community College Southeast Campus that started at 7:15 PM CDT.

As I've mentioned to you peeps who read this blog, I'm a little better connected than some of my haters presume I am, and it turned out one of those connections played a major role into why I attended last night's event.

Two weeks ago I was watching the rebroadcast of a METRO board meeting on the local cable access HCC-TV channel.   At the bottom of the screen was a crawler message advertising some upcoming events on the various HCC campuses and the contact person and phone numbers for further information on them. .  

One of the events that was advertised was a panel discussion entitled Reflections On  'For Colored Girls'- Confronting the Challenges of Race, Class and Gender in the 21st Century and was being presented by the Africana African-American Studies & The Women And Gender Studies Programs at HCC's Southeast Campus. 

That campus is not too far from the house and the panel discussion was scheduled for a Thursday night so I made a mental mote as I continued to watch the METRO board meeting to consider going to the October 27 event. 

I did a double take when I saw the name of the person who was the contact person for that event, a longtime friend of mine named Antrece Baggett. 

Talk about small world moments.  We hadn't seen each other since 1984 and she is now the Program Director of the Africana African-American Studies & The Women and Gender Studies Programs at HCC Southeast.  It also turned out that this was also the first event she was coordinating in her new role as the director of the program.

After watching the crawler message go by a few times to ensure I jotted down the phone number correctly, I called her yesterday afternoon to make sure the program was still happening.  Once I got the business end of the call taken care of she figured out it was moi, and we picked up conversation wise as if that decade and a half had never passed.

So yeah, was definitely in the house to support my homegirl.  I got the bonus of seeing her mom again as well and being introduced to the president of HCC Southeast Dr. Irene Porcarello and the Academic Dean of HCC Southeast Dr. Pauline Warren who previously had Antrece's position. 

After D.r Porcarello and Dean Warren welcomed everyone to the campus and students Brandy Rogers of HCC-Southeast and Ronica Jefferson of Texas Southern University introduced the panelists it was time to get the discussion started.   

The For Colored Girls panel discussion opened with a spoken word performance of the play by Rita Hughes and another actress before moving to the four minute statements from panelists Dr. Nikita Harris of Auburn University, Dr. Rockell Brown of Texas Southern University, psychologist Dr. Valdesha Ball, MD of Baylor College of Medicine, Professor Baggett and Thecia Jenkins, the Domestic Violence advocate at 'The Bridge Over Trobled Waters .

Each panelist discussed certain themes in the movie and related it to the issues that African-American and POC women were facing in the 21st century.   Some of the issues touched on ranged from the love-hate relationship we have with Tyler Perry  to touching on the fluidity of gender and the 'unwoman' meme I've talked about here.

After taking some questions from the audience the program closed with remarks from Director Baggett and I got a chance to talk to her and Dr. Harris for a few moments before I departed for the evening.

And nope, won't be the last time I talk to Professor Baggett either.

But yeah, enjoyed getting my learn on and seeing and old friend at the same time.