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. 

2019 H-Town Election Day!

It has been four years since we last had a municipal election, and that 2015 Houston municipal one was a painful and conflicting emotion inducing one for many of us in the Houston TBLGQ community.

While we were pleased to see Sylvester Turner survive and advance to a December runoff against Bill King to determine who would succeed term limited Mayor Annise Parker, what we weren't happy about was our HERO nondiscrimination ordinance being recalled after a shady and transphobic GOP fueled campaign and human rights malpractice by the Houston Unites coalition defending the ordinance.

The proposition that did pass in 2015 was one that changed the terms for the mayor, city council and controller to ta maximum of two four year terms instead of the previous maximum of three two year terms.

We're finally here and it's Election Day in H-town!  We have many candidates running for City Council and several challenging Mayor Turner's reelection bid, and one blast from the GOP past in Orlando Sanchez.    He's back, and this time he's challenging Controller Chris Brown.

A Republican has not sat in the Houston mayor's chair at The Horseshoe in over 40 years and the Harris County GOP is big mad about it.  The blue tsunami last year that swept them out of power in the county courthouse, county government and Harris County Commissioners Court only added to their pissivity and desperation to get any kind of representation in the soon to be third largest city and third largest county in the nation.

Polls are open from 7 AM to 7 PM CST, and in a new twist, if you're a Harris County resident, you can vote at any of 750 polling locations inside the county.

Blue Elections have positive consequences.

If you're still wondering who to vote for, here are my 2019 TransGriot municipal endorsements to help you make up your mind. 

But if you didn't take the time to take advantage of early voting, please take the opportunity to do so today, because voting is 100% more effective than complaining on the Internet that these politicians aren't doing anything. .

Don't Want Republicans Running The Government? You Need To Vote!

If you don't want Republicans running our government at any level, the ONLY way you can #FireTheGOP is vote in each and every election you get an opportunity to participate in. 

If you live in Texas, the deadline to register and be eligible to vote on November 6, you need to be registered by October 9. 

Early voting in Texas starts October 22.   

Not only do you need to be registered to vote, if you are, double check your registration between now and Election Day.    Republican controlled areas are merrily engaging in voter roll purging and other voter suppression tactics so that they can restrict the numbers of people headed to the polls to vote their butts out of office.

Voting is not a waste of time,   If you believe that BS that voting is a waste of time, then why are the Republicans passing voter suppression laws?

If you want to change the jacked up fascist direction this country is going in, you must take the time to handle your patriotic duty as an American citizen and vote.   

I'm Down With 16 Year Olds Voting

A lot of debate has cropped up recently because Washington DC is considering lowering the voting age to 16 just in time for the 2020 election.

DC Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) introduced the measure in large part because he was impressed by the recent March For Our Lives in DC and the ongoing eloquence of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas students.

The proposed voting age change has majority support on the DC council (7 members out of 13), and will probably pass if it comes to a vote.

But why stop in DC?   Let's lower the voting age to 16 across the United States.   16 year olds in many cases are more cognizant of the issues that affect them than their elders twice or three times their age in many cases.

The youngest member of our Houston Mayor's LGBT Advisory Board, Lily Pando, was just 16 years old when she was tapped to join it when it was formed two years ago.  It wasn't a publicity stunt because she is an intelligent young woman and one of our rising star young leaders here in Houston.  When Lily speaks, we elders listen.

It's not unusual for me to see our TBLGQ World teens leading the charge for the expansion of trans (and everybody's) human rights and being eloquent voices for other policy issues of concern to them.

If you think I'm kidding about that, does  Jazz Jennings ring a bell?

It also hasn't surprised me that the MSD students in the wake of the mass shooting on their campus have been kicking butt and have the NRA, the Republican Party and right wing media on the defensive.

I was 14 when Jimmy Carter got elected POTUS.  I would have loved to have been able to vote in that 1976 presidential election instead of holding up a sign and marching through my neighborhood with several other kids imploring people to vote for him.

I turned 16 in 1978. Had I been eligible to do so, I definitely would have done my part to keep Bill Clements out of the Texas governor's chair.   One of my presents I received for my 18th birthday in 1980 was a voter registration card. 

