One Vote Matters In Decisive VA House Race

Christmas came early for the Virginia Democratic Party.  In addition to sweeping the executive office positions. a decisive House of Delegates race was decided that ended the Republicans 17 year hold on the chamber.   They erased a 66-34 deficit and picked up 16 seats to do so

But the Democrats did sp by the slimmest of margins:  ONE vote.

Shelley Simonds (D) after a recount won a extremely tight race for the District 94 seat held by Republican incumbent Ralph Yancey in Newport News, VA. 

She was trailing by a razor thin 10 votes going into the recount, but made up the ten vote deficit to win the seat 11,608 to 11,607. 

If that result is upheld by a three judge panel today, then the Virginia House of Delegate will have a 50-50 split with a power sharing arrangement. 

The speaker of the House would rotate between both parties, with a Democratic speaker in control one day and a Republican speak the next.   Committees would have an even number of members from both parties and be co chaired bu a Democrat and a Republican.

So to that person in Newport News' District 94 who took the time to vote, your one vote mattered in a historic way, 

And let that in this upcoming election 2018 election cycle be a lesson to voters in Virginia and everywhere in the country.  Never let anyone tell you your one vote doesn't matter  .

Your one vote may be the decisive one.

Dylan and Finn Make Their Texas Lege Races Official

Today is the last day you can file to run for office for the upcoming Texas primary elections in March 2018.  Over the weekend people were either signing their paperwork to run for office or starting to hold events to get their name out there in advance of the primaries

In the wake of many Texas trans people (myself included) being majorly pissed off about the Republican legislative attack on us that we stopped in the 2017 regular and Special Oppression Session, it has motivated many of us to either seriously think about running for office or actually do so.

Finn Jones and Dylan Forbis are two of the Texas trans people who are running for the Texas Legislature in the 2018 cycle.   Dylan and Finn have made it official in signing their paperwork and paying the filing fees in order to officially run for office.

As a reminder ,Jones is running in HD 94 in north Texas against incumber Republican Tony.Tinderholt, and on this end of I-45 Forbis is running in HD 29 against Republican incumbent Ed Thompson.

Forbis has a contested Democratic HB 29 primary to navigate before he can take on Thompson and as of yet haven't found out if Jones has the same situation

But the most important thing is that both men are running for office, and with support from the voter of those respective districts, they will win and #TransformPolitics in Texas. 

Lupe Valdez Is Running For Texas Governor!

We finally have a major Texas Democratic Party player running for governor in 2018!  That person is former Dallas County sheriff Lupe Valdez.

She's the former sheriff because she resigned a position that she's held since 2004 to run for the governor's chair.   She'll continue to serve as the Dallas County sheriff until the Dallas County Commissioners meet to select her replacement on December 19.

It's a crowded field on the Democratic side to see who will take on the incumbent governor  Greg Abbott.    She also a trailblazer as the first openly gay Latina sheriff in the United States.

Will be interesting to see how this campaign shakes out.

I'm also looking forward to voting for her when the primary election happens in March.

An Anti-Roy Moore Ad From A Surprising Source

On December 12 the voters of Alabama will head to the polls to choose their next senator.

They have a choice between Democrat Doug Jones, who prosecuted the Klansmen that bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church back in 1963, or moral degenerate Ry Moore, who seems to think that the only suitable girl to date is under age 18 along with other reprehensible back to the 18th century policy positions .

An ad recently started appearing in the state entitled 'Good Christians' which sounds like every other conservabuzzword filled Republican ad you've ever heard, buy comes from a surprising source: 

The Log Cabin Republicans. 

While I've never been a fan of this group and have more than a few archived posts relentlessly mocking them and calling them out on their sellout behavior, have got to give them their props for this ad. 

Seems like they just as horrified as the rest of reality based America about Roy Moore becoming a US senator, and decided to do something about it. 

