Moni's Post Houston Municipal Runoff Election Thoughts

It's been 72 hours since it because clear Houstonians took out the political trash by massively rejecting Tony Trump Buzbee and giving Sylvester Turner a second four year term as our mayor. 

Mayor Turner garnered 56% of the vote in sending Buzbee to the loss he so richly deserved after trying to inject transphobia in this race at the last minute.  A last minute robocall from Trump didn't help and had the opposite effect of boosting turnout

Buzbee spent $12 million to get that butt kicked, and has refused at this writing to concede. 

Typical.   But hey Tony, I did tell you back in August when you disrespectfully stepped to me you would never be elected to the mayor's chair in my hometown.

Don't forget it was you who said on FOX26 that you didn't need to be mayor.   Well, the wise citizens of Houston made your wish to NOT be the mayor of Houston come true for the holidays.

We also sent transphobe Dave Wilson packing from the Houston Community College (HCC) Board of Trustees by electing Monica Flores Richart.   Wilson abruptly resigned from his Position 2 seat he deceptively won six years ago by 24 votes when Rhonda Skillern-Jones filed to run against him and jumped into the Position 1 race.

Flores Richart did the Lordt's work and trounced that homohating behind twice.  She got 48% of the vote back on November 5, just missing the 51% threshold she needed to beat him outright. 

She handled her business in the runoff and spanked that transphobic behind.  Congrats Madame Trustee-elect.   Rhonda Skillern-Jones also won handily in the HCC Position 2 race.

Now that the transphobic Wilson has been bounced from the HCC board and has more free time on his hands, we Houston liberal-progressive peeps need to make sure he doesn't spend it trying to mess with Houston area trans people.

The embattled HISD board also added two more Black women on its board of trustees in Kathy Bluefield Daniels in District 2 and Patricia Allen in District 4. 

As for the Houston City Council elections, we had some problematic people running for city council in this cycle as well.   The 180 people that filed to run meant that while we stopped some of the bad ones, others got through like conservative incumbents Mike Knox and Michael Kubosh.

One that didn't get through was White supremacist Anthony Dolcefino.  He made it to a runoff for the At Large 4 seat in large part because the Houston media tried to softpedal his white supremacist activities at UT 

Thank goodness Dr. Letitia Plummer won that seat and blocked him from getting a nice leather chair in The Horseshoe.    But we will have to worry about Dolcefino running for a future office.

This transphobe, Edward Pollard, also slipped through and got elected to City Council in District J, beating Sandra Rodriguez.    Pollard, a so called 'conservative Democrat', AKA a Republican ashamed to claim the label, opposed the HERO ordinance back in 2014, and is an on the record transphobe.   Unfortunately I have to look at his azz in The Horseshoe for the next four years.

I also wasn't happy to hear about some of Rodriguez's signs mysteriously disappearing in this southwest side district during this race.

Many Houston Black women are not happy Abbie Kamin won her District C race against Shelley Kennedy, especially after a photo surfaced of her wearing an antebellum dress at a Kappa Alpha collegiate frat function.

Kamin never really came clean about it or offered a substantive explanation as to why she's in Confederate garb, but she's going to have to do it sooner or later.   Progressive sisters have long memories, and until she clears this up with them, if Kamin  has aspirations for higher office, she may have problems getting support from the Harris County Democratic Party base (Black women) if she doesn't deal with it ASAP.

And in this election cycle's concrete example of why every vote matters, in District H challenger Isabel Longoria is trailing incumbent CM Karla Cisneros by a razor thin 12 votes.

Looks like this District H race will be going to a recount, and they will be counting every ballot cast in this one, including provisional and overseas mail in ballots before we have a declared winner in this race. 

Then there's the mess in District B, which has gone to court.

There were 13 candidates running in the race to replace term limited CM Jerry Davis, and the top two vote getters were Tarsha Jackson (right) and former North Forest ISD board member Cynthia Bailey,

Renee Jefferson Smith, the candidate who finished third in the District B race, filed suit, alleging that since Bailey was an ex-offender, she wasn't eligible to run for city council.   Jackson, the frontrunner on November 5 and who is favored to win the seat, believes Bailey is eligible to run.

It didn't help that when Bailey filed, on the affidavit you must sign in order to run to declare whether or not you have a felony conviction, she said no. 

