Houston City Council Will Have Two Progressive Women of Color In 2016

I and many other progressive Houstonians have lamented about CM Ellen Cohen and Mayor Parker being the only progressive women on council in contrast to the conservative CM Brenda Stardig, and the fact we have had zero women of color on it since CM Wanda Adams was term limited off of council in 2012

One of the other joys of Saturday's runoff election is that when January 2, 2016  rolls in, we will have two progressive women of color joining in Councilmembers-elect Amanda Edwards and Karla Cisneros who I hope will get to serve their full terms on Houston City Council.

On January 2, thanks to the passage of Prop 2, the terms for all Houston city officeholders have been changed to where they  serve two four year terms, instead of  three two year terms or six years maximum.   The four year terms take effect in 2019..

One of the new progressive omen councilmembers is Councilmember-elect Amanda Edwards. She will take office in January in the At Large Position 4 seat in The Horseshoe to replace the term limited CM C.O. 'Brad' Bradford.  I had the pleasure of meeting the native Houstonian back in March at the HRC Houston Gala, and believe she has the right stuff to not only have a shot becoming mayor, but possibly higher public offices.

Councilmember-elect Karla Cisneros is no stranger to Houston politics.  She's a  teacher who served six  years on the HISD board and served as board president.  She will be replacing term limited District H CM Ed Gonzalez, who will be running for Harris County Sheriff (hallelujah)

On January 2. CM Cohen is going to get some help (not that she needed it) with two more progressive women yo join her in the Horseshoe, and it has been a much needed development.

Why Texas Isn't Seceding

“[The] answer is clear. If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede.”-SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia

I know many of you folks who love to bash Texas at every opportunity have heard the repeated cries of Texas Teapublicans to secede from the United States and are loudly egging them on to do so.

And yes, another Texas Republican has called for a secession vote during their upcoming 2016 presidential primary that thankfully failed Saturday.   But let this native Texan point out why secession isn't likely to happen.

Major reason number one is while the idea is popular with the Tea Party ignorati, the national Republican Party doesn't.  75% of reality based Texans oppose it, and especially non white Texans like myself.  

I like being part of the USA.   That way I still get the Social Security benefits I paid into the system for along with  Medicare, Medicaid, and all the other things I'm eligible as an American for.

These Tea Klux Klan clowns probably haven't heard of a 1869 SCOTUS case called Texas v. White which stated the Constitution didn't permit states to unilaterally secede from the Union, and ordinances of secession were absolutely null and void.

Major reason number two and the reason sane Republicans don't like it is because Texas has 38 electoral votes, and serves as the base for Republican presidential candidate electoral vote scenarios like California's 55 electoral votes  does for the Democratic Party presidential candidates in addition to being a political ATM for both parties.

 A Texas secession happens, and the GOP immediately loses those 38 electoral votes and can kiss any chance of regaining the White House goodbye since they have a narrower electoral vote path to the presidency.  There will also be 25 less GOP House seats, 11 less Democrats and two less GOP Senators.

Then there's the other fiscal costs.  An independent Texas would now have to maintain that 3,240 miles of interstate highway that crisscross our state and come up with the funding to do so.

The Republic of Texas would have to set up embassies and consulates in the nations that recognized it, customs facilities in Texas ports and airports, border checkpoints and create a military to defend its long borders with Mexico and the USA. All those nation building tasks cost money.

Other questions that come to mind is what is the Texas share of the US national debt?  What happens with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve locations inside our state's borders?

Naw Tea Klux Klan boo boos, all that military equipment at the current military bases in this state like Ft. Bliss and Ft. Hood for example, would go back to the US or have to be bought from the feds at a steep price.

Teapublicans would also find out the hard way that Texas receives far more in federal money than it sends to the feds, and with the US federal fiscal spigot cut off, the Republic of Texas would have to make up that lost revenue somehow.  So say hello to your taxes going up, paying taxes to the federal government in Austin and not getting the level of services you get now.