Check out this broken clock moment ad from the Log Cabin Republicans

   

Australia Votes YES For Marriage Equality

Congrats to our Australian TBLGQ!  After a two month mail ballot campaign that got nasty at times, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that 61% of the population voted YES in favor of marriage equality, with 38% against.

More than 12.7 million people, or 79.5% of the Australian voting age population took part in the marriage survey that opened on September 12 and ran until November 7.   .Every Australian state and territory voted in favor of marriage equality

The vote clears the way for the next stage of the fight to take place in the Australian Parliament,

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants it to become law by Christmas, but the conservatives gearing  up for a last ditch battle to keep the will of the people concerning Marriage equality from being enacted into law.

Stay turned, because this is about to get very interesting Down Under.

The Long Road To An Out Trans State Rep

Ever since perennial Boston area candidate Althea Garrison ironically accomplished during the 1992 'Year of The Woman' getting elected to her single term as a Massachusetts state legislator and was outed two days later, it has seem as though getting back to having a trans person in a state legislature was the political equivalent of Charlie Brown kicking a football that Lucy was holding for him.

Every time we'd get close to kicking that ball, Lucy would snatch it away at the last second.

So it's why you heard the collective exhale of the entire trans community once the electrifying news of Danica Roem's historic victory began to surface..

But like all achievements, it was built on the shoulders of others who had gone before her, tried mightily to accomplish the task but failed. 

In 2004 the first serious attempt to break that political glass ceiling happened when Amanda Simpson handily won the Arizona Democratic primary with 57% of the vote to make it to the general election, but was defeated in the general election for the Arizona House District 26 seat.

Amanda Simpson would make history a few years later by getting a presidential appointment and serving with distinction in the Obama Administration in the Commerce Department and as the Assistant Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Getting shadily chopped from the ENDA bill in 2007 and attempts to pass trans rights laws at the local and state legislative level heightened our community urgency to have more trans legislators.

But it wouldn't be until 2010 that two trans people in a red state and a blue state accepted the challenge of running for their state legislatures. 

In Oklahoma Brittany Novotny stepped up to run in for the Oklahoma state legislature.  The attorney was taking on a Herculean level political task in running for the Oklahoma City area House District 84 against the notorious homobigot and transphobic incumbent Rep. Sally Kern (R).

Novotny was unopposed in the Democratic primary for HD 84, but despite her best efforts, fell in the general election to Kern.

Meanwhile in Maryland, Dr. Dana Beyer in that 2010 cycle attempted to run for the House District 18 seat against incumbent Jeff Waldstreicher, but was defeated in the crowded Democratic primary.

In 2012 came the first attempt from a Republican trans person to win a legislative seat.

Lauren Scott has made three attempts to win the District 30 seat in the Nevada State Assembly .Scott attempted her first run, got 21% of the vote in a three way race, but was defeated in the primary by Ken Lightfoot.

Then came the surprising news that Stacie Laughton had been elected to the New Hampshire Legislature in a Nashua area district.

But unfortunately mounting personal and legal troubles kept her from actually sitting in the legislative seat she'd won, and she resigned before having an opportunity to be sworn in for it.

In 2014 came another attempt of an Oklahoma based trans woman to run for and win a Oklahoma House seat.   It was another Oklahoma City area seat, but time in the more blue House District 88. It was also retired OKC police officer Paula Sophia who was going to make that run to history.

The seat was being vacated by Rep Al McAffrey, who was attempting to run for Congress and there were including Sophia four candidates in that race.   Since the Oklahoma Republicans didn't even bother to run a candidate for that seat, the person who emerged from the June 24 runoff would win and basically become the next District 88 rep.

Jason Dunnington and Sophia emerged from that in first and second place race to qualify for an August runoff election since Dunnington only received 40% of the vote to Sophia's 23.5% of it.


In the runoff, Sophia missed becoming the first transperson elected to the Oklahoma Legislature by an agonizing 22 votes.  She's flipped the June election script and was leading for most of the night until the last precinct came in with just enough votes for Dunnington to make him the district's next representative.

