A Chance To Make Houston Women's History

I got back to Houston as early voting cranked up again after the holiday break for our December 14 midterm election.

You can early vote at any location from 7 AM-7 PM from today until December 10.   On Sunday December 8 you can do so from  1-6 PM.  Final day to handle your early voting business is on December 10. 

My TransGriot endorsements for the Houston runoff election are here.

While I was in Da Ville, I noted that we have a chance to do in this runoff election something as historic as the #BlackGirlMagic Judges.

We have the chance to elect an unprecedented in Houston history six Black women to The Horseshoe as part of a first ever female majority City Council.

CM Martha Castex Tatum's spot is already assured on the new council.  She was reelected to represent District K back on November 5. 

In District B, a Black woman is assured to be the next council rep for that area.   The runoff elections will feature Tarsha Jackson,  who received 20% of the vote to lead a crowded fourteen person field to succeed term limited CM Jerry Davis, in either Cynthia Bailey or Renee Jefferson Smith.

That seat will be determined in a special election once the court drama between Bailey and Jefferson-Smith is resolved over whether Bailey is eligible as an ex offender with a felony conviction to hold public office in Texas.

Several of the city council runoffs  have a Black woman running in them

In District D, former HCC board of trustees chair Carolyn Evans Shabazz is running against Brad 'Scarface' Jordan from the Geto Boys rap group.. 

In District F, which is my council district, former Alief ISD board member Tiffany Thomas is running against Van Huynh, the former chief of staff for outgoing councilmember Steve Le who decided not to run for reelection.

In the runoff election for the At Large 3 seat, Janaeya Carmouche is taking on anti-HERO incumbent councilmember Michael Kubosh

In the at Large 4 race to succeed CM Amanda Edwards, who surprisingly decided not to seek reelection and jump into the US Senate race, Dr. Letitia Plummer is taking on white supremacist Anthony Dolcefino.

Add to it the one in District A in which Amy Peck is trying to succeed term limited CM Brenda Stardig. and in the At Large 5 race between Sallie Alcorn and Eric Dick.

The one in the diverse Gulfton area District J between Sandra Rodriguez and anti-HERO transphobe Edward Pollard to succeed term limited CM Mike Laster also has the potential to make history.

If Rodriguez is successful in her District J race, it would be the first time we have had two Latinas serving on Houston city council together.  It would also mean that with CM Robert Gallegos being reelected in District I, three Latinx councilmembers would be sitting in the Horseshoe for the first time. 

The hotly contentious battle in District C between Abbie Kaman and Shelley Kennedy guarantees a woman will emerge as the rep for that seat that stretches from Meyerland to Montrose . 

The equally as contentious one in District H between Isabel Longoria and incumbent CM Karla Cisneros guarantees a Latina will sit on the new council representing that predominately Latinx district.

If all these women win their races on December 14, it means that Houston would have a historic eleven women on city council   A diverse group of women councilmembers that would comprise two Latinas, three White women, and six Black women.

But if you want that to happen, you must vote for it starting today and on December 14 to become a reality. 

One Week To San Antonio Municipal Election Early Voting

We're one week away from the start of early voting for San Antonio's municipal election and the possibility of trans history being made.

No out Texas trans person has ever been elected to public office.  While trans masculine and trans feminine people have won Democratic Party primaries, we still are waiting to break through that concrete ceiling and see a trans person win elective office in the Lone Star State. 

Frankie Gonzales Wolfe is running for the District 8 city council seat in northwest San Antonio against an unpopular incumbent.   The significance of this seat is that it not only sits in one of the most diverse areas of San Antonio, it has produced its share of people who have gone to enhanced leadership roles in Texas and the city of San Antonio.

Current mayor Ron Nirenberg once represented the district.   Now Gonzales-Wolfe seeks to do so as her campaign continues to build momentum toward the May 4 election day .

She has my TransGriot endorsement, and hope that you can contribute to her historic campaign.

For those of you in the Alamo City, early voting for the civic elections starts on April 22 and runs until April 30.  May 4 is election day.   Make sure you're registered so you can participate in making your voice heard at the ballot box.

Is The Long Predicted Texas Blue Wave Finally Happening?

Looks like we have the Texas Republican party's attention after years of running roughshod over the Texans who don't look like them or share their politics.

Early voting for the March 6 Texas primary election ends this Friday, and in the 15 largest Texas counties by population (including my home county of Harris County), Democratic Party primary turnout is outpacing Republican turnout.