Let's be real, much of this racist Texas secession talk has only cropped up because the current POTUS shares my ethnic background, our state since 2009 has had a predominately non-white majority and Latinos will become the Lone Star State's largest ethnic group starting next year.

In the USA, we persons of color at least have a Constitution with some protections of our human rights.  I'm not guaranteed of the same thing in a Teapublican run Republic of Texas.

And yeah, we already tried the independence thing and failed at it, which is why we sought to become a US state in 1845 after a decade of it from Mexico.

That's just the short list of reasons why I don't see a Texas secession happening, and I chuckle when the Texas GOP pushes that non-starter idea.



 

The Latest Ad Whacking The HERO Haters

Once again, better late than never, but another hard hitting ad attacking the HERO haters is coming out just in time for the first day of early voting which started today and runs through December 8.

The runoff election itself is December 12, and here's the official list of TransGriot endorsed candidates for this crucial runoff election.

But back to signal boosting this latest ad whacking the HERO haters and the money man behind them, Dr. Steven Hotze.

More Ads The HERO Defenders Should Have Been Running

Yep, still pissed about the human rights malpractice that happened here in Houston in terms of the Houston Unites coalition badly botching the defense of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.

I want to point out that Houston City Council meetings are televised on municipal cable channels, and there was video from both sides that could have been used not only for a pro-HERO commercial, but for an attack ad as well.

Let's start with the video from last year's HERO hearings that could have been used in a pro HERO commercial.

I start with Cassandra Thomas, from the Houston Area Women's Center, who for 20 years has been a nationally recognized authority on the subject of sexual assault.



Now, why wasn't this testimony used as part of a concerted effort to destroy the bathroom predator lie or information pointing out that in the other Texas cities that have similar laws to HERO, no such problems have occurred?  

I'll wait.

Our next video is Noel Freeman's brilliant August 2 takedown of the bathroom lie on ABC13




The Houston media failed to do their job debunking the opposition lies until it was way too late.

Now for one that Houston Unites could have turned into an attack commercial like the one I previously talked about.

Here's local faith based hater Becky Riggle testifying that because of her Christian faith, she had the right to discriminate against Jews.



This was a Christmas present from the opposition that should have been turned into an endless attack commercial loop highlighting their faux faith based bigotry and used to drive a wedge between the non-white ministers and their GOP controllers.

But it wasn't.
   

Umm Naw, Black Houstonians Aren't Solely To Blame For This HERO Disaster

I've been calling this failed Houston Unites effort Prop 8 v 2.0 because they basically replicated the mistakes of the 2008 Prop 8 campaign in California.

One of the other way they are replicating the mistakes of Prop 8 is trying to blame Black people for their human rights malpractice.

One of the things I was worried about in the run up to the Prop 1 election was that if it went sideways and was repealed, the Houston Black community would be blamed for the loss.

And right on cue, that BS is already starting.   Carlos Maza ridiculously tried to throw shady blame at Beyonce, when I already pointed out that the #BeyBeAHERO campaign he tried to push was flawed because of the lack of input from Black LGBT Houstonians.   

Ashton Woods also had something to say about Maza's problematic comments.

Been warning y'all for months that the HERO would be decided in Districts B and D, not Montrose and the Heights, and the 72% of voters in District B and 65% of District D voting to repeal HERO basically cosigned what we've known we needed to do and asked for since May 2014.

You had to do education in those districts, since many of the repeal petition autographs came from those same districts.  Education, outreach and canvassing also needed to be done in the Latinx and Asian communities.

And when it comes to trans issues, there are elements of LG World that are just as transphobic as the Hotzes of the world,

You want to blame somebody, let's start with the organization tasked with defending our human rights law in Houston Unites. 

