Congrats Judge Watson!

Y'all know I have much love and admiration for my trailblazing Houston activist sis Fran Watson.

She's an attorney and former head of the Houston GLBT Caucus.   She was also the first Black woman to head the Caucus.  ,

Fran has run for the Texas state senate,  is one of only three Black women to be elected as a Houston Pride grand marshal, and volunteers her time to many worthy causes and organizations in the Houston area.

Earlier today the Houston City Council unanimously voted to approve Fran's nomination for a two year term as a municipal judge.

Congratulation Judge Watson!   This is a well deserved, and glad you will get to serve our fellow Houstonians from our municipal court bench.  I have no doubts that you will do a fantastic job in this new position

Moni's On Queer Voices Tonight

Another day, another interview for yours truly in the wake of this HERO loss.

Been invited to come back to a familiar place for me, the broadcast studios of our local Pacifica radio affiliate KPFT-FM.

I was invited to be a guest on Queer Voices tonight at 8 PM CST for an interview to talk about the HERO campaign, local issues post-HERO and whatever other subjects we can fit in in the short time allotted for this segment.

Dee Dee Watters is also on this show to talk about the Wednesday TDOR event she's hosting.

They do live stream the show, and it will start at 8 PM CST for those of you not in the Houston area but would like to hear it.   For those of you in the 100,000 watt broadcast radius of  KPFT-FM, may wish to tune your local FM dial to 90.1 to hear it.

Houston Stonewall Young Democrats #AfterHERO Discussion

It's been a week post-HERO loss, and far from wallowing in despair over a temporary defeat, the Houston activist community is taking the time to ask itself in this post-mortem period some hard questions about when went wrong, and what we need to do to clean the mess up so it doesn't happen again.

Last night I was honored to be invited to take part in a discussion at the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats meeting along with Brandon Mack and Texas state Reps. Armando Walle and Ana Hernandez to talk about what needed to be done post-HERO.

It was a lively discussion in a packed room at Little Big's moderated by HSYD president James Lee, which even got the attention of ABC13, but after interviewing James, bounced before the community conversation happened.    

Brandon pointed out one thing that must happen is for the predominately white LG leadership in Houston must not only share power and reach out to non-white Houston, but stop ignoring Black LGBT people when we tell you stuff that you don't want to hear.

I echoed the same points from a trans perspective, and Reps. Walle and Hernandez pointed out it is imperative that young voters get active, involved and most importantly, show up at the polls to vote

Thanks James and HSYD for the invitation.

H-town TBLQ Girls Running The World

OutSmart Magazine in honor of Women's History Month put together an article honoring Houston BTLQ women who are running thangs, rising leaders and making our community better.

I was happy to see two of my trans sisters in Atlantis Capri and Dee Dee Watters make this list.   And if you're asking where's mine and Synthia's names, we were honored in the OutSmart Black History Month Black LGBTQ leaders issue.

I've had (or will have) the opportunity to work with many of the women named in this article on various community projects.   For those who were named I haven't met, I'm certain our paths will cross soon.

Congrats to Marshella, Atlantis, Dee Dee, Melanie, Stephanie, Margarita, Augie, Fran and Christina who were recognized in this article.

And for our proud H-town LBTQ sisters who lead on loan to other locales like Yesenia Chavez and Stacey Langley, know we love you, are still thinking about you in the 713, and look forward to the next time y'all come home.

HERO Updates, Notes and News-May 29

H-town discrimination, I'm sorry, but your time has expired.

The marathon May 28 combined 11 hour council session ended with the 11-6 vote passing the HERO and unbridled celebration of it going well into the night.

It was a great and historic day for LGBT Houston and everyone else inside Beltway 8 who value the human rights of all who call this 628 square miles of Texas territory home.

While much of Team HERO was celebrating at the Guava Lamp and other places last night while Mayor Parker was signing it into law, I took my behind home.  I called Mom, chatted with her about the events of the day, watched the local news reports, and finished the initial post concerning my first impressions of an emotional day I've been waiting to arrive for nearly 16 years of activism and 30 years of my life.

And what do you do when a long time activism goal of yours finally becomes a reality?  I cried for a minute, processed the thought that Houston is now on the list of cities that protect the human rights of everyone, profusely thanked all the councilmembers who voted for it, talked to some that didn't, and then proceeded to hug everyone in sight. 