A judge will need to sort the murky legal question out before they can hold a special election for the seat, which was tentatively scheduled for January 28. 

I also lost a lot of respect for the firefighters in this election cycle.   Their union leadership backed Dolcefino, Dick and Pollard and two failed candidates for mayor in Sue Lovell and Dwight Boykins.  May be time for y'all to stop rejecting the 7% raise Mayor Turner offered y'all and take it. 

I also see the possibility of a garbage fee being passed to fund the Solid Waste Department for much needed new garbage trucks and salary bumps.

So to wrap this up, while there are some developments I'm happy about in terms of the new council will be a female majority body with five Black women sitting on it, there are others that I'm not thrilled about.

Just means that I'll be making a lot of trips to Houston City Hall to ensure I'm doing my part to hold our local elected officials accountable.

Black Beauty Reigns Over Us All

2019 has been been a historic year in the pageant world, and one we won't forget for a long time.

In 2019 all six of the major pageants, Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, Miss America, Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International Queen all crowned Black women as their pageant royalty

The Miss International Queen one based in Thailand is a pageant for transgender women.  Harvey was its first ever African descended winner in their 15 year history.

So congrats to Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa,  Miss World 2019 Toni- Ann Singh of Jamaica, Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst, Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin, Miss Teen USA 2019 Kaleigh Garris and Miss International Queen 2019 Jazell Harvey

And two of the women won with natural hair styles in Miss Universe and Miss Tenn USA.

Congrats to all these Black women who have made this a historic year in pageantry and one that has been a long time in coming.

It also drives home the point that Black women are indeed beautiful in all their marvelous shades.

Radio Legend Tom Joyner Has Retired

"Oh Oh Oh, it's the Tom Joyner Morning Show!." 

That jingle started the day for many African American for 25 years, but as of Friday, December 13, Tom Joyner has hung up his headphones and done his last broadcast. .

Legendary radio DJ Tom Joyner was on the radio for 50 years.   He started at a station in his hometown of Tuskegee, AL and went on to major markets in Chicago and Dallas.

He become known as the 'Fly Jock' when he took two radio jobs, one for a morning show on Dallas's KKDA-FM and flying to his afternoon gig in Chicago at WGCI-FM.   He did that round trip for eight years and piled up a lot of frequent flier miles doing so..

But it was hosting the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show for the last 25 years in which he blew up.   At its peak the TJMS was in over 180 markets and 11 million listeners, and he was considered the voice of Black America. .

He's decided at age 70 to hang up the headphones and retire. 

I woke up to like many people in Black America to his show.  Many people have done his Fantastic Voyage cruise that has raised money for HBCU's across the country.

He is also credited with registering in the 1996 election cycle 250,000 African American voters. 

President Obama and FLOTUS Michelle Obama are just some of the many politicians and celebrity peeps who graced his airwaves.    Even Laverne Cox has been on the TJMS.

And I miss the It's Your World radio soap opera they used to do.

Happy retirement Tom!    We're glad that you'll still be focused on raising money for HBCU's, but we will miss waking up to your voice and that unforgettable iconic jingle ,from Monday through Friday as we head off to work or school. .

In January the Ricky Smiley Morning Show will debut in the former TJMS time slot.  I'll give it a chance, like many people will, but it won't be the same because you are following in the footsteps a legend, and that's hard to do.  .

And Black America will miss him

   

Vandalized Dallas Trans Mural Repaired

In more good news to start this week, the trans mural in Dallas that was vandalized last week has been restored.  The mural is located at 4000 Cedar Springs Road in the heart of Dallas' gayborhood, and is the largest one in the world dedicated to honoring the trans community.

Dallas based artist Rafiq Salleh-Flowers did so on Sunday after some waste of DNA desecrated it by drawing mustaches on the faces of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson back on December 8.

Dallas PD is still looking for the person who vandalized the mural, and if you have any information that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of this person, you are urged to contact DPD at 214-670-4413 with any tips you have.

I and the Dallas TBGLQ community are just happy the mural has been fixed

Mayor Turner Reelected!

Tony Buzbee spent $13 million of his own money in an attempt to get a chair he claimed he didn't want or need.   In the end he was blown our after his last ditch attempt  to inject transphobia in this race failed.