When you knew this, didn't even reach out to the Black community (and the Houston Latinx and Asian communities) to counter the lies spread by the HERO haters despite people pleading for you to do so, much less put trans people of color in ads to hit back against the transphobia, nobody in LG World better even part their lips to point a finger of blame at Black Houston when you didn't do the work to reach out to my community, much less involve the Black LGBT community to do it.

Because if you try it, you will find mine and the Black TBLG community fingers quickly pointing back at you.

Live From Las Vegas, The Democratic 2016 POTUS Debates!

After suffering through the horror of multiple GOP presidential debates that had the feel of a reality TV show, finally the Democrats get in the game with the first of their six debates from Las Vegas being televised by CNN starting at 7:30 PM CDT with Anderson Cooper as the moderator.

Vice President Joe Biden won't be there since he still hasn't decided whether he will jump into this race, but Democratic primary front runner Hillary Clinton will be in the Wynn Las Vegas house along with Sen. Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, Jim Webb, and Lincoln Chafee.

In addition to wondering when will VP Biden get in the game, there is still the desire in Democratic Party circles to see more than just the six DNC sanctioned debates that is being echoed by people such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and former DNC Chair Howard Dean..

The call for additional debates have led to protests in front of DNC headquarters in Washington DC and heckling of DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz at a recent New Hampshire Democratic party event..

And frankly, I'd like to see more debates as well.

Until that happens, the political junkie in me will take the opportunity to watch this one presidential debate that I suspect will be far more substantive on policy than all the GOP ones combined.

The Fight To Keep HERO - October 8

There was interesting HERO news that happened yesterday.  

First the bad news.  The HERO haters got together at Second Baptist with 100 predominately white people on stage to have a press conference trying to convince Houstonians to vote against Prop 1.

And as usual they peddled the predator lie and tired to attack Mayor Annise Parker .

How ironic that this event happened at a anti-trans megachurch who had a youth minister sent to jail for 5 years  for actually being a child predator. 

Can you say 'hypocrites' people?

They need to stop projecting and look for the predators in their own GOP dominated ministerial ranks.  These out of town GOP activists and their kneegrow sellouts also need to stop meddling in Houston human rights business.

Now for the good news. A recent Houston Area Realtors poll revealed that a majority of Houstonians favor keeping the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance and it's not even close. 

Houstonians in that HAR poll favored HERO by a 51%-36% margin with 13% undecided.  While that's good news, we can't relax until November 4.

What's November 4?  The day after Election Day.. 

The other good news from that poll is that two of the 2015 mayoral candidates vying to succeed Mayor Annise Parker and who support HERO in Sylvester Turner and Adrian Garcia are tied for the lead in it. 

The poll reflects the general perception of the race in that the front runners are Turner and Garcia with three other candidates close behind.   The HERO haters like Ben Hall are at the bottom.   .

African-Americans for Prop 1 just put out another meme aimed at the Black community pointing out why the HERO is needed and necessary in our city.

There was also an event held at the Houston Area Urban League headquarters October 6 which was a conversation about racial discrimination.    56% of the HERO complaints received by the OIG office between May 28, 2014 and September 2 were for once again, RACIAL discrimination, with 17% being gender discrimination.

Tomorrow (October 9) starting at 5:30 PM on the UH campus will be a panel discussion on the topic of HERO and the Future of the LGBTQ Movement.  

It is presented by Texas Rising (of the Texas Freedom Network) and the Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Student Group and will take place in the Bayou Room of the UH Student Center

The discussion will focus on why local non-discrimination policies like HERO are so important and how we must include trans* people and people of color in post-marriage campaigns to win comprehensive non-discrimination policies and to honor LGBT history that is often overlooked.

Additional discussion will center on how we go about ensuring that the most vulnerable communities not only be at the table, but be leading the tables moving forward as a movement.

Scheduled panelists for this discussion are: --Mike Webb (Legacy Community Health)
--Jaimie Bockmon (UH Student and activist)
--Melanie Pang, LMSW (Social worker and social justice activist)
--Dee Dee Waters (Houston activist)
.
Hope people can attend because it should be an interesting discussion.