Now let's move on to post-HERO vote business.   This is how the historic 11-6 council vote broke down last night.  :

Mayor Annise Parker- YES

A. Stardig             NO
B  Davis                YES
C  Cohen               YES
D  Boykins            NO
E   Martin             NO
F   Nguyen             YES
G   Pennington      NO
H.  Gonzales          YES
I     Gallegos          YES
J.    Laster             YES
K.   Green             YES

1.  Costello             YES
2.  Robinson            YES
3.  Kubosh               NO
4.  Bradford             YES
5.  Christie               NO

Surprise and angering NO votes to LGBT Houston were CM Christie and CM Boykins.  Both did indicate to the LGBT caucus in the 2013 cycle when they were seeking the community's endorsement they would vote YES should this ordinance pop up. 

CM Christie shouldn't have really been a surprise to throw us under the human rights bus.  He knocked more community friendly former CM Jolanda Jones out of her at large council seat in 2011 and has raised some red flags by being anti-vaccine.

CM Dwight Boykins' NO vote really disappointed and pissed me and a lot of Black LGBT Houston off, his publicly expressed exasperation with the process and Mayor Parker notwithstanding.    

As one of the council newbies (and my councilmember) the sellout Houston pastors in the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston and Vicinity focused much of their browbeating on him and it worked.  

Like you personally Dwight, but dude, you're going down in the Houston history books as having voted against a human rights ordinance that BENEFITS our entire Houston community.    

And your statement that District D is conservative?  You're kidding, right?   Um, no.  You have two universities in TSU and UH in your district, the peeps who can't afford to live in the Montrose gayborhood and folks who aren't followers of the sellout Baptist minster kneegrows that were browbeating you  

We are liberal-progressive in District D and proud of it.  And as you probably noted a Republican doesn't stand a chance of getting elected in District D unless he lies about it or keeps it on the down low. 

As for CM Kubosh, when he made his comment at the Grace KKKommunity Church Hate Rally, he became a target the day he made that problematic 'God put me on council to oppose the HERO' comment.

And yes Councilmember Kubosh, you don't think we didn't have some of our peeps and allies in the crowd at the Hate on the HERO event reporting back to us? 

As to what the Daves and the faith-based haters will do.  As I said in a previous post, if they want to commit political suicide and boost Democratic turnout in Harris County by attempting to roll the HERO back via a referendum, make mine, Battleground Texas and the Harris County Democratic Party's political day.

As to what I wrote back on May 23:.

Houston and Harris County provide 16% of the statewide votes in an election cycle.  Are the conservafools that pissed off about the HERO passing they would go there and give our liberal progressive voters another valid reason to bumrush the polls this November, especially in an election cycle in which Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte sit at the top of our statewide Democratic ticket?  

And with that juiced up Harris County turnout showing up and showing out, we'd urge those same progressive voters to handle their electoral business and cast ballots for every Democrat in down ballot race like the judicial ones.  

So please, be that politically stupid and go there.   Make my political day. 

While the HERO is law and there will be many happy celebrations of that fact at Houston Pride next month, we still have much human rights work to do in H-town. 

Passing HERO was the easy part.  We still have work to do to defend it while simultaneously implementing it   There was far too much toxic anti-trans disinformation put out there Houston trans people and our allies will have to clean up. 

The offer I made to do the Trans 101 education still stands.

LGBT Houston, we have to do a much better job of showing up and showing out for human rights fights that aren't predominately our own battles from this May 28 day forward because the H-town human rights struggle still continues.

But last night's successful HERO vote ensured that we woke up this morning to a changed Houston human rights landscape.  And I damned sure am going to do my part to fight to keep it that way. 

The Anti-HERO's Last Gasp

Those of us advocating the long overdue passing of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance have had a pretty good run of success. 

When it was revealed it covered city and private employment.  There was a HERO town hall in the gayborhood held surprisingly by one of the councilmembers penciled in initially as a leaning NO vote in Michael Kubosh.  It covered sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations, albeit clunkily and the PA language in Section 17-51 (b) sucked as far as the trans community was concerned.

The 50 employee threshold was also too high.   Those concerns are being addressed in amendments offered by Councilmembers Gonzales, Gallegos and Davis. 