Dr. Dana Beyer decided to make another attempt in 2014 at running for office, and this time decided to try for the Maryland Senate.   She challenged sitting incumbent Maryland state Senator Rich Madaleno (D) for his Senate District 18 seat. 

Even though she received 41% of the vote in that district, she still lost that primary race to him.

Sen. Madaleno has resigned the seat to run for Maryland governor, and Beyer is attempting another run at it in the 2018 election cycle. 

Lauren Scott made her second run for the Nevada State Assembly as a Republican, and this time she successfully got out of the Republican primary.  She won the District 30 primary with 58% of the vote over Adam Khan.   But despite running in a year in which the Republicans seized control of the Nevada House, she still lost in the general election to incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Michael Sprinkle 53.9% - 46.1%

In 2016, Kim Coco Iwamoto, who had already made history by becoming the first out transperson to be elected to statewide office as a result of her 2006 election to the Hawaii State Board of Education, decided to run for the Hawaii Senate District 13 seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland. 

Iwamoto got 31% of the vote in that Senate District 13 Democratic Primary, but lost to the eventual winner Karl Rhoads.   She currently sits on the Hawaii Human Rights Commission, and has recently announced she will be running to become Hawaii's next lieutenant governor in the 2018 cycle.

In that 2016 cycle Lauren Scott  got a rematch against incumbent Assemblyman Michael Sprinkle when both ran unopposed in their respective party primaries. 

The result of the rematch was worse for Scott, who was blown out by Sprinkle 58%-42%

This is the trans electoral history for our electoral legislative run that preceded last night's triumphant blowout win by Danica Roem.

Here's hoping that Del-Elect Roem will be joined by countless other trans people in their state's legislative chambers because frankly, in a time when Trump and the Republicans are trying to push anti trans legislation and policies, we need them there.

Danica Roem Makes History!

Ever since Althea Garrison won a seat in the Massachusetts House in 1992, was outed two days after her win and served one term, out trans women in several states over multiple election cycles have tried to get elected to their respective state legislatures.

Tonight Danica Roem cracked that legislative glass ceiling for the trans community, and did so in an impressive and huge way, beating him by 10 points 55% - 45%

It's a win that is resounding across the commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and in the American transgender community.  Roem not only took down 26 year incumbent delegate Bob Marshall (R) in their VA 13 race, the win is even sweeter because 'Bigot Bob' Marshall is one of the TBLGQ community's longtime legislative haters.

Roem also outraised Marshall 3-1, receiving $500,000 in donations.  She also had a TransUnited Fund fuelled ground game that knocked on 75,000 doors and provided critical support during this historic and now successful run to a legislative seat.   

Marshall lived up to that nickname by not only refusing to debate Roem, but repeatedly misgendered her throughout the campaign.   Looks like Danica had the last laugh and Bigot Bob just discovered the hard way that rampant transphobia is not a pathway to electoral victory

Congratulations to Del-Elect Roem, who will possibly be taking her seat as part of a Democratic majority in the Virginia House of Delegates. 

She also with the breakthrough win has become the first out trans person to be elected and in January seated to a major state legislature.

Kim Coco Iwamoto Running For Hawaii Lieutenant Governor In 2018!

I have more than a few posts in the TransGriot archives about this trailblazing trans woman that I finally had the pleasure to meet during #CC15 in Denver.

She has been a two time elected member of the Hawaii Board of Education, ran for the Hawaii state senate last year, and is currently a member of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission.

Now Kim Coco Iwamoto has officially announced that she will be running to be Hawaii's next lieutenant governor in the 2018 election cycle..

It's a crowded field with five other Democratic candidates in the lieutenant governor's race, but here's hoping that Iwamoto can break out of it and make more electoral history.

On The Verge Of Making Trans Electoral History!