The Fight To Keep HERO-September 23

Just in case some of you Houston LGBT peeps wish to disregard what I and the Houston Black LGBT community are saying regarding our concerns about how the fight to keep HERO is going, I would remind you about what happened when Pride Houston made the mistake of ignoring us when we told them they had a potential political problem brewing over the boneheaded move of Pride to Juneteenth, and the wise play would be to move it back to it's traditional last weekend in June date..

And we remember how that turned out.   They arrogantly ignored us, and paid for their lack of vision. Note that the Pride Parade was moved back to its traditional date, but only after the media firestorm we predicted would happen transpired.

So once again, you may wish to listen to what we Houston Black SGL peeps have to say, because the stakes are far higher in terms of whether or not we keep a human rights ordinance that covers the entire city.

The Battle to Keep HERO will be decided in the 'hood, not outside of it.  If Houston Unites believes otherwise, they are making a serious mistake that will cost them this election.

Here's a FB commentary from SGL community ally Tarah Taylor, who is concerned about how this HERO fight is transpiring.

***

Tarah Taylor 

So I'm going to go ahead and say what everybody's whispering about because not saying it does my people a disservice 

WE WILL LOSE ON HERO IN NOVEMBER.  

Why? Because nonprofit interest groups are choosing to IGNORE the black community - the group that benefits the most from HERO and has the most opposition to the ordinance.The field is wrong, timing is wrong, staff is wrong, marketing is wrong, offense is wrong, defense is wrong. 

All who are involved, I love y'all, has nothing to do with you personally but the grant money has you locked into a strategy that WILL NOT WORK and only caters to one marginalized group. And the black community that supports HERO doesn't appreciate your late response to our issues if there is a response at all - hasn't been one yet.

 Can we fix it? Yes, but you'll have to make some alliances, hold supporting organizations accountable, cut some turf in black neighborhoods, and knock those doors WITH THE RIGHT messengers IMMEDIATELY!

If y'all are mad about be saying it, imagine how mad I am watching this get thrown together and go down in flames 

HERO has volunteers that WANT to canvas the black neighborhoods to talk about racial issues but there's no infrastructure set up for it. Good portion of black voters vote by mail, mail-in ballots go out next week. WTF? 

Where's the strategy and field plan for women voters? Veteran voters? DisABLEd voters? Religious voters, business owners... I mean, what are we doing here???

In the words of Dr. Cleo Manago, you cannot talk to black people about a human rights issue using a white LGBT framework.

***

You can either listen to Tarah and make the necessary adjustments or ignore her and suffer the consequences.   I would rather us take precautions, do what is necessary to win so that we are celebrating on November 3 and not put the Houston Black LGBT community in the position of saying 'we told you so' as others scratch their heads and ask what happened?

This has too much of a Prop 8 feel to it right now, and I and the Houston Black community that supports HERO is not liking it.

Moving on, we have some interesting news in the fact that HERO Hatin' mayoral candidate Ben Hall has been busted by his GOP friends for his flip flop on HERO  and his past support of Democratic candidates.  W

What took them so long?   And why didn't our side hit 'em with that first?

There's also a Faith Leaders Breakfast For HERO tomorrow at Grace Lutheran Church from 8-10 AM.

One day close to the crucial vote on Prop 1.

55th Anniversary of JFK's Church And State Speech

On September 12, 1960 during the heat of a close presidential race between himself and Vice President Richard Nixon, and because of concerns and skepticism that as a Roman Catholic, his religion would allow him to make important national decisions independently of the Vatican,  then Senator John F Kennedy delivered a speech to a skeptical Greater Houston Ministerial Association.

Here is the transcript an the video of that speech that was one of the events that helped him win the presidency by a razor thin margin over Nixon..

