Former Stonewall Dems President Omar Narvaez fills board vacancy, plans to evaluate policies for LGBT-inclusiveness in the county
NEW HAT | Dallas County School Board President Larry Duncan, left, swears in Omar Narvaez as the board’s new member on Feb. 26. Narvaez, a longtime LGBT activist, is the first openly gay member of the board.
Dallas political activist Omar Narvaez is now a politician.
Narvaez was sworn in to a countywide member position with the Dallas County School Board last week. He replaced Maricela Moore, who resigned from the position in January. The term ends next May.
DCSB governs Dallas County Schools, an intermediate educational agency that serves Dallas County’s 14 independent school districts. Its primary services for districts are transportation and information technology, as well as continuing education for teachers. The board has three countywide positions and four district seats that align with the Dallas County Commissioners Court districts.
Narvaez said Moore mentioned she might resign back in October, so he considered applying for the position. The agency doesn’t hold special elections, so Narvaez applied to the board and was interviewed by a selection committee before the recommendation was made to select him.
“It’s not a well-known seat, but it’s one that affects the entire county as far as schools go and ISDs,” he said, adding he’s excited to focus on a position that affects youth. “They are the most important entity for our future.”
Having thought about running for office before, Narvaez said the opportunity arose and it seemed ideal.
“It was an opportunity, and it was the right opportunity at the right time,” he said.
But as for whether he’ll run to keep the seat next year, he said he wants to “focus right now on being the best person for the county” before he thinks about re-election.
And not only is he the newest trustee on the board, he’s believed to be the first openly gay member of the board. The significance isn’t lost on him in a county that currently has only three out county officials with Sheriff Lupe Valdez, District Clerk Gary Fitzsimmons and 116th Judicial District Court Judge Tonya Parker.
“There’s not a lot of us, but at the same time we are putting ourselves out there, and our orientation does not deter us from running for office,” Narvaez said.
Narvaez has previously served as president of the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, but he’s known for his powerful speeches at local rallies and addressing other agencies, like Dallas Area Rapid Transit and Dallas City Council, to urge those governmental bodies to support equality measures.
While he’s attended only one meeting, Narvaez said he’s looking forward to some of the new initiatives the board is taking on. For example, DCS is considering new technology that requires students on buses to scan their ID cards so the administration would know when a student got off the bus. In addition, bus routes would be tracked, so if a student goes missing or a bus goes off-route, that data will be collected.
“It’s not a fool-proof system, but I think it’s a great way to work in the community,” Narvaez said about the new system that’s pending board approval.
As the community educator for Lambda Legal’s south central regional office in Dallas, Narvaez is responsible for education, research and community outreach. He said one of the first things he plans on working on is employee policies and procedures to ensure they’re inclusive.
And don’t expect him to go silent on the activism front. He still plans to be loud and proud.
“Until we have full equality, I’m not going to stop fighting, stop making change,” he said.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 7, 2014.