Fran Watson Elected Houston LGBT Caucus President At Historic Meeting

I was pleased to be at the Montrose Center last night to witness some Houston LGBT history Wednesday night.

The first LGBT Political Caucus meeting of the new year kicked off at 7 PM to a capacity crowd in Room 106 of the Montrose Center, and in addition to hearing the speeches of candidates wishing to walk away with the coveted endorsement of the Caucus for their 2016 primary campaigns, the caucus was also having their own elections to choose a new president and several new board members.

The people in the house seeking the Caucus endorsement for their various races included former Harris County sheriff Adrian Garcia, who is now running for the US congress, Kim Ogg, who narrowly lost her 2014 race for Harris County district attorney, current Precinct 1 constable Alan Rosen who is running for reelection, and numerous judicial candidates like Ramona Franklin.

CM Mike Laster, Harris county Democratic Party chair Lane Lewis and HISD trustee Anna Eastman were also in the house to thank the Caucus for their endorsements and their support.  

There was also a moment of silence for the late county commissioner El Franco Lee and

But what the overflow crowd was there to see in addition to who would get on the Caucus board was whether current board member Fran Watson would become the first African-American female elected to head the caucus.

I said the first African-American female caucus president because I was advised by Houston LGBT historian JD Doyle that an African American man has served, albeit briefly as the Caucus president

The first African-American MAN to serve as Caucus President was Jim Cotton, from late 1977 until April 1978...he was the 3rd Prez....this is per Scott Tillinghast, who is one of the few who was around and involved to remember...wish I could find a photo of Cotton, but apparently he did not make much of an impact.  

When the speeches were over, it was time to get to our historic business.  Once the call for candidates was opened, former CM and Caucus president Sue Lovell gave a moving and heartfelt nomination for Fran which was enthusiastically seconded by much of the crowd.  

A few minutes later, history was made and Fran Watson officially became the new and first ever African-American female president of the Houston GLBT Caucus.  And when the mayor is tweeting congratulations on your election, you know this is a BFD.  It's about time the organizations that lead our community also reflect its diversity.  When it comes to one like the influential Houston GLBT Caucus in which its endorsement can boost the credibility of a liberal progressive candidate despite its non-partisan status, it's past time it happened.  

Congratulations indeed Fran!  I have no doubts that you will successfully handle the Caucus business and whatever challenge comes your way as the Caucus president.

Will Houston LGBT History Be Made Tonight?

The Houston GLBT Political Caucus was founded in 1975 and calls itself the South's oldest LGBT political organization.  It is one in which if you lean liberal progressive in your politics, the Caucus endorsement is a highly sought after and fought over endorsement in local races.

The caucus endorsement is so highly prized there are people who are still upset they failed to get it.

The Caucus is also an organization that has had serve as its president former mayor Annise Parker and former Houston City Councilmember Sue Lovell among other storied names in our Houston LGBT community ranks.

At tonight's Houston GLBT Caucus meeting history may be made tonight as Maverick Welsh's term as Caucus president ends and his replacement is selected.

The person that people are considering as a leading candidate for the position is attorney Fran Watson.  Fran currently serves on the Caucus board, has had increasing visibility and a front line presence in H-town activist circles,  is involved in other Houston human rights issues including HERO, and is a thoughtful leader who would be amazing in that role.  If she's elected, she would become the first African-American woman to head the organization.    

We'll find out at 7 PM at the Caucus Meeting tonight at the Montrose Center if that history is made.


TransGriot Update:  Yep, it was.  Congrats, Fran!  

Moni's In The Middle Of The 2015 Houston GLBT Caucus Endorsement Meeting

I  have attended a few Houston GLBT Political Caucus meetings before and after my Texan in Exile days in Da Ville, but this one was going to be special.    It was going to be my first one ever as a paid member of the Caucus, and it also happened to be the 2015 Caucus Endorsement Meeting. 