Tomorrow is Election Day in many locales across the country.   One of the things I have been keeping my eye on is the group of transgender political candidates who I hope will be making breakthrough political history tomorrow night.


First up are the twin historic campaigns of Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham in Minneapolis for two city council seats.

If they win, they would hake history on several fronts.   In Cunningham's case, he would become the first trans masculine candidate elected to any office, and the first Black trans masculine candidate ever elected, and he's in a tight race for the Ward 4 seat. 

Jenkins would become the first out Black trans feminine candidate elected to public office and the first Black trans feminine person elected to public office since Althea Garrison in 1992.

Both Cunningham and Jenkins should they get elected would become the first trans candidates elected to a large metropolitan city council.

In New York State, Chrissie Browde's New Castle, NY town council race in Hillary Clinton's hood is being watched as it hits the homestretch.   Browde made history as the first New York State trans person to have the backing of the state's Democratic Party, and wants to build on it by getting elected to the town council as the second out trans elected official in New York state after Melissa Sklarz broke that electoral ceiling in 1999.

The race getting the most coverage so far of Danica Roem's Virginia House of Delegates race in which she is taking on a longtime enemy of the TBLGQ community in incumbent Del. Bob Marshall.

Bigot Bob is definitely earning his nickname in this race while Roem is fighting to take that seat away from him by focusing on the issues pertinent to the district and calling him out on his transphobia from time to time.

If you're in that Northern VA district, please handle your electoral business tomorrow.

These four candidates are all hard at work trying to get any last minute undecided voters in their columns, if you live in their locales, I hope you will vote for them

We'll know tomorrow night whether these four trans candidates were successful in this election cycle

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.

Get Your Early Vote On Texas!

We have a year until the 2018 elections happen in Texas, so get you practice in for that critical election cycle by getting your early vote on for November 7. 

Early voting in Texas started on October 23 and is running until November 3.  So if all that chatter in the wake of the appalling 2016 election about resistance  wasn't you sellin' woof tickets, prove it by getting up off the couch and heading to your fave early voting location to handle your democracy business.

There are seven proposed Texas constitutional amendments on the ballot awaiting your YES or NO vote.  In Houston we not only have five propositions on the ballot, we also have people running for the HiSD school board in Districts I, III, and VIII, but an HCC trustee election in District IV.

And in HISD, the largest district in the state of Texas, there are six school board seats up for grabs .  Due to the death of District III trustee Manuel Rodriguez, Jr with two years left on his four year term, a special election is being held to fill the remaining time on his term.  Four candidates, Sergio Lira, Carlos Perrett,  Rodolfo Reyes and Jesse Rodriguez have filed to fill that seat

Incumbent trustees in Districts I (Anna Eastman) and V (Michael Lunceford) opted not to seek re election.   Three candidates, Gretchen Himsl, Monica Richart and Elizabeth Santos filed for the District 1 seat.   Four candidates, Kara DeRocha, Sean Cheben, Sue Deigaard and Susan Shafer    filed for the District V seat.

Incumbent members Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca (District VI) , Anne Sung (District  VII) and Wanda Adams (District IX) have challengers   Vilaseca has two challengers in Daniel Albert and Robert Lundin. Sung is being challenged by John  Luman, and Adams by Karla Brown and Gerry Monroe 

Houston is not the only spot in the Lone Star State with November 7 elections.  There are other people running across the Lone Star State for public office who would love to have your votes

Since this will sadly be a low turnout election given the stakes, every vote matters.   Your vote may also be the difference in you candidate either winning or making a runoff.

So go handle your election business,..

Honduran Trans Woman Running For Seat In Honduran Congress

Trans women all over the world are stepping up to run for office in their various nations in large part because we recognize that we must be at the table helping to write the laws that govern us.

Running for office is happening even in nations with a history of being violently hostile to our existence.   Rihanna Ferrera is the latest trans Honduran to attempt to get elected to her nation's national legislative body in their upcoming November 26 elections.