If 16 year olds can drive, be tried as adults for any serious crimes they commit, and work jobs in which their wages can be taxed,  then why shouldn't those same 16 year olds have a say in who runs the government?

It's also a good idea for democracy.  The earlier you get someone to start consistently voting, the more it becomes a lifelong practice.

So yes, I'm down with 16 year olds voting, and the sooner we pass this policy change, the better. .

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.

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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.

Important 2018 Texas Election Dates

For you Texans pissed off about the shenanigans, passed and attempts in SB6's case to pass unjust legislation that occured in the GOP controlled Texas legislature, just a friendly TransGriot reminder we're now five days into 2018 , which is an election year. 

What are you going to do about it besides complain?    The Texas GOP, their base voters  and their 1% allies are counting on you to throw up your hands in frustration, assume your votes won't do anything to change the situation, and stay home.

Staying at home is a vote for the status quo.

Our Lone Star State election turnout in 2014 was a pathetic 28.5% and we must do better. 

That turnout  number made Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick and his fellow Texas Republicans smile because they hate high voter turnout and know their party wins in low turnout elections. . 

Yes, the Texas voter suppression law had something to do with that but as Alabama prove, you increase turnout, you overwhelm the GOP voter suppression apparatus. 

And frankly, I want to turn this state blue after having to make 8 trips to Austin during the 2017 session to kill SB 6.   I want to deliver some political payback at the polls.  But me and the Texas Black community cant do it by ourselves.    You Texas liberal progressive voters are going to have to do more than just talk in order to turn Texas blue, ,y'all need to show up at the polls and vote!  .

Tthe best way to get revenge on politicians who pissed you off is to make them ex-politicians, not sit at home on Election Day and sulk about the situation.

And it is one of my New Year's resolutions to do my part via TransGriot to help provide you Texas based readers with the information you'll need to cast informed ballots in this 2018 election cycle.

So how about trying a new strategy in 2018?   Voting the GOP bums out of office?   It's past time to pull up the adult underwear of your choice and bumrush the polls on November 5 or during early voting if you wish. 

But the first order of business is to ensure that you are registered to vote in Texas.  You should have received the new Texas voter registration card that will be good until December 31, 2019   If you wish to participate in the party primaries, you have until February 5 to get registered to vote in the Lone Star State. 

You can check your registration status  at VoteTexas.gov

Early voting for the Texas primary elections starts February 20 and runs until March 2/, with primary election day happening on March 6. 

If you miss the February 5 registration date, you still have time until October 9 o get registered for the general election.

Early voting for the November general election will start on October 22, and run until November 2
After that you'll have to wait until November 6 to handle your election business.

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.

Been Nominated For 2015 OutSmart Reader's Choice Awards

Was surprised to learn that in the latest edition of the OutSmart Gayest and Greatest Readers Choice Awards has started the online voting process yesterday and will run until September 5.

In 2014 I won two of the Reader's Choice Awards  in the Favorite Blogger (Female) and Favorite  Tweeter (Female).categories and was a finalist for the Most Prominent LGBT Female Activist award. 

In 2015 I was nominated in three categories:
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Favorite LGBT Blogger
Favorite Female Community Hero
Most Prominent Female LGBT Activist 

While I deeply appreciate those nominations, especially the second consecutive nomination in the Most Prominent Female LGBT Activist category,  just curious as to why I didn't get one for Best LGBT Local Blog and why no trans, bi or lesbian woman was nominated in the Best LGBT Tweeter category despite many of us having very active twitter accounts?

I guess that's why they have write in voting in all the categories in question.

Congrats to everyone who was nominated, and just an FYI you can vote once a day until the September 5 closing date.   You don't have to be a Houston resident either, just register and you're good to go.

Here's the link to vote in the 2015 OutSmart Gayest and Greatest Reader's Choice Awards.


You can also vote early and often once per day until voting closes on September 5.

Ferguson Elections Result In Major Changes

In addition to Chicago, yesterday was election day in Ferguson, MO.  

The town that ripped the scab off the festering wound of police brutality aimed at the African-American community and laid to rest the lie that this is a post racial nation, had an all white city council and white mayor in a town that is predominately Black primarily because of low election participation rates.