Tamara Adrian Running For Venezuelan National Assembly

While the first South American, first in the Western Hemisphere and fourth trans person worldwide elected to their national legislature won't happen in this election cycle unless there's somebody running I'm not aware of yet,  it's only a matter of time before it does.    
-TransGriot, June 15, 2013

I've documented the attempts in several South American nations of out trans women unsuccessfully trying to run for and win office in their national legislatures in Colombia, Chile and Ecuador.

Another trans woman is about to attempt to make that history in Venezuela.

Last month attorney and trans advocate Tamara Adrian made history when she registered as a opposition bloc Voluntad Popular candidate in the upcoming December 6 parliamentary election.   The opposition bloc is comprised of many of the most vocal critics of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and in addition to Adrian is putting up two gay candidates for election.

Adrian is the first out trans person in Venezuela to run for national office. Rummie Quintero, another Venezuelan trans advocate, was  trying to run as a ruling Socialist party candidate along with two gay ones, but didn't get selected to be a Patriotic Axis bloc candidate.

Unfortunately due to the ID issues that plague transpeople worldwide to various degrees, combined with a Venezuelan law that forbids people born in masculine bodies from legally becoming female or taking a female name, Adrian had to register for this election under her dead name. .

The Venezuelan Electoral; Council stated in June that 40% of the candidates running for national office in this election be female, and it's still unclear whether Adrian will be allowed to run as a woman despite having transitioned in 2002

She still is jumping into this race to advance TBLG rights in her nation.  She asserts that the predominately Roman Catholic Venezuela, along with fellow South American nations Guyana, Suriname, Peru and  Paraguay have done little to extend rights to their BTLG citizens.

"We're going to fight so that everyone gets respect," said Ms. Adrian, amid a tussle of candidates and cheering supporters at the gates of an elections authority office in Caracas

We'll find out on December 6 if Ms. Adrian makes history and becomes the first out trans person in the Western Hemisphere, first in Venezuela and fourth worldwide to hold a seat in her national legislature.

I know I'll be rooting for her to do just that.
,

The Fight To Keep HERO-September 1

The calendar page flips to September, and this month promises to be just as contentious politically as August turned out to be as the fight to keep the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance played out at City Hall and in the courts

Since we have twelve weeks to go until November 3, just thought I would direct this post at the peeps who are being either hoodwinked and bamboozled by sellout ministers to vote against their own human rights or those who just straight up hate the Houston TBLG community.  

If you smugly think that voting against the HERO is sticking it to the Houston trans, bi and SGL community with zero consequences for yourself, here's some food for thought on that issue.

For those of you considering voting against the HERO because of your dislike of LGBT people, ask yourself this question.  Do you hate the Houston LGBT community so much that you are willing to give up the 2016 Men's Final Four, the 2017 Super Bowl, future convention business and potential corporate relocations to satisfy that hatred with a NO vote to kill the HERO?

If your answer to that question is yes, you're a fool.   You may get the short term psychic satisfaction of believing you've stuck it to Mayor Parker and 'The Gay Agenda', but the reality will be is that what you have done is screwed yourself by voting against your OWN human rights and screwing our city for years to come on top of it.

Far from being a gay rights ordinance as the sellout ministers and their suburban out of town white conservative controllers are telling you, the HERO provides discrimination protection in housing, employment and public accommodations.  It covers 15 categories, including sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, familial status, marital status, military status, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information and pregnancy.
.

In the post HERO passage period from May 28, 2014 to January 15, 2015, 54% of the complaints reported to the City of Houston Office of the Inspector General were for RACIAL discrimination. 17% of the OIG received complaints were for gender discrimination, 15% were for age discrimination and only 4% of the OIG received complaints were for gender identity and sexual orientation.

Until the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance passed, there was NO local remedy for H-town discrimination. Contrary to the lies the opposition are telling you, the state of Texas doesn't have an anti-discrimination law that covers anyone.  With GOP control of our legislature and a GOP governor, we're not getting one anytime soon.

The LGBT community is NOT covered by any federal human rights legislation yet.   it has been introduced, but it is just an introduced bill   And once again, with GOP control of the House and Senate, it is going nowhere.