Ferrera is running to represent the department of Francisco Morazan which contains the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa as a candidate for the center-left United Social democratic and Innovation (PINU) Party.  Honduran trans women have made two previous attempts in 2012 to get elected to the Honduran Congress.

Ferrera is also the co-founder of the Asociacion Cozumel Trans, a trans advocacy organization based in Tegucigalpa

Claudia Spellman and Victoria Gomez both attempted to do so that year as LIBRE Party candidates, but subsequently had to seek asylum in the US and Spain after receiving death threats. 

28 year old Kendra Stefany Jordany recently became in March the first trans Honduran to win a party primary in the nation, and is trying to get elected as a representative to the Central American Parliament  which is based in Guatemala City, Guatemala

Ferrera, should she be successful, would become not only the first trans Honduran elected to the national congress, she would also become the first trans person in North America. the seventh in the world and only the third in the Western Hemisphere to be elected to her national legislature

Danica Roem Wins VA Dem Primary!

Danica Roem made a little political history in Virginia tonight.

She surprisingly bested three candidates, Steve Jansen, Andrew Adams and Mansimran Kahlon in the Democratic primary for the Virginia House of Delegates District 13 race to become the first out trans candidate in Virginia to win a primary race.

She now gets to take on the transphobic and homophobic Republican incumbent, Del. Bob Marshall in the general election that takes place on November 7.

Marshall has been in office since 1992 and has a long uganti-LGBTQ legislative history in the state.  He authored the Marshall-Newman Amendment to the Virginia constitution that banned same sex marriage in the Commonwealth of Virginia until it was overturned by a federal judge in 2014.  

Marshall also tried to pass unjust legislation similar to North carolina's HB 2 that would bar trans Virginians from using bathrooms in state owned government building consistent with their gender identity and presentation, but that bill was quickly killed by his fellow Republicans

Demographics in this 13th District in Prince William County and Manassas Park have increasingly been leaning more the Democrats way, and Hillary Clinton won this district last November by a 55%-40% margin.

So does she have a chance of making history and becoming the first elected out transgender state legislator and the first transperson elected to serve in a state legislature since Althea Garrison did so in Massachusetts in 1992?

She's captured the Democratic Party nomination, so she's halfway there.   As for will we be calling her Delegate-elect Roem on November 7, we'll see in a few months.

Puerto Rico Says 'Si' To Statehood

Yesterday Puerto Rican voters took a major step toward the island becoming the 51st state.

In Sunday's non binding referendum that drew 23% of the island's registered voters to participate in it, statehood received over 500,000 votes, with free association/independence drawing over 7800 votes and 6800 votes for the current status as a territory

Gov. Richard Rossello (NPP) in the wake of the vote told supporters that he would create a commission to select two senators and five congress members that would head to Washington DC and demand statehood from the US Congress.

Will Puerto Rico become the 51st state?  Congress would have to approve the change in status from a commonwealth to statehood and the President would have to sign it, but good luck getting the Republican controlled Congress to agree to do so.  The 3.4 million peeps on that Caribbean isle tend to vote for Democrats, and the GOP is going to have enough problems trying to hold on to power in 2018 and 2020.

Trump has stated he's in favor of it, but you can never believe anything Dear Cheeto Leader says
But you never know.

But like the residents of Washington DC, Puerto Rico has voted to say si to starting the process toward statehood.   It's just will it happen in our lifetimes?

Congratulations Councilmember-elect Narvaez!

A few hours ago I received another reminder of just how many amazing people I have in my life and who call me their friend.

I've known Omar Narvaez for several years now thanks to his work with Lambda Legal in their Dallas regional office, as a past three time president of the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas and his service on the Dallas County School Board.   He was elected in 2015 to his first full six year term on the Dallas County School Board after being appointed in May 2014 to fill a vacancy on that board.

.