We have the support of LULAC, the NAACP, the Urban League, Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia (D), State Senators John Whitmire, Sylvia Garcia and Rodney Ellis, state Reps.Garnet Coleman, Jessica Farrar, and Carol Alvarado.  We have the support of the Greater Houston Partnership and other business groups.   The Houston Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, Equality Texas, TENT and BTMI/BTWI's Houston chapters have also been in this fight    They have been outgunned 127-38 in terms of pro-HERO speakers vs. anti-HERO speakers in the two hearings so far on the proposed ordinance.

The anti-HERO's?   They have the support of long time gay baiters Dave Wilson, Dave Welch, and Dr. Steven Hotze, the quixotic President Joseph Charles, a few misguided citizens and a gaggle of anti-gay sellout Black ministers.

Correction, to be more accurate, more like anti-trans Black ministers since all they've babbled about in the HERO hearings is the easily debunked bathroom predator lie.

We in Houston have waited 30 years for this opportunity to present itself again, and this is an all hands on deck human rights project   The world is watching us this time.   Time to pass the HERO with no excuses, no more delays.  Human rights for Houstonians can't wait.  

The anti-HERO's are on the wrong side of history (again), and hopefully that will become evident this Wednesday when City Council votes to pass the HERO.   But it didn't stop the anti-HERO's from making one last desperate play to try to turn the tsunami of public opinion and wave building for passage of the HERO.  
 
They spent this Mother's Day weekend deploying robocalls and on Sunday, transphobic radio commercials in heavy rotation.  They deployed Mike Huckabee, and are planning a noon anti-HERO rally on Tuesday in which I predict will be nothing more than a public Two Minute Hate aimed at the trans community

So we counter their frenzied activity this Tuesday by redoubling our efforts to ensure we have our butts in the seats at City Hall ready to speak.  Find more progressive ministers, diverse LGBT citizens, and stories of LGBT and non-LGBT H-town discrimination 

Call the City Secretary's office to sign up to speak in favor of the ordinance.  You do so by calling 832-393-1100 or e-mailing citysecretary@houstontx.gov and stating you would like to testify before City Council on Tuesday, May 13, at 1:30 PM.

The City Secretary will ask for your name, phone number, and home address.   You don't need to be a Houston resident to speak as the hater have taken advantage of.   The topic is the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. Ask for 1 minute to speak because with the volume of speakers expected tomorrow, the normal 3 minutes will be cut down to 1  

It takes nine votes to pass ordinances on our 16 member city council, and Mayor Parker does get a vote.  However, these Houston council members have expressed uncertainty about whether they wish to support the HERO.  Give them a call to let them know how this vote affects you and countless other LGBT Houstonians (and future Houstonians):

Jerry Davis: 832-393-3009
Dave Martin: 832-393-3008
David Robinson: 832-393-3013
Michael Kubosh: 832-393-3005
C.O. 'Brad' Bradford: 832-393-3012
Jack Christie: 832-393-3017

Kubosh is especially important to reach out to because he has been getting major attention and grief from the hate ministers for daring to meet with us.   Davis and Bradford as African-Ameircans have been getting the ire of the hate minsters, too

If you're coming to 901 Bagby St (the address for Houston City Hall), get there early so you can sign in for your visitor's badge, get through security and get a seat in the 255 seat council chamber.  Wear red tomorrow in support of the HERO.  Call Council Members today through Wednesday and let them know you support passage of the HERO without the Pennington amendments designed to gut the HERO.   If we get the favorable vote we expect on Wednesday, call again later in the week to thank all of the councilmembers who supported us.

Let the anti-HERO's show their azzes as the faith based bigots and fools they try to deny they are, but have been role modeling for the last month.   We show us well dressed, low stressed, and exuding class and dignity because we have the moral and ethical high ground.   The anti-HERO's don't and they know it..  

We pro-HERO folks have made the case as to why the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is needed and necessary, while all they have offered is 'fear and smear', obfuscations and blatant easily debunkable lies  

So don't panic, people.  The arc of the moral universe is bending toward justice for us, and the anti-HERO's can't stand it.  They are in the last gasp of desperately fighting us before we walk away with a long awaited Houston human rights victory.

Handling My HERO Business

For the longest time one of my fondest wishes as a Houston based activist was that one day I would get to be part of the team that would help wipe Houston's name off the human rights list of shame and pass a trans inclusive human rights act.