The  last minute Trump robocalls didn't help either.  All they did was piss people off

Incumbent Mayor Sylvester Turner cruised to reelection with 56% of the vote to crush Buzbee and drive home the point that transphobia is no longer a successful political strategy in H-Town.

In addition, when the new city council gets seated in January there will be five Black women sitting on it and nine women total..

In other good news from this Election Night, transphobe Dave Wilson was ousted from the HCC board by Monica Flores Richart, and two more Black women in Kathy Blueford Daniels and Patricia Allen are joining the HISD school board. 

The results are here.

So now I can go to sleep know that I won't have a transphobic jerk as my mayor or a white supremacist sitting on my city council.

BTWI and TENT Condemn Transphobic Buzbee Campaign Mailer

For Immediate Release

December 13, 2019

Contact: Monica Roberts, BTWI Media Chair, Emmett Schelling, Executive Director, TENT

Phone: 855-255-8636 ext 69
Email: info@transtexas.org or mroberts@blacktranswomen.org

BTWI and TENT CONDEMN TRANSPHOBIC BUZBEE CAMPAIGN MAILER 

There is a runoff in the Houston municipal election tomorrow that features incumbent Mayor Sylvester Turner and challenger Tony Buzbee. Both BTWI and TENT were disappointed to see and hear about this transphobic and homophobic mailer being deployed on the eve of the runoff election by the Buzbee campaign.

“This mailer is additionally disturbing in light of the fact that Texas has unfortunately led the nation in anti-trans homicides. Two of the four trans Texans we lost in 2019 were from Houston. To see trans women being vilified and misrepresented by a candidate running for mayor in the most diverse and fourth largest city in this country to score political points is a shameful day in Houston’s history.” said Diamond Collier, interim Executive Director of Black Transwomen Inc.

Buzbee claimed in an August 2 Pride candidate forum on the Texas Southern University campus that he would be a mayor for all Houstonians. Based on the mailer, along with his subsequent actions garnering the endorsement of longtime Houston-area anti-LGBTQ activist Steven Hotze, it has become clear that was not the truth.

“As a native Houstonian, it is irritating and disgusting to once again see a political candidate attempt to deploy transphobia and homophobia for their personal electoral gain in a municipal election. Spreading this ugly rhetoric has real-world consequences that the Black trans community will have to deal with long after Election Day has passed,” said BTWI President Dee Dee Watters. 

Emmett Schelling, Executive Director of Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) stated, “LGBTQ Houstonians are part of this diverse city that we are all exceedingly proud of, and we urge all Houstonians to reject the false message that the Buzbee campaign is trying to send.”

Buzbee Pimps Transphobia In The Houston Mayoral Runoff

Looks like Tony Buzbee is getting desperate on the eve of the Houston municipal runoff election tomorrow.

He didn't get as many votes as he thought he would on Election Day or from the early voting phase that concluded on December 10, and is now resorting to transphobia to try to win. 

Why am I not shocked that he's playing that game since he was endorsed by long time Houston gaybaiter Steven Hotze?

Buzbee tried to claim when he was at the Pride Forum held at Texas Southern University back on August 2 that he was in favor of HERO 2.0 and would be a mayor for all people.  He also tried to bash Mayor Turner during that forum by claiming that the mayor didn't listen to the LGBT Advisory Board.

Unfortunately for him I and LGBT Advisory Board Chair Harrison Homer Guy were in the room, and we promptly blew up that lie in real time.. 

These mailers started appearing at the homes of many Houstonians across the city, including my mother, who alerted me this morning she'd received it and wasn't happy about it.



The mailers make references to the HERO repeal debunked 'men in women's bathrooms' talking point and Drag Queen Story Time, which is actually on hiatus at this time.

Buzbee is getting called out for his transphobic political Hail Mary by a wide variety of local and state groups, including Black Trans Women Inc (BTWI) the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), and the Houston GLBT Caucus.

“This mailer is additionally disturbing in light of the fact that Texas has unfortunately led the nation in anti-trans homicides. Two of the four trans Texans we lost in 2019 were from Houston. To see trans women being vilified and misrepresented by a candidate running for mayor in the most diverse and fourth largest city in this country to score political points is a shameful day in Houston’s history.” said Diamond Collier, Interim Executive Director of Black Transwomen Inc.