But the need for human rights protection is still there.

And note to Steve and Becky Riggle.  It's over a year later, and we still haven't had any bakers forced to make swastika cakes inside the Houston city limits.   Neither have we had in Houston an off the charts jump in crossdressed bathroom predators. 

The NCAA and the NFL are not playing when it comes to their signature events.  Both sporting organizations have policies that bar cities and states with discriminatory policies from hosting their championships. 

If you think I'm selling you woof tickets on that, the NFL yanked a Super Bowl from Arizona  in 1990 they were scheduled to host in 1993 for refusing to make the Rev. Dr MLK Jr's birthday a state holiday.  Arizona nearly repeated the legislative stupidity in 2014 when the GOP controlled Arizona legislature passed a right to discriminate law that only then Gov. Jan Brewer's (R) veto of the unjust legislation kept the NFL from making it happen again. 

J. Kent Friedman, the chair of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, already warned the conservative hardheads on City Council last month that if the HERO is struck down, based on what happened in Arizona in the 90's, and the NCAA threatened to do to Indiana in the wake of the March passage of their discriminatory RFRA, the 2017 Super Bowl and next year's NCAA Men's Final Four at NRG Stadium could be in jeopardy.  And that's before we even start talking about the potential convention business we will lose along with corporate relocations.

So if I were you, I'd be voting to keep the HERO, and telling your friends and neighbors to do the same.

Not Feeling The #BeyBeAHERO Campaign

We in Houston are gearing up for what will be a nasty, knockdown drag out battle to keep our hard won Houston Equal Rights Ordinance on the books. The ballot language has already been created so it is easy to understand for the voters in November and as straightforward and matter of fact as possible. 

I just returned from watching a press conference announcing the kickoff of the Houston Unites coalition that will coordinate the defense of the ordinance.  The fundraising for the pro-HERO defense will be starting soon if it hasn't already,  We have had Houston's largest business association, the Greater Houston Partnership, put out an ad declaring their support for HERO.

And in last Tuesday's City Council public comment meeting, we have had the head of the Houston Sports Authority warn that next year's NCAA Men's Final Four and the 2017 Super Bowl are in jeopardy along with the estimated $1.6 billion in economic activity that will be generated by hosting those two sporting events if HERO unfortunately gets repealed.

The stakes are high in this battle, and our pro-HERO side is seeking to do everything possible to defend the ordinance including starting a campaign to try to pressure our Houston homegirl Beyonce Knowles-Carter into tweeting something about supporting it in the hope that it somehow would be a game changer in the soon to be PR and media war over the HERO.

I'm not feeling that #BeyBeAHERO campaign, and here are some of the reasons why. 

First problem is that local Houston Black trans, bi and SGL folks weren't consulted before it launched. If you had, we would have told you about other peeps you could have approached locally.  Also by not talking to the Black LGBT community and getting our input first as to whether this was a viable idea, you may have missed out on some peeps who actually have some connections with Team Beyonce.

Another point is that although Beyonce is a beloved figure here in H-town and in Black Houston's TBLG ranks, she has been living in New York with her hubby and daughter.  Even if she wanted to, it is still difficult from over 1500 miles away to keep up with the nuances of local politics.

I spent 8 years in Louisville, and as much as I tried to keep abreast of Houston and Texas state politics, the longer you are away from your hometown, the harder it is to do because you tend to focus politically on the area you live in at that moment in time.

Another problem I have with it is why is Beyonce the ONLY Houston based celeb being hit with this campaign?  

Jim Parsons from CBS' The Big Bang Theory is a Houstonian, too.  So is actress Loretta Devine.  Alexis Bledel, Cierra Ramirez from The Fosters,  Isaiah Washington, Chandra Wilson from Grey's Anatomy, Hilary and Haylie Duff, Renee Zellweger, Clint Black, Rodney Crowell, Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad and gospel singer Yolanda Adams.