Well, be careful what you wish for, because it can happen and sooner than you expect.

That moment of participating in the Houston human rights fight that I've been thinking about since 1998 is here. 

The TransGriot,  Dee Dee Watters and many of our  Houston LGBT community members, activists, clergy, friends and supporters showed up at City Hall in force for the 2 PM CDT hearing on our proposed Houston Equal Rights Ordinance that spilled over into adjacent viewing rooms.  

It was a hearing of the Quality of Life Committee chaired by Councilmember Ellen Cohen in which the only item on the menu was the HERO and it took place in a packed City Council chamber.  

After City Attorney Dave Feldman laid out the case for the HERO and city council members had the chance to comment on it pro and con, the fun began around 3:20 PM.    I knew I was going to have a long wait because by the time I got to City Hall and signed in to speak the list was up to five pages.

This is what I said in a earlier post about my assessment of what I thought the haters were going to do before I even left the house for City Hall:

I'm expecting our Pastor's Council haters to be there in full effect bearing false witness and pimping their usual lies of how this will 'stifle their free speech',  'suppress their religious freedom' and fling the bathroom meme for good measure.

Can I call it or what?   They went to City Hall in full 'fear and smear' mode.  But I did forgot one of their attack lines.  They also threw the 'sexual predator' meme out there while whining about being called haters and bigots. 


Well, Houston Pastor's Council conservafools and kneegrow auxiliaries, read my lips:  If you don't want to be called haters, oppressors and bigots the cure for it is simple.  Stop acting like haters, oppressors and bigots and we'll stop calling you out on that inconvenient for you truth.       

But what really disappointed me today (but wasn't surprising) was seeing that cluster of African-American pastors eagerly playing the role of oppressors and bearing false witness on an oppressed community as some of the women mouthed not so silent amens.  

The thing also pissing me off today was the erasure of me and LGBT African-American Houstonians as they were throwing their 'smear and fear' attacks and their selective memories concerning the history of the Civil Rights Movement.  I have two words for you faith based know nothings trying to pimp the lie we don't have any claim as African-American LGBT people to the legacy of our civil rights movement:  Bayard Rustin .  

The Civil Rights Movement history is MY history too, and how dare you try to lie and say it isn't as you tried to do in city council chambers today.  . 

And there were times I had to literally leave the chamber and vent because I was so pissed off at those crimes against history. 

Note to the Houston African-American haters.  BTLG people of African descent exist who get discrimination aimed at them from multiple intersections.   We are also just as down with fighting for the issues that impact our community as my appearance at HISD headquarters to fight the closure of schools in our neighborhoods and last summer's Trayvon Martin rally on the steps of City Hall are ample testament to.  

You can deny it all you want, but African-American LGBT people are part of the kente cloth fabric of our community, and it's past time you stopped slumming with the children and grandchildren of segregationists and recognize that.   

It was close to 6 PM before I got the chance to finally approach the podium for the third time this year and speak.   Since I only had 90 seconds, all I had time to do was call out the hate pastors and point out that trans, bi and SGL African-American exist with multiple oppressions aimed at our bodies.  

The hearing concluded after 7 PM, but this was just the warm up.  

The battle to pass the HERO is about to ratchet up another level with two more public hearings before we get to the final city council vote sometime in mid May.

TransGriot Update: Final tally of the speakers at yesterday's HERO hearing was 49 in favor and 19 against.  That means we also had more human rights minsters than hate minsters speaking..  

Koomah And Stephanie Saint Sanchez Present An Evening Of Queer Voices

Later tonight I'm headed to Diverse Works to take part in an event presented by Koomah and Stephanie Saint Sanchez entitled 'An Evening Of Queer Voices'.

It's free and running from 6-8 pm at Diverse Works, which is located in Midtown at 4102 Fannin St, Suite 200 close to the METRORail Red Line's Wheeler Station.

The entrance to Diverse Works is on Cleburne St between Fannin and Main Streets near Sears. 

I'll be part of the program to talk about my writing, blogging and read a couple of my poems.  I'm also looking forward to seeing Koomah and some of the other artists on the program do what they do.

So what's DiverseWorks?   It was founded by artists in 1982 and serves as a forum for issues and works that have no other public outlet in Houston, and plays a similar role nationally.