"Gone are the days where constituents are silenced and forced to live through inconsistency in our elected public servants dedication to our needs. WE SEE YOU AND WE VOTE! Demeaning narratives that perpetuate an already exacerbated hate within our community fortifies systematic and cultural disenfranchisement of our demographic. It leads to unsheltered people without homes. It leaded to workforce discrimination which we don’t have protection from. It leads to us not trusting you to do when we would be electing you to do which is to represent of the most marginalized people in this community as well as the privileged. Undignified narrative about trans people, immigrants, black people, poor people or women is not the direction leaders should be going for the future,

BTWI President Dee Watters added. "As a native Houstonian, it is irritating and disgusting to once again see a political candidate attempt to deploy transphobia and homophobia for their personal electoral gain in a municipal election. Spreading this ugly rhetoric has real-world consequences that the Black trans community will have to deal with long after Election Day has passed." The Houston GLBT Caucus stated, "Tony Buzbee's latest mailer ad is a grotesque anti-transgender charade, in an attempt to pander to his conservative base. We cannot let this kind of blatant, bigoted mindset into City Hall."

Emmett Schelling, the Executive Director of TENT stated,“LGBTQ Houstonians are part of this diverse city that we are all exceedingly proud of, and we urge all Houstonians to reject the false message that the Buzbee campaign is trying to send.”

If you haven't voted yet, you have a chance to send your own message and reject the transphobic bigotry that Buzbee is trying to peddle. 

Voting for the runoff election starts at 7 AM tomorrow and runs until 7 PM in 350 voting centers across Houston and the Fort Bend County portion of Houston.

If you don't know who to vote for, here are my TransGriot Municipal Election endorsements.

But by all means, we cannot afford to have a this transphobe in the most powerful mayoral seat in the country.

     

Trump Articles of Impeachment Pass House Judiciary Committee

Early this morning the US House Judiciary Committee on two party line votes, passed both articles of impeachment out of committee.

Article 1, which charged Trump with abuse of power, passed on a 23-17 vote.   Article 2, the one charging trump with obstruction of Congress, also passed by the same 23-17 vote and will be sent to the House floor for a simple majority vote as early as Wednesday.

That puts Trump one step closer to becoming the third POTUS in US history to be impeached, after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.

The impeachment articles are highly likely to pass in light of the fact the US House has a Democratic majority.   Once that happens, the proceedings move to the Republican controlled US Senate for a trial that could result in the removal of Trump from office if 67 senators vote for it.

We'll see if that happens.   But just to bring up this point, there are 22 Republican senators who are up for reelection in 2020 versus just 12 Democratic senators.

One of those 22 Republicans facing reelection in 2020 is none other than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)    Other names on the GOP senate reelection list are Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Martha McSally in Arizona, Cory Gardner in Colorado and John Cornyn in Texas.

Looking forward to seeing the upcoming House debate and seeing Trump get impeached.
 

2019 TransGriot NFL Picks- Week 15

Week 14 was filled with some shocking upsets.   One of those games pissed me off that involved my fave NFL ballers.   The Texans, after one of the best games in franchise history in the 28-22 beatdown of the New England Patriots, stank up NRG Stadium against the Denver Broncos.

Because they didn't handle their business against the now 5-8 broncos, the Texans now have a critical game with the Tennessee Traitors this Sunday in Nashville for the AFC South lead and playoff seeding. 

Speaking of critical games, only three weeks left in the regular NFL season.  Every team is playing, every game counts toward either playoff seeding or determining who gets the number one pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.    My picks in bold red print   Mike's Week 15 ones are here.


Week 14 results                                   2019 NFL Season Results 
TransGriot  11-5                                  TransGriot    128-79-1
Mike            8-8                                   Mike             128-79-1   


Thursday Night Game
RAVENS over Jets

Sunday Early Games
Texans over TITANS
Patriots over BENGALS
Buccaneers over LIONS
CHIEFS over Broncos
Dolphins over GIANTS
Eagles over WASHINGTON
Seahawks over PANTHERS
PACKERS over Bears

Sunday Afternoon Games
Vikings over CHARGERS
RAIDERS over Jaguars
Browns over CARDINALS
Rams over COWBOYS
49ERS over Falcons

Sunday Night Game
STEELERS over Bills

Monday Night Game 
SAINTS over Colts


 

Dallas Trans Mural Vandalized

The Dallas Voice is reporting that the trans mural honoring Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson was vandalized earlier this week when some transphobic waste of DNA disrespectfully painted dark blue mustaches on Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson's faces.