In Harris County, in the first three days of early voting we passed the total number of Democrats who voted during the entire 2014 early voting period. 

Meanwhile the Republican primary early voting number are just barely over the 2014 pace.

Gov Abbott sent the warning in a fundraising e-mail on Monday.   The Texas Republican Party is 'scurred' right now and they need to be   Texans, and especially non-white Texans and Texans who are part of marginalized groups are tired of having their human rights messed with.   The 2017 regular and Special Oppression Sessions are a major reason why we have  had a record number of Texas TBLGQ people step up to run for office .

The reason the Texas GOP is so concerned about this is it's not just about their own political hides.  Texas is the linchpin for their control of national politics in Washington. 

The gerrymandering of Texas congressional districts adds an estimated 4 seats to their national US House majority.  Texas' 38 electoral votes are the basis of all Republican electoral vote calculations when they run for POTUS.

A purple or blue Texas makes it much harder for them to elect a Republican to the White House

Texas Republicans are also keenly aware of the fact that since 2009, non white Texans outnumber white Texans population wise, which is why they passed voter ID  voter suppression laws that targeted the Black and Latinx community along with young voters .

While we can be happy about these developments, we still have a lot of work to do.  We're still a long way from November 6.   To start turning Texas back to blue, we must on the liberal progressive side be on our A+ political game and keep grinding to #FireTheTexasGOP. . 

Is the long predicted Texas blue wave finally happening?   I sure hope so.

It's Early Voting Election Day In Texas

Today is the start of early voting in Texas and the day we begin the process of turning this state blue.

The early voting period runs from today until March 2, and you can go do so at the various designated early voting locations in your various counties until that date. 

If you're wanting to do your homework to help you cast an informed vote, various political organization, unions, your local newspapers and the League of Women Voters in your locales have voter information guides tailored for your area and region.

In case you're wondering, TransGriot also does endorsements, and these are the candidates that received the TransGrot clenched fist salute.

You had to be registered by February 5 to be able to participate in the 2018 party primary of your choice.  While it's too late for you to register to participate in the primary, it's still not too late for you to register for the general election.

Bring that yellow voter registration card and approved ID to your fave early voting location to handle your business between now and March 2.

Once you choose which party primary you will participate in, you are locked into that choice for the rest of the year/   So if you're thinking about as a Democrat of meddling in the Republican primary and vice versa. don't do it.   It will not only prevent you from participating in your party primary runoff elections and in your party's state conventions later in the year, it can also not give you the result you're expecting..

After the early voting period closes, you'll have to go handle your election business on March 6 and at your designated precinct location.

So if you want a better city, county, Texas, and nation, the road to that better government starts today at polling places across Texas.   It also starts with us.

So go handle your 2018 election business.

 .

T- 24 Hours Until Texas Early Voting Starts

Texas yellow 2018-19 voter registration card -CHECK.   Texas drivers license -CHECK.   

Texas primary election early voting starts tomorrow, and as you can tell I am oh so ready to do my part to select the best Democratic candidates available to take the Lone Star State and my country back from the Trumpers hellbent on ruining both. 

Early voting will run from February 20 until March 2.   During this period you can vote at any early voting center location of your choice.   On March 6, the primary election day you must do so on that date at your regular precinct location.

If you need information about where to vote, times the early voting polling places are open, check your county clerk's websites (this is the Harris County one as an example) or the VoteTexas.gov website. 

So make it easy on yourself and handle your voting business during the early voting period at a time and place of your choosing.   And if you aren't sure who to vote for,  these are the folks that TransGriot has endorsed for the primary. 

This is also the sample ballot for you to peruse.

Many political groups from the Houston GLBT caucus to HBAD to the Tejano Democrats and unions have also put out their own endorsement lists, and the Houston Chronicle and other major newspapers across the state have done endorsement sement candidate interviews

If you are unhappy about the current misguided direction this country and the state of Texas is headed in, here's where you start doing your civic duty to change that.   Consider this as a practice run before the main event on November 6

And if you missed the registration deadline to participate in the primary, you still have time to get registered for the critical to our democracy midterm election this NOvember.

So handle your electoral business.

Last Day To Register To Vote For Texas Primary Elections

If you wish to vote in the upcoming Texas primary elections either during the early voting period that runs from February 20-March 2 or on March 6,  better bust a move because today is the last day to register to vote

And yes, you will need the new yellow voter registration card in order to do so.

You'll need to head to your county courthouse or get that voter registration card in the mail and postmarked today in order to be eligible to vote in the primary.