He recently ran for the Dallas City Council District 6 seat in West Dallas currently held by Monica Alonzo, who is also the Dallas Mayor Pro Tem and sister of Texas state rep Roberto Alonzo (D).

Narvaez during the May 6 city election made it to the runoff with Alonzo, and armed with endorsements from the AFL-CIO and former Dallas city councilmember Angela Hunt, beat her in the runoff.  All the District 6 precincts reported in a few hours ago and have been counted, so that means Omar is the councilmember-elect for District 6.

It wasn't close.  Narvaez and #TeamOmar flipped the Election Day script, and garnered 1132 votes (58% of the vote) to Alonzo's 828 votes (42% of the vote).

Alonzo was one of three incumbent Dallas council members and allies of current Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to lose their council seats yesterday.  Alonzo was joined by her council colleagues Tiffinni Young in District 7, the southeast Dallas district that includes Fair Park where the Texas State Fair happens, and Erik Wilson in the south Dallas centered District 8.

Mayor Rawlings had endorsed Alonzo and Young, and stayed neutral in the District 8 race.

"I'm ready to fight the corruption and get it stopped at City Hall and to stop the wasteful use of our tax dollars on boondoggle projects,"Narvaez said in a Dallas Observer story.  "For far too long, District 6 has been underrepresented;  It's time for thoughtful and intelligent leadership at City Hall.

And it looks like on runoff election night, District 6 agrees with you.

Congratulations Councilmember-elect Narvaez!   Amazing accomplishment, and know you are looking forward to this exciting new challenge of representing your District 6 constituents at Dallas City Hall.

Pittsburgh (and Philadelphia) Voted For Hillary, Not 45

The political science joke about Pennsylvania is that it is Pittsburgh in the west, Philadelphia in the east and Alabama in the middle.

We all know that Trump shockingly won this state narrowly on Election Night in large part to three third party candidates siphoning off just enough votes to allow Trump to eke out a narrow (ugh) victory in the Keystone State.

Dear Orange Misleader seems to have it in his head that the two largest cities in the state of Pennsylvania voted for him when he cited the Steel City as his jacked up rationale for pulling the US out of the Paris Climate Change Accords that 195 nations signed.

No Dumb Donald, Pittsburgh didn't vote for you, it voted for Hillary, and it wasn't close.

Hillary Clinton received 363, 017 votes (56.4%) of the votes cast in Allegheny County to Trump's 257, 488 (.40% ) .

Gary Johnson received 15,854 (2%) ,Jill Stein  5,021 (0.8%) and Darrell Castle got 1,793 (0.3%)

In Philadelphia, it was a blowout    Clinton received 560, 542 votes (82.4% ) of the votes cast in Philadelphia County to Trump's  105, 418 (15.5%).

Johnson got 6,786 (1%). Stein 6,452 (0.9%) and Castle 1,029 (0.2%)

So nope Dumb Donald, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, the two largest cities in the state, didn't vote for you. and in both cities it was a massive rejection of you.

TransGriot Note:  Thanks to TransGriot reader Jason Byrd for sending me the Allegheny and Philadelphia Counties 2016 election data that inspired the post.

Big Trans Rights Win In Illinois D211!

With 147 or the 147 precincts counted, and totals still unofficial, in an April 4 school board election with national implications that was closely watched by the trans community in Illinois and our allies, it looks as though the trans inclusive slate of D211 board members Anna Klimkowicz, Robert LeFevre and board member elect Edward Yung backed by the partnership of local parents and national trans rights group the Trans United Fund have defeated a candidate slate backed by a coalition of anti-trans activists and groups affiliated with the anti-trans SPLC-certified hate group the Alliance Defending Freedom.

In the D211 school board race, incumbent member Klimkowicz topped all candidates by garnering  9,951 votes to easily retain her seat.  incumbent member LeFevre got 8,706 to retain his and member elect Yung got 8,144 votes to capture the last available seat and return to the D211 board compared to the ADF affiliated 'Parents For Privacy' hate slate of Katherine Jee Young David with 7,917 votes, Ralph Bonatz with 7,318 and Jean Forrest with 7,225 votes.