And I'm not even close to scratching the surface of the Houston celebs that can be possibly called on, especially in the sports world.

Yeah, yeah I'm acutely aware of Bey's massive social media presence.  But another point is where her sister Solange has no problem calling crap and fools out, Beyonce has been more reluctant to chime in and be overtly political about the issues of the day. 

The most overtly political thing she has done was sing at a 2009 inaugural ball for President Obama, sing the national anthem at his 2013 inauguration and declare she was a feminist (with far too much derisive hatin' about that declaration) from many people.

Even when Mike Huckabee was racistly sliming her and her hubby, not too much commentary from her about his jacked up comments aimed at her.

So if she hasn't justifiably called out a loudmouth conservafool FOX Noise commentator who let loose racist commentary about her and her husband to boost his GOP presidential political fortunes, what makes you peeps think based on past history that she's going to comment about this HERO fight?

If she does, hooray and I'll be shocked if it happens.  But I'm not holding my breath that it will.

Christie Vetoes Trans Birth Certificate Bill For Second Time

Governor Transphobe, er Chris Christie (R-NJ) showed his transphobic side again to the people of New Jersey, its trans citizens, the nation and the world by vetoing for the second time a bill that would have allowed trans and intersex people the opportunity to get a clean copy of their birth certificates without undergoing genital surgery..

I would have had he signed it, allowed for a person’s gender marker to be changed upon receipt of a note from their health care provider indicating that the individual has undergone treatment appropriate for a gender transition, in accordance with the most recent medical standards for treating gender dysphoria.

Several states and the District of Columbia already have such policies in place, and this is the second time that he has vetoed such a bill, citing 'fraud and abuse' as his cover excuses for doing so.

Activists in the Garden State were hopeful but not surprised that this veto happened.   There was hope that because this 2015 version of the bill had more bipartisan support, he would possibly sign it, but LGBT activist in the state were less optimistic about that possibility.   They pointed to his need to pander to the GOP conservative base in the rest of the country in an attempt to bolster his 2016 GOP presidential nomination aspirations as to why this TBLG bill would probably get vetoed by him .

As for the possibility of a potential override of his veto?  Not likely even though the Democrats have the majority in both the Assembly (48-32) and the Senate (24-16)    An override would require 27 votes in the Senate, and 54 votes in the Assembly.

That means it would require six Republicans to join that effort in the Assembly and three Republican senators to do so in that chamber, and Republican legislators have traditionally supported their governor..  

The trans birth certificate bill initially passed the Senate 30-6, with four members absent, and the Assembly 51-23, with six members absent.

So trans and intersex New jersey residents once again got thrown under the political bus by their GOp governor.   Why should I not be surprised by that development?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mayor 
Sylvester Turner

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

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

Controller
Chris Brown

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

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

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

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

Houston GLBT Caucus Endorsement Meeting Today

In a normal Houston civic election year, stuff usually doesn't start heating up politically until September around Labor Day   

But this isn't a normal election year.   After winning her three allotted two year terms, Mayor Annise Parker will have to vacate the chair in January, and there are 6 declared candidates who have jumped into the race.

There are also peeps running to either replace term limited council members or challenge sitting ones. 

With HERO no thanks to the partisan Texas Supreme Court being forced onto the ballot, we will have to decide who will be the best candidates in this 2015 election cycle are the ones best able to support the human rights of all Houstonians.

That process for who the Houston LGBT community will support starts with the Houston GLBT Political Caucus that kicking off as you read this.   There was so much interest in this endorsement meeting, they had to move it from the Montrose Center to the IBEW Union Hall,

It`s going to be an interesting afternoon of H-town political action .  And I'm in the middle of it this time because I'm a voting member of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus.

Tell y'all what transpired in a few hours.  I'm also armed with my tablet, and if I can do so, will drop some tweets or Facebook comments.