If you need to check to see if your voter registration is valid, you can check the Vote Texas website

But you must handle your election business today in order to be eligible to vote for the primary, otherwise you'll have to wait until the general election November 6 to make your voice heard.

Record Breaking Early Vote First Day In Harris County

If you early voted in Harris County today like I did, you were part of making some electoral history

We had 67, 471 people early vote across the county at the 40 early voting locations.  That's the highest number we've ever had participate in early voting, with the previous record set in 2012 with 47,000 voters on the first day

I'm also hearing the same thing is happening in Travis (Austin), Bexar (San Antonio), El Paso and Dallas counties.  Haven't heard yet if the same thing is happening in Tarrant County (Fort Worth)

The significance of that is that Harris County, the largest county in the state of Texas by population, provides 16% of the total in any statewide race.  

FYI, the rest of the top five in order are Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar and Travis counties

If those early voters are predominately Democratic ones as my glance across my social media circles seems to be indicating, it's a great early sign for the Clinton campaign and Democrats across the state in down ballot races.

I hope the Clinton campaign will consider doing a quick campaign trip here to Houston, Dallas, Austin  and San Antonio to really fire up the Democratic voters here and cement the fact this is a battleground state that has the power to finish off Trump's presidential campaign.

Click the map to create your own at 270toWin.com

Texas' 38 electoral votes make it the second largest electoral vote prize in this and any presidential election cycle after California and its massive 55 electoral votes.

Since 1980, Texas has acted like California does in terms of being the electoral vote base for Republican presidential election success.   If Texas goes blue his year, without Texas in the Trump column to counteract California's 55 EV's going to Clinton, it would make it mathematically impossible for Trump to win the presidency, and Clinton would pass the magic 270 EV's she needs to become our 45th president before we even start adding other battleground states into the mix.

While this is good news so far, it only becomes a reality if you vote.  If you haven't voted yet, please do so.  When you do, vote the entire ballot from the top of the ticket to dog catcher

Early voting in Texas will run until November 4.

Time To Early Vote Texas!

In a few hours across the Lone Star State early voting kicks off and runs until November 4.

After three contentious presidential debates and debates in other down ballot races, it's time to handle our civic duty in an election that has Texas for the first time since 1976 up for grabs as a presidential battleground state.  

It's also the first one in a while that the odious Texas voter suppression law isn't in effect

You do not need a Texas ID to vote.  You do need to be registered and have the blue Texas voter registration card when you go to the polls.

And yeah Dan Patrick, I'm unapologetically Black, trans, I vote, and I'm looking to fire everyone with an (R.) behind their name on the ballot in 2016 and beyond.

Can't wait to fire yours and Ken Paxton's trans oppressive behinds from office in 2018.

I've pretty much made up my mind a long time ago who I support in this election, so I'm not waiting until November 8   If you haven't made up your mind ,for you in Harris County, here's the list of candidates the Houston GLBT Caucus endorsed.    

The Houston Chronicle and other papers across the state will probably be posting their candidate endorsements tomorrow as well.

I also want to urge you and cannot stress enough the importance of voting the ENTIRE ballot from POTUS to dog catcher because #DownBallotRacesMatter.  

It is critical to the advancement and defense of our human rights to have candidates who are cognizant of our TBLGQ community issues in our federal and state courthouses, on city council, in the county commissioners courthouse, in the state legislature, on the school board, and at every level of government.

They want and need your votes as well

Here are the early voting times in Harris County.   Check your county clerk website for the times in your Texas neck of the woods.

Here are the early voting times in Harris County, (the city of Houston's county for you non Texans)

Early voting will be in various locations across the county, and have different times for different periods of it.   From October 24-28, the early voting polling centers will be open from 8 AM-6 PM.

On Souls To The Polls Weekend, the early voting locations on Saturday October 29 will be open from 7 AM-7 PM, and on Sunday, October 30 from 1-6 PM

From October 31-November 4, the polls will be open from 7 AM-7 PM.

Once again, please handle your electoral business.  The stakes are too high for you to stay at home and pout because you didn't get the perfect candidate.

Texas Early Voting Starts October 24

Since the last presidential debate between Democratic nominee Sec. Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump will be talking place later tonight, it's a nice time to remind all you TransGriot Texas readers that early voting is starting on October 24 in the Lone Star State.

With polls showing that the race is within the margin of error, we have a chance to make happen something that hasn't occurred since I was 14 in seeing Texas go blue.