"I think that what it says is the community thinks we're doing a good job," Klimkowicz said.

The voters have spoken, and it's a resounding defeat for anti-trans bigotry in D211.

The Alliance Defending Freedom sought to insert themselves in this local school board race in Palatine, IL in order to flip control of the largest school district in the state and undo the DOE/DOJ agreement reached in a discrimination case with a local trans student.

The national Washington DC based trans rights group Trans United Fund jumped into this race two weeks ago at the behest of parents concerned about the ADF affiliated opposition slate.

The Alliance Defending Freedom had been targeting D211 for months with a lawsuit designed to strip the trans protections from the district and overturn the settlement.

"A mom from Palatine, IL called us up to advise me that a slate of school board members was running (the Parents For Privacy slate) to take out school board members who had supported inclusive schools and with the goal of rolling back protections for trans youth," said Chicago based TUF national board member LaSaia Wade.

"The anti-trans candidates recruited to flip control of the school board were supported by a network of anti-LGBT activists and groups ranging from Illinois state senator Tom Morrison to ADF ally Vicki Wilson to the Illinois state chapter of Focus on the Family.  I raised the issues with the board, and they enthusiastically endorsed the idea of going all in to support these D211 moms and kids fighting back against an array of anti-trans oppressors," said Wade.  

Trans United Fund, sensing the national political implications and symbolic importance of this race to the trans rights cause, did more than just send a stand with them in solidarity message to the concerned parents and kids of D211. They launched the first trans led political independent expenditure in the history of the modern trans rights movement on behalf of those parents and kids.

In less than two weeks, despite the financial and organizational head start the anti- trans forces had, Trans United Fund helped the pro-trans slate parents, kids and allies raise funds and quickly assemble a strong political program that included phone banking, mail, digital and volunteer canvassing to get their ultimately successfully messaging out to the D211 voters.

As the Trans United Fund board foresaw, this is a major political win, one with soon to be determined political implications that will be felt across the country. One of the moms, sharing how inspired she was by the experience wrote about how it felt to have Trans United Fund have her and her child's back

“…words cannot express how grateful I am that you have taken your time your time and resources to help us fight back against a group of people who have sought to demean and discourage my daughter for being who she is throughout her high school years.  Unfortunately, because of their tactics, I have seen my strong-willed, smart and beautiful daughter's self-confidence shatter.  It has been an exhausting battle and at times we often felt alone and that the majority of people were, in fact, on the side of the hate group.  However, as more and more people step up and speak out, we realize we were wrong.  Through your courageous efforts, you have brought hope not just to my daughter, but to trans kids throughout D211 and the world.  You have told them that they are accepted, that they are cherished and that they have amazing talents to contribute to our society. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” a local mom in Palatine, IL. 

"We have been so inspired by the more than 30 moms and young people who have been at the core of the campaign to fight back against hate and fear in their school district," said Hayden Mora, co-chair of Trans United Fund. "I'm proud that Trans United Fund was able to make a decisive difference but I'm even prouder of the incredible coalition of allies we were able to build. "Tonight's victory is the result of the incredible leadership of moms and youth in D211, the amazing allyship of Brian Johnson and the Equality IL team, the savvy and commitment of LaSaia Wade and the Trans Liberation Collective and our team at Trans United Fund, " Mora added..

"Hate groups weren't just trying to roll back rights in this Chicago suburb, they were trying to build a model that they could export across the country. What they got was a model of what's possible when trans people, parents, youth and our LGBTQ allies work together. The message to parents and trans people all over the country tonight is one of hope and a story about how we can fight back against hate and fear and win. "
Yes we can!   In Palatine, IL tonight, we sent the message thanks to a committed group of people that we will fight for our kids, the allies who support them and do so successfully.