DiverseWorks provides first-time commissioning opportunities for emerging artists, continued support for innovative mid-career artists, and acts as a launching pad for young artists and arts organizations.

DiverseWorks supports artists and projects that inspire dialogue about contemporary culture among artists, audiences, and the greater community. DiverseWorks is a local and national source for high quality experiential and progressive works of art that compel viewers to broaden their perceptions of what art is and how art can be a critical tool for addressing social, cultural, and aesthetic concerns,

They moved to their current Midtown location in 2012, and while I've passed by it on more than a few occasions while riding up and down the Red Line, this is the first opportunity I'll have to actually see the space. 

It should be a fascinating evening that i'm looking forward to.  Hope to see some of you peeps in the community there.

Houston LGBT Radio Icon Jimmy Carper Passes Away

I posted last year about March 10 being declared by Mayor Annise Parker as Jimmy Carper Day. 

Jimmy is a radio legend and one of the beloved iconic figures in our Houston GLBT community. 
I enjoyed the time I spent sitting next to this legendary broadcaster from November 1999 to September 2001 and being able to fulfill a dream of actually being on the Houston radio airwaves.

Having a 100,000 watt FM radio platform to say what was on my mind within FCC regulations at the time was pretty cool and heady stuff, especially in the late 90's-early 2k's when not a whole lot of Black trans people here in Houston or anywhere else in the country for that matter had that history making opportunity.

Jimmy Carper on his 'After Hours' show was practicing intersectionality and inclusion during a time when it wasn't cool in some quarters of this community to do and practice that value, and for that we in Houston owe you many thanks..

When I moved from Houston , Jimmy and the gang at KPFT-FM were some of the many people I missed.  I also discovered when I was in Oakland for Creating Change 1999 just how loved and respected he was in the LGBT  radio world when I attended a Pacifica Radio panel discussion during that event.  When the panelists discovered at the conclusion of it I was from Houston and co-hosting a show with him at KPFT-FM, I wasn't allowed to leave until I assured them I would pass on their greetings and love to him when I returned home.

So it's highly ironic and sad to me that as we are gearing up to have Creating Change here in Houston, that I heard the sad news that Jimmy Carper passed away peacefully about 12:26 AM CST this morning after a long illness.  

He'd crossed my mind Thursday and I was wondering how he was doing.   Well, now I know..  The details are still to be worked out concerning a memorial service, but when I find out, I'll pass them on.  

This was the comment I posted on his Facebook page. 

Jimmy, thanks for giving me and other people in the trans community a voice at a time when we had precious few outlets to do so. The co-host time I spent at your side from November 1999 to September 2001 still ranks as some of the happiest moments of my life.

You are with the angels now, and I and everyone else whose lives you touched who tuned into 'Queer Radio With Attitude' will miss you.

According to the After Hours Facebook page, this Saturday's After Hours will be a tribute one.

***

Our show this Saturday night will be in tribute to him, three hours of stories, memories, jokes and the music that Jimmy loved so much. The doors are open at the station 419 Lovett Blvd for those who wish to share with us in person. Our phone lines will be open as well to join in the show at 713-526-KPFT (5738). We will also share emails sent to afterhours@kpft.org and any postings to our Facebook page as well. The show is Saturday night/Sunday morning Midnight Central time to 3 AM. Please join us for tribute to our friend.

Plans for a public memorial are in the works and will be announced soon. Check the After Hours Facebook or listen in for details as released. The entire crew of After Hours thank everyone for the love and support sent to Jimmy in the past weeks and we look forward to continuing serving the community for him.

***

Jimmy Carper was a beacon of hope and a lifeline to many Houston area BTLG kids and adults who tuned into 'After Hours'.  His voice and the voices of his co-hosts and guests on 90.1 FM assured his listeners that they weren't alone and gave them the courage to be out and proud about who they are.  

And with every broadcast, Jimmy Carper helped us build a better Houston TBLG community..   

Rest in power and in peace Jimmy

Mayor Annise Parker 2014 Inauguration Speech

Mayor Annise Parker did get elected to her third and final term as the head of our city, and earlier today at the Wortham Center the public inauguration ceremony for her and all the elected city council reps took place.

This was the text of her 2014 Inauguration speech.

***

I love this city!

Thank you for trusting me to continue in what I believe is the best job in America.  To serve you is my greatest honor.  I remain excited to go to work each and every day.