The last time that happened was in 1976 when Jimmy Carter took the Lone Star State, and now we have a historic opportunity to flip it to blue.

But for that to happen, you must go to the polls and vote.   And don't just start and stop with the presidential race either.  There are other races and positions on the ballot that need your undivided attention, and you need to vote from POTUS to dog catcher

Also as a reminder, thanks to the Veasey v. Abbott case, the Texas Voter Suppression law is DEAD because it was declared unconstitutional.  

The Texas GOP still tried to play that voter suppression game, and got called on it by Nelva Gonzales Ramos, the federal judge overseeing the case ruled they were willfully defying her order.

Harris County clerk Stan Stanart (R) is also being investigated by the court as well.   Time to replace him anyway on November 8 with someone who will fairly administer the election system in our county.

In case you're wondering, Judge Ramos is an Obama appointee.  Presidential elections matter, especially when it comes to the federal judiciary.

You do not need a photo ID to vote if you don't have one. You will need to be registered and have your blue voter registration card, and sign a statement swearing you are the person appearing to vote before you will be allowed to..

I'm looking forward to doing my civic duty and gleefully saying, "You're fired" to every Republican on my ballot, and can't wait until 2018 to do the same to Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton and Greg Abbott.

Back to focusing on the task at hand in this 2016 election.  

In Harris County, (the city of Houston's county for you non Texans) early voting will be in various locations, and have different times for different periods.   From October 24-28, the early voting polling centers will be open from 8 AM-6 PM.

On Souls To The Polls Weekend, on Saturday the early voting locations will be open from 7 AM-7 PM on Saturday, October 29, and on Sunday, October 30 from 1-6 PM

From October 31-November 4, the polls will be open from 7 AM-7 PM.

Check your local county clerk website for the times and early voting polling locations for your part of the Lone Star State.   You can also check the Texas Secretary of State website for more information about our upcoming election.

Last Day Of Texas Early Voting

Today is the last day of early voting for our primary election in Texas, and if you haven't done so yet, you have from 7 AM to 7 PM today at various locations around the state to do so.  

If you are in line waiting to cast your ballots, stay in line until you get to do so.

After 7 PM, you'll have to wait until Tuesday, March 1 to handle your electoral business, and you'll need to do so at your friendly neighborhood precinct.

If you aren't registered to vote for the primary, you still have time (October) to do so and get your blue Texas voter registration card before the general election on November 8.

The TransGriot 2016 Democratic POTUS Nominee Endorsement Is...

Early voting for the March 1 Texas Primary election starts in a few hours and runs through February 26, and since that's about to take place, think it's a good time to reveal who I support for the Democratic nominee.  That March 1 Texas primary is part of Super Tuesday, in which twelve states will have their primary elections or caucuses.

I was sitting on the fence basically waiting to see which of the surviving candidates in Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders would do what they needed to do to get my support.

I've also looked at both their records, and electability in the fall campaign against the Republican nominee in this crucial election is also important to me as well.

The person who will be getting my endorsement for the Democratic nomination for president is Hillary Clinton.

With this election being a critical one, especially in light of the death of Antonin Scalia highlighting one of my major issue concerns in the composition of the SCOTUS,  we need to have a Democratic nominee who can beat all Republifool comers in the fall election.   Frankly that isn't Bernie Sanders, despite what his overwhelmingly young white supporters think.

He has yet to prove to me he can gain the support of non-white voters, much less has yet to lead in ANY national tracking poll of the 2016 Democratic presidential race.

In addition, where's the beef on his policy proposals?   I also haven't heard much besides his one note railing about 'The Establishment' and Wall Street bankers and 'Hillary is a liar' rhetoric from Sanders supporters.

That doesn't tell me what his plans are to tackle the United States' pressing problems in 2016 and beyond

Note to Sanders supporters before you even attempt to come for me, Bill Clinton isn't running for president. his wife is.  Stop blaming her for the policies that came out of her husband's administration you don't like that Sanders also voted for like the 1994 Crime Bill and against the assault weapons ban in the Brady Bill.

I have not liked the sexist attacks that Bernie Sanders supporters have aimed at Hillary Clinton that basically drove me toward making this announcement.

I'm also concerned about the fact Sanders isn't a Democrat, has disparaged the party in the past and I question just how loyal and committed he would be in getting down ballot Democrats elected nationally and in the various states holding election contests in 2016.

I watched along with the nation as Clinton underwent 11 hours of having the GOP throw the kitchen sink at her in their fake Benghazi hearing and she came through it like a champ.