If You Want HERO, Vote NO

Well, the opening shots in the battle to keep the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance on Houston's law books have been fired .

On Wednesday Houston City Council voted 12-5 to affirm HERO, and then put it on the November ballot to the voters.

Council members Jerry Davis, Ellen Cohen, Dwight Boykins (who voted against HERO last year), Richard Nguyen, Ed Gonzalez, Robert Gallegos, Mike Laster, Larry Green, Stephen Costello, David Robinson, C.O. “Brad” Bradford and Jack Christie, voted in favor of reinstating HERO

The usual conservative haters of Council members Dave Martin, Oliver Pennington, Michael Kubosh, Jack Christie and Brenda Stardig voted to repeal it.

Houston City Council then voted 13-4 to approve the city attorney's straightforward language to place on the November ballot   Councilmember Bradford proposed offering different language, but that motion was defeated 12-5.

The language that City Attorney Donna Edmondson came up with that will appear on the ballot is the following:

Shall the City of Houston repeal the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, Ord. No. 2014-530, which prohibits discrimination in city employment and city services, city contracts, public accommodations, private employment, and housing based on an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or pregnancy?"

Translation.  what that means Houstonians, is that if you support HERO and wish to keep it, you vote NO on Election Day or during the early voting phase.

“Today what happened is that council members reaffirmed the original Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, and we put it to the voters in the clearest, most straightforward language we could, based on the fact that there was a petition, and that is, ‘Do you want to repeal the ordinance or not?'” Mayor Annise Parker said during a press conference following Wednesday’s meeting. “I and many others will go out and advocate to not repeal the ordinance.”

It's on like Donkey Kong now.  To help you peeps remember how to vote on HERO in November, just say or sing this little human rights protecting tune to yourself.   If you want HERO, Vote NO!"
TransGriot Update: And once again, the HERO haters went crying back to the GOP Texas Supreme Court mad because they hate the straightforward no BS ballot language the city came up with.

Will keep y'all posted about how this turns out.

Guess Who's NOT Coming To The 2015 NCLR Conference?

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) is the largest national Hispanic civil rights organizations in the country, and their annual conference is the largest gathering of Hispanic leaders, institutions, politicians and activists in the United States. 

This year's NCLR conference is in Kansas City, MO  from July 11-14, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to speak to an estimated 2200 delegates along with Democratic presidential candidates Senator Bernie Sanders and Governor Martin O'Malley.

attendees will hear NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía and other speakers address key issues in the Latino community today, including our nation’s economy, technology and community policing, among others. - See more at: http://www.nclr.org/index.php/about_us/news/news_releases#sthash.XiRf3DKp.dpuf

The delegates will also gather to hear NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguia and others speak on July 14 about issues of importance to the Latino community such as immigration, community policing, the economy, and education just to name a few.

Any smart politician is keenly aware of the fact that Latinos are the fastest growing demographic group in the US, and will have increasing clout in the upcoming 2016 presidential election.  

People who are competing for their party's presidential nominations and eventually the presidency of the United States would be wise to speak to these assembled leaders at this NCLR Conference, lay out their vision for America and what their policies will specifically do for the Hispanic community.

But guess who won't be in the Kansas City Convention Center for the NCLR conference?   All 16 Republican presidential candidates.   Interesting to note they all declined their invitations from NCLR to speak at this year's conference. 

Hmm. Don't feel bad Latino community.  The GOP routinely disses the NAACP convention until it's an election year.   Shows you how serious they are about wanting to court your votes, and I hope you remember that in November 2016.

But then again, with all the hateful rhetoric they and Donald Trump have spewed lately about Mexican immigrants lately on FOX Noise and in conservafool media combined with their refusal to pass immigration reform despite having control of the House and Senate, it's probably why the Republican candidates are making sure their campaign travel plans don't include Kansas City this week.

Should be fun to watch what happens in KC over the next few days and see what excuses the GOP presidential clown bus comes up with as to why they avoided the NCLR Conference.