The vandalism of the mural, painted by New York based artist Brian Kenney, ,was discovered on Sunday afternoon December 8.  The mural was completed this spring to honor the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion and the participation of Sylvia and Marsha as unsung sheroes and leaders in our movement

The mural, located at 4000 Cedar Springs Road in the heart of Dallas' gayborhood, is the largest one in the world dedicated to honoring the trans community.

The graffiti cleaner was scheduled to arrive today, and Artitude's Jerome Larez stated to the Voice's David Taffet that they would attempt to clean off the graffiti without damaging the mural.

The Dallas Police Department is looking for the waste of DNA who committed the act, and if you have any info that will lead to that person's arrest and conviction, you can call DPD at 214-670-4413 with any tips that will lead to the capture of the person who defaced the mural.

2019 TransGriot NFL Picks -Week 14

The Texans not only beat their long time nemesis the New England Cheatriots Patriots, it wasn't even close.   Only the garbage time TD the Patriots scored made the score look closer than it actually was.  But because of the long frustrating history of the Texans versus New England, went the wrong way on that pick.

I broke even in Week 13 thanks in large part to Seattle beating the Vikings.

But it's time to get to Week 14 of the season and redeem myself after breaking even by the skin of my teeth. 

My picks this week are in bold red print with Mike's Week 14 picks at this link. 

Week 13 Results                        2019 NFL Season Results 
TransGriot   8-8                           TransGriot  117-74-1
Mike            9-7                           Mike           117-74-1

Thursday Night Game
Cowboys over BEARS

Sunday Early Games
TEXANS over Broncos
FALCONS over Panthers
Colts over BUCCANEERS
JETS over Dolphins
SAINTS over 49ers
VIKINGS over Lions
Ravens over BILLS
BROWNS over Bengals
PACKERS over Redskins

Sunday Afternoon Games
Chargers over JAGUARS
Steelers over CARDINALS
Titans over RAIDERS
Chiefs over PATRIOTS

Sunday Night Game
Seahawks over RAMS

Monday Night Game 
EAGLES or Giants

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. 

Happy Turkey Day 2019

I have received an early Christmas present in terms of being able to be in Louisville breaking bread for the first time in a decade with my chosen family and friends. 

And no, this time we're not having a turducken as we did one Thanksgiving, but then again I wouldn't be surprised it Dawn pulled one out of the oven for this dinner we're going to happily scarf down in few hours.

While I'm getting to spend the day (and this week) with my chosen family, and know I'll be spending Christmas with my blood family, I realize on this day I am blessed to do so.   Most trans people go into the holidays not able to have holiday dinners with their families.

If you find yourself in that situation today, find your chosen family and break bread with them.   If you're hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, hope that you take the opportunity to reach out to trans folks who are home for the holidays with no place to go.

In a few hours, I'll be engaging in another |cherished holiday tradition of hating on my favorite NFL turkeys, the Dallas Cowboys while I eat dinner and hoping they get carved up by the opposition.

Happy Turkey Day y'all

2019 TransGriot NFL Picks -Week 13

It's Turkey Day and I'm spending it in Louisville for the first time in a decade..

The Week 12 results  resulted in both of us staying close in the overall standings with five weeks to go

It's now NFL Week 13. getting closer to the end of the season, and every game counts toward playoff seeding.   And no more bye weeks.   Sixteen games to pick for the rest of the season.

My picks in bold red print with home team in CAPS.   Mike's Week 13 picks are here at this link

Week 12 Results                                          2019 NFL Season Results
TransGriot   10-4                                         TransGriot 109-66-1
Mike            10-4                                         Mike          108-67-1

Thanksgiving Day Games 

LIONS over Bears
COWBOYS over Bills
Saints over FALCONS

Sunday Early Games
COLTS over Titans
Jets over BENGALS
PANTHERS over Washington
RAVENS over 49ers
Buccaneers over JAGUARS
STEELERS over Browns
Packers over GIANTS
Eagles over DOLPHINS

Sunday Afternoon Games
Rams over CARDINALS
Chargers over BRONCOS
CHIEFS over Raiders

Sunday Night Game
Patriots over TEXANS

Monday Night Game
SEAHAWKS over Vikings