I congratulate our City Controller and our City Council Members. I know personally the duties they have assumed today, and I salute their service.  Each one of us worked diligently, passionately, (some over a period of years) to achieve these positions. We recognize the sacred trust we have assumed.  Whatever our differences in philosophy, in personality, in opinions, we will endeavor to reward your faith in us.

We are here today to affirm a contract with each other, one, in fact, that we on stage have formally sworn an oath to honor. Council will set policy for the city. They will gather the needs and wants, the problems and concerns of their constituents, and translate them into concrete goals.

As Mayor, I am the public face of our city. I celebrate the triumphs and articulate the pain. I calm protests and invite action.

I must have the big picture, knowing where our ship is sailing, the route we take, and the dangers we may face. I must be able to convey these to the dedicated men and women who make our city run, and to you, the Houstonians who depend upon our work, so that together we face the dangers as they come.

But the details matter as well, and here is where the nearly 21,000 women and men who are our city workforce perform the complex choreography that is a city in motion. All cities have challenges, and sometimes fail, but we wouldn’t be America’s 4th largest city unless, day in and day out, our city team gets the job done. Sometimes under great difficulties, and real danger. 

This last year we lost 4 of our own in a devastating fire that also left a 5th permanently impaired.  This was the worst loss of life in the history of the Houston Fire Department. We continue to ask you to keep these families in your prayers.

That is a sacrifice beyond measure or understanding,  but I ask you to also recognize the Solid Waste employee who cleans an illegal dumpsite by hand, the Public Works employee who repairs a plugged sewer line in the freezing rain, or the Houston Police officer who patrols our streets on Christmas Eve.

Why do people gravitate to cities? Cities have people and possibilities. A city is a place where ideas can rub against each other, and perhaps strike a spark.

People come to cities seeking;

• Education,
• Entertainment,
• Employment.
• Emancipation,
• Companionship

For all the reasons someone may have come here, I believe that there are shared values that make us Houstonians, wherever we were born, whatever our native language, however we came to be here.  

My family taught me to accept responsibility.  To live with integrity.  To work hard.  To finish a job begun. To contribute time, talent and treasure to my community.

Those are the same values on which Houston was founded, and the values that continue to shape our future. But those values are wrapped in optimism that this is a city in which anything is achievable, shaped by men and women from every corner of the world who come believing  it is possible for anyone to succeed here, and imbedded in the shared truth that all are welcome in this most diverse of cities.

But diversity by itself is chaos. Diversity where ideas meet and those seeds germinate can be a garden of plenty.  To ensure the full participation of every Houstonian in the business and civic life of this great city, It is time to pass a comprehensive nondiscrimination ordinance that adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the protections most Houstonians take for granted.

Houston is a city in motion, an international city of energy and dreams, but dreams fueled by hard work and grounded in common sense.  A city where grand ideas take hold if they relate to the basic competencies of the city. We like to do big things… together.  We can always figure out a way to get it done. From creating America’s largest exporting port where once was only a muddy stream to putting a human being on the moon  to opening our arms to embrace the Katrina evacuees, it has always been about doing big things.  We can tackle any issue in this practical Houston fashion.

To protect the vast economic engine that sustains us, It is time for all of us in this region to come together and take concrete steps to create storm protections for our coastal communities, whether the Centennial Gate or the Ike Dike.

Houston is a city that works, blessed with a booming economy. Of the 100 largest world economies, the Houston metro area is #32.  We have a higher GDP that the state of Georgia. But not everyone benefits from that blessing of that strong economy,  Two years ago I announced that we would tackle homelessness in ways never done before.  Our success has been such that I say today that it is time for us to eliminate chronic homelessness within the next two years.

Houston is a city that invests in itself, so that business can flourish and families can build their lives.  We will continue to rebuild Houston.  It is time that you see real progress in the street and drainage system improvements.

Each time I have stood before you, I asked for your prayers.  I asked for your patience.  And I asked for your perseverance.  I ask this again, for all of us who serve you as your city workforce.

We rise or fall together.  We succeed or fail together.

The ordinary becomes extraordinary when you add something extra.

A great city imagines its own bright future—and sets about to make that happen.

Please join me as I continue to imagine all the possibilities of our great city.

Thank you.

Mike Laster Makes Houston Rainbow History

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.