After months of voter registration drives that sought as a goal to change that depressing paradigm, the test of those efforts came yesterday.   A record turnout from 10% to 30% resulted in a tripling of the African-American representation on the six member city council.

Mayor James Ferguson was fortunately for him, not up for re-election

Councilman Dwayne James is one of only two African-Americans ever elected to the Ferguson City Council, and wasn't up for re-election.  After last night's election,  he will be joined on council by Ella Jones and Wesley Bell.    Bell defeated another African-American, Lee Smith to earn his seat

It points out what I have been saying for years.  Not only do elections matter, but as the people who are trying mightily to suppress your voting power know, turnout matters as well.

And it matters who the people are sitting at the table with the power to write legislation and making the policies that affect the entire community.

The peeps in Ferguson now have a city council that tripled its representation because they took their souls to the polls.

To borrow an old saying from the 'hood, you have to be in it to win it. That saying is especially applicable to elections and voting as well.   It's also one that needs to repeated in African-American communities across the country in each and EVERY election cycle.

Chic Is About To Get Susan Luccied Again

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland has put out an online fan ballot of its 2015 nominees that you can vote on. 

Top 5 from the fan ballot will be added to the ballot of electors that will determine who makes it into the 2015 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Class.

Once again one of my fave bands Chic is one of the nominees, along with Bill Withers, the Marvelettes, NWA, the Spinners, War,  Sting, Kraftwerk, Green Day, Lou Reed, Nine Inch Nails, The Smiths, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble, and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

But despite being nominated in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and now 2014. it looks like Chic is on their way to getting Susan Luccied again.  

In the fan voting Bill Withers and War are just out of the Top 5 in 6th and 7th place with Chic down in 11th place out of the 14 nominees on the fan ballot.  

We'll see if that changes in the next few weeks or the Hall of Fame electors finally wake up and give Chic their long deserved spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

We Must Vote

Hey, whatever it takes to get you peeps to the polls tomorrow.

Here's civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who took a beatdown at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL during Bloody Sunday so you can walk your behinds a few blocks to your local polling place to vote.

The Litmus Test

TransGriot guest post by Dawn Wilson

This election is a litmus test . A simple test of intelligence . What is a litmus test you ask? In the political sense it is a test that uses a single indicator to prompt a decision . So your choices for this test are so simple a kindergartner has the cognitive ability to handle the following question.

The question is what do you value?
If you value Education, you vote.
If you value Civil Rights, you vote.
If you value Health Care, you vote.
If you value the 2nd Amendment, you vote.
If you value Freedom of Religion, you vote.
If you value your community whatever that may entail,  you vote.

Voting is your voice.  Without it, that voice is minimized.

Some candidates are not ideal. Some are evil. But to refuse to engage in a process that can fuel change is imbecilic at best and detrimental and destructive at worst. Some people will vote against their interests and what they value and be shocked with the outcome, while others will vote their values and may not pleased with the outcome .

In either case they have a voice, a strong one and more versed one . Remember Ferguson? In the most recent elections, turnout was just 12% and sadly we see the result. Because people stayed at home and did not vote what they valued, the people who were elected to care for the community, the people who hired the police who act in such a horrible manner, failed . 

And those who failed to vote were the catalyst .

Now new voter registration numbers suggest that the Michael Brown shooting has kindled a new sense of civic engagement among many Ferguson, MO residents.  More than 3,000 people in the Missouri city of 21,000 have registered to vote. That represents a increase of more than 25 percent in voter registration in just two months. Total voters registered in Ferguson are now 14,428 as of mid-day Thursday, and still rising, according to the St. Louis County Board of Elections.

So voting doesn't matter?  Local, state and national elections are a joke? The events over the last few months should dispel that notion. Out of 31 democratic countries, the United States has the lowest voter turnout numbers. Racism, economics, and Voter ID laws all affect voting, but even with these obstacles voting is our best chance to change the future.

Even the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr was quite aware of the power of voting as a catalyst for
change.

"One of the most basic weapons in the fight for social justice will be the cumulative political power of the Negro. I can foresee the Negro vote becoming consistently the decisive vote in national elections.'"

So here is your test – A. Vote for what you value   B. Vote against your interest C. Don't Vote and be silenced . Test day is November 4th . Good luck.