Founded in 1975, the Houston GLBT Political Caucus is not only one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the southern US dedicated solely to the advancement of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans equality, it is also the largest political organization in Houston and Harris County. 

A Houston GLBT Caucus endorsement, while it is a nonpartisan org that gives the endorsement based on your support of LGBT rights, has basically become over time one of the most sought after and critical ones if you are a liberal-progressive leaning candidate running for office in the Houston area. 

Getting that endorsement helps your campaign tremendously if you get it, because their endorsement cards are used by Houston LGBT voters and our allies to ensure they are voting for liberal-progressive leaning candidates that have our community's trans..bi and SGL human rights interests at heart and will do a great job in the office they were endorsed by the Caucus for.. 

So while I have experienced being a participant in the political candidate endorsing process when I lived in Louisville and was a member of the Fairness Campaign board, I was still excited about today's events.

I didn't get there until 12:55 PM because I overslept, but once I arrived at the meeting venue I could feel the excitement in the air as I walked into the IBEW Union Hall where they had to move this endorsement meeting from the Montrose Center.  I later discovered that this was possibly the largest endorsement meeting ever attendance wise in caucus history.

Interest was huge because we in H-town are selecting a new mayor to replace outgoing Mayor Annise Parker and in the wake of recent political events surrounding HERO..  It was definitely on my mind and the minds of the folks in that packed and overly warm house.   The air conditioning in the building was having problems and improvised fans were having to be used by the meeting attendees until the AC issue got sorted out.. 

Five seconds after I walked into the room I ran into HISD school board trustee Juliet Stipeche who was seeking the Caucus endorsement in her race.   It also didn't take me long to start running into old friends like Ray Hill, Brandon Mack, Ashton Woods, Fran & Kim Watson, Dalton DeHart, Melissa Vivanco, Lou Weaver,, Brenda Langer, Michael Webb, Antonio Maldonado, Maverick Welsh, Nikki Araguz Loyd and Will Loyd/   It was also an opportunity yo meet new ones like Sharon Fuller.

I also started running into friends running for office like Jenifer Pool, Jolanda Jones and Lane Lewis and candidates seeking Caucus support that I'd met at various events over the last few months like Phillipe Nassif, Amanda Edwards and Laurie Robinson, along with my first 

Not long after I arrived at 12:55 PM because I overslept, the meeting started.  After voting to by acclimation give all the candidates in non-contested races except one the Caucus endorsements they sought,  and that all candidates endorsed by the Houston GLBT Political Caucus must publicly support ‪HERO‬ on some campaign materials, the meeting moved on to the business of dealing with the contested races, starting with the mayor's race.

It  took six hours of sometimes contentious debate and arguments that at times got heated, but in the end no chairs were thrown and no fights broke out.   The Caucus endorsement business was handled masterfully by Maria Gonzalez who kept the meeting civil and Daniel Williams who served as the parliamentarian ensuring Robert's Rules of Order were correctly and fairly applied.

Here are the candidates who earned Houston GLBT Caucus endorsements:.

Mayor 
Sylvester Turner

City Council
District B - Jerry Davis; District C - Ellen Cohen; District F - Richard A. Nguyen;
District H - Roland Chavez; District I - Robert Gallegos; District J-Mike Laster; District K-Larry Green

City Council At Large
Position 1 - Lane Lewis; Position 2 - David Robinson; Position 3 - Doug Peterson; Position 4 - Amanda K. Edwards,  Position 5 - Phillipe Nassif

Controller
Chris Brown

HISD School Board Trustee
District 2 - Rhonda Skillern Jones; Position 3 - Ramiro Fonseca; Position 4 - Jolanda Jones; Position 8 Juliet Katherine Stipeche

HCCS Board
District 3 - Adriana Tamez; Position 8 - Eva Loredo.

Congratulations to all the candidates who did get the Caucus endorsement, and to those who didn't, sorry it didn't happen for you this cycle.  

Now let's focus on the next step of getting them in office this November.