That's why if she is our nominee I have far more confidence that she will be taking the oath of office on January 20, 2017 than a Bernie Sanders that has never endured 30 years of relentless attacks by the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy that foaming at the mouth hates her like she has.

The bottom line is Hillary Clinton as the former Secretary of State, a US senator, a longtime member of this party and as First Lady is more than qualified to lead and make history as our nation's first female president.

And that's why I'm endorsing her and urging my readers to vote for her in your Democratic primaries for president.

The Fight To Keep HERO-October 19

Early voting starts today, and over the weekend there was a rally and canvassing done to ensure our fellow Houstonians are well versed on what's at stake in this critical battle to keep the HERO as part of Houston City Code of Ordinances.

There was a canvass and rally on Saturday hosted by Resurrection MCC in the Heights, and one of the speaker was attorney Dan Scarbrough.   You may recall that he and two friends were denied entrance into the Gaslamp hate club in Midtown.

Early voting starts today and runs through October 30, so handle your electoral business. For those of you planning to get your vote on today, here's the link to find an early voting location near you.

The Texas Voter Suppression law is still in effect for now), so you will need the orange voter registration card and the conservatively approved photo ID before the clerk let you handle your electoral business.

In other HERO various organizations are still coming out in favor of Prop 1. The Texas AARP has become the latest group to urge the passage of Prop 1.

"For older workers, grandparents, unpaid family caregivers, and others age 50 and older who bring vitality to Houston, there's good reason to afford them and others the protections offered by Proposition 1 (HERO)."
- Bob Jackson, Texas Director of AARP

The Houston Association of Realtors, who supports the passage of Prop 1  also published this recent statement debunking the bathroom predator myth  

"The ordinance originally included language that specifically mentioned the use of restrooms. That section of the ordinance was removed in May 2014 and is not included in the language on which you will be voting. The ordinance does include protection from discrimination in areas of “public accommodation,” which is defined as any business that offers a product or service for sale from a physical location. There is already a long-standing law in the City of Houston that makes it illegal for someone to enter a restroom designated for the opposite gender with the intent to cause a disturbance, cause harm or harass anyone. This ordinance does not change that; it will still be illegal for a man to go in a women’s restroom."

The law the HAR referenced in their bigot busting statement is Section 28-20.  And it was yours truly and other trans leaders who called for the removal of that bathroom language because it was problematic.

The  Houston Chronicle has published another editorial calling for our fellow Houstonians to judge HERO on the merits and not the debunked lies of the opposition.

And yes, even though early voting has started, the big day is still November 3 when the votes get counted, so we still have to endure a bunch of commercials in this hotly contested campaign to keep HERO and in the mayor's race that is heating up.

And I'm going to close this post out with the final paragraph of the Chronicle's editorial.

Houston is a big city, a big-hearted city.  To allow small-minded arguments, fraudulent claims and cynical tactics to prevail om Election day would be a repudiation of core values that are intrinsically Houston. 

This great city is bigger than that.

Vote YES on Prop 1

Last Day To Early Vote in TX

Today is the last day to early vote in Texas, and it's apropos that it is falling on Halloween in this cycle.

Because I am definitely in fear of not having Wendy Davis as my governor or Leticia Van de Putte as my lieutenant governor.  If enough rational thinking people do so, they can win.

But it's not just the marquee peeps at the top of the ticket.  We have quality peeps running for other offices from judicial seats to the state board of education, and we need folks who will do the right thing and not the right wing thang in them

So don't just stop at the governor's and lieutenant governor's races.   Vote in the judicial races, too because they matter as well. 

You have until 7 PM today to handle your electoral business, otherwise you'll have to do so on Tuesday at your regular precinct..

Go Vote!

I'm going to be haunting you until November 4 to take your soul to the polls for this critical midterm election.

In Texas, early voting ends on Halloween. Treat yourself to quality political representation, not political tricks that don't care about working class people.

Why not make it easy on yourself and choose from early voting centers spread all over the county and do your civic duty?  Once the early voting period ends on Friday evening, you'll have to go to your regular precinct on Tuesday.

So handle your electoral business and take a few ghouls and goblins, er your friends with you.

Because truth is, the prospect of Dan Patrick and other Teapublicans getting legislative power scares the crap out of me.  And how many times do you have to see it before you get the point that you will NEVER get liberal-progressive polices from a conservative legislator who hates the government?

We can do better.   We must do better.  The GOP has had 20 years to run this state and they have 
proven to be incapable of governing it.

Handle your electoral business.  Go vote!