Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 52, Ed. 1 Friday, May 11, 2012 Page: 12 of 52
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TURNOUT, From Page 9
to a runoff betweenstate Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort
Worth and former state Rep. Domingo Garcia of
Dallas. Fort Worth Councilwoman Kathleen
Hicks and former Dallas Councilman Steve
Salazar are also contenders.
Veasey was elected in 2004 to represent House
District 95, a majority of which is in the new Con-
gressional District. He voted against a constitu-
tional amendmentbanning same^sex marriage in
2005. He also voted against an amendment that
would have banned gay foster-parenting and
spoke out against banning university LGBT re-
source centers.
During his time on the Dallas City Council in
the early 1990s, Garcia played an integral role in
overturning the Police Department's ban on hir-
ing gay officers. Later, as a legislator, he voted for
an LGBT-inclusive hate crime bill in 2001.
Omar Narvaez, Stonewall Democrats of Dallas
president, said the District 33 race and the Dallas
County Commissioners Court races are vital, as
well as those for Criminal District Court No. 4
judge andl62nd Judicial District Court judge, the
latter of which features six Democratic candidates .
Theresa Daniel, Gloria Levario and Daniel
Clayton are the Democrats vying for the Commis-
sioners Court District 1 seat, while four Democ-
rats are running in District 3: incumbent John
Wiley Price, Micah Phillips, Bennie Brown and
Betty Culbreath.
Narvaez said electing LGBT-supportive com-
missioners is key to passing domestic partner
benefits for county employees. He also predicts
voter turnout in the primary will be low, giving
LGBT voters more of a say in who will represent
them.
"LGBT votes are going to be even more impor-
tant because if turnout is in the low teens or any-
thing below, each of those votes will be weighted
even more heavily" he said. "So it's huge that we
get out and vote and make our voices heard."
Rob Schlein, president of the gay GOP group
Metroplex Republicans, predicted the U.S. Senate
race will come down to a runoff between Lt. Gov.
David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz, though Schlein
has not decided who he will support.
Cruz "came down on [former Dallas Mayor
Tom] Leppert pretty hard" for appearing in the
gay Pride parade, and Dewhurst has been "push-
ing his Christian credentials" but not waving the
"anti-gay flag," Schlein said.
While a runoff in the Senate race is more than
likely, Schlein said voter turnout will be extremely
low July 31 if Dewhurst wins the May 29 primary
outright.
Low turnout would also hurt his chances of
winning precinct chair for Far North Dallas' 2041
precinct race against Homer Adams, husband of
Eagle Forum President Cathie Adams. Precinct
chair races are at the same time of runoff elections
Municipal elections Saturday
Municipal elections are Saturday, May 12.
While Stonewall Democrats of Dallas often
endorses in the nonpartisan races for the Dal-
las Independent School District's Board of
Trustees, president Omar Narvaez said that
the late primary was too close to the munici-
pal elections for the group to have enough
time to focus on the races. DISD races in Dis-
trict 1, 3 and 9 are contested.
Only one known openly gay candidate is
on the ballot in Texas on Saturday. Scott
Sherman, endorsed by the Gay and Lesbian
Victory Fund, is seeking re-election to the
Pearland City Council. Along with Fort
Worth's Joel Burns and Houston's Mike
Laster, Sherman is one of only three known
openly gay city council members in Texas.
— Anna Waugh
because of redisricting, he said.
Coleman said the important thing to remember
for the primary is to get out and vote and encour-
age others to follow suit in the key races,
"These races are very important because they
will determine who will go on next and who
would face a challenger," he said.
"If you want a candidate, don't sit on the side-
lines," Coleman said. "You need to be voting in
the primary."
For a list of early voting locations and
times; go to DalCoElections.org or
IarrantCountv.com /evote.
Other key local races of LGBT interest include:
• Lesbian Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez is
facing Charlie Thomas in the Democratic Primary
in her quest for a third term. Thomas, Who Works
as a security guard and a valet, is a certified peace
officer who, at 23, said he is confident he has the
qualifications to serve as sheriff. Valdez is the
county's first female, first Hispanic and first les-
bian sheriff. During her two terms in office, she
has brought the jail up to state standards and low-
ered the number of inmates by working with
judges to help proC#s cases more efficiently. For-
mer Dallas police officer and security business-
man Kirk Launius is seeking the Republican
nomination.
• Democratic U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson
faces a serious challenge for the first time in Dal-
las' Congressional District 30. State Rep. Barbara
Mallory Caraway is the better known of Johnson's
two challengers, but attorney Taj Clayton has been
successfully raising money and secured an en-
dorsement from The Dallas Morning News. The
10-term congresswoman has been a steadfast sup-
porter of the LGBT community and is a sponsor
of a variety of bills that would benefit the LGBT
community, including the Employment Non-Dis-
crimination Act and the repeal of the Defense of
Marriage Act. Clayton has said he also supports
both of those bills. ■
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12 dallasvoice.com ■ 05.11.12
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Wright, John. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 52, Ed. 1 Friday, May 11, 2012, newspaper, May 11, 2012; Dallas, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth239219/m1/12/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.