Openly LGBT candidates are great, but the community shouldn’t turn its back on the allies who have been there for us all along
DAVID WEBB | The Rare Reporter
I was surprised to learn this year that an openly gay candidate had decided to challenge Angela Hunt for the District 14 City Council seat in the Dallas municipal election on May 14.
The benefits of openly gay people serving in elected office are enormous to the LGBT community, but that goal should never cause us to abandon straight political allies who have served us well. And for her three terms on the City Council, Hunt has been a strong advocate for the LGBT community.
Like her predecessor, former Councilwoman Veletta Forsythe Lil, Hunt has been as much of a part of our community and its events as the rest of us.
With no openly gay people having served on the City Council since Ed Oakley left office to make his unsuccessful run for the mayor’s job, we would have been lost without strong advocates such as Hunt and District 2 incumbent Pauline Medrano.
I’m sure Hunt’s openly gay challenger, James Nowlin, is an admirable candidate. Otherwise, he would not have received the endorsement of Stonewall Democrats, an action that Hunt admitted “disappointed” her. An “intense” debate reportedly preceded the decision to endorse Nowlin over Hunt.
Later, the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance threw its support behind Hunt and mayoral candidate Ron Natinsky, another strong LGBT advocate on the City Council, marking a striking split in the LGBT voting community. Stonewall Democrats endorsed former Dallas Chief of Police David Kunkle.
The DGLA’s decision to back Hunt makes more sense to me because of the importance of remaining loyal to good political friends and also for its practicality. Hunt probably can’t be beat in District 14 by any challenger.
If an openly gay challenger could have beat Hunt it would have happened when she ran for the seat the first time six years ago, when lesbian powerhouse Candy Marcum, through her reputation as a prominent psychologist and social stalwart, sought the office.
Marcum had enormous support in the community, but it could not propel her to victory.
It’s more of a toss-up when it comes to whether the community should vote for Kunkle or Natinsky. They both have been good friends to the LGBT community.
In the District 7 council seat race, lesbian Casie Pierce is challenging incumbent Carolyn Davis, who to the best of my knowledge has not been an LGBT advocate.
It’s true that Davis has a larger black constituency in her district to occupy her time, but that never stopped her predecessor, Leo Chaney, from giving us much of his time and consideration.
There are large numbers of LGBT people and their allies living in District 7 in the Parkdale and Pleasant Grove areas who would welcome a resident of their communities sitting on the council.
In addition to being a member of our community, Pierce has strong credentials and enjoys respect from many quarters. She has been involved for years in community work in neighborhood clean-up, public park improvements, economic development and work with at-risk teens.
Our best shot at getting an openly gay candidate on the City Council this year is Pierce, so I hope that the whole community will support her in every way possible so we can achieve that goal again.
David Webb is a veteran journalist who has covered LGBT issues for the mainstream and alternative media for three decades. E-mail him at davidwaynewebb@yahoo.com.
I enjoyed your article, and you make several good points.
A few thoughts regarding the race in District 14:
Since i am neither gay nor active in the Stonewall Democratic organization, I did not attend the endorsement meeting. From what I can gather from folks who were there, however, was that the endorsement largely hinged on the debate surrounding the 2009 municipal budget.
As early as June 2009, the Voice reported that the Dallas City Manager, in an effort to reduce funding from several different sources in the wake of the “Great Recession”, proposed a $325K cut in funding for local HIV/AIDS programs. While Councilwoman Hunt did try to mitigate the problem (in the wake of severe political backlash) with a September 2009 budget amendment seeking a $250K reinstatement of HIV/AIDS funding, she was unable to shepherd it through.
Councilwoman Hunt is indeed a LGBT ally on the City Council, but she is not a very effective ally. She is divisive figure on the Council at a time where bridge-building and a consensus-oriented leadership style is necessary.
A bridge-builder who believes in economic development and civil rights is just what the doctor ordered in District 14, and I suspect the Stonewall Democrats decided that Mr. Nowlin was the best man for the job using that general guiding principle in choosing its endorsement.
Ms. Marcum, incidentally, made the same choice in her endorsement.
I agree with T.J. The issue is EFFECTIVE leadership on the issues important to the LGBT community–and could there be a better example of failed leadership than the loss of funding for HIV/AIDS? As an openly gay male living in Dallas, I feel like all I’ve really gotten from Ms. Hunt is lip-service, and Mr. Webb’s article has done little to convince me otherwise (he hasn’t attributed a single substantive victory to her representation of our community). To me, an ally is someone who’ll fight along-side you, not merely feign affection. My
sense is that Mr. Webb is aligning with Ms. Hunt because he’s afraid of retribution in the event of her re-election, which totally disheartens me. I would rather use my vote to elect the best possible
advocate for our community–and while I don’t necessarily believe that he or she must be gay to represent my interests, there’s something to be said for the old adage: “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the
menu.”
As I member of the LGBT community, I am still waiting for someone to tell me what Ms. Hunt has done to earn the moniker “strong advocate” for my community. From where I’m sitting, she completely dropped the ball in 2009 when she did not act to prevent cuts of $325,000 in AIDS services funding cuts. When there was backlash from the community, she tried to restore a portion of the cuts by budget amendment but was unable to get the votes needed (well, she’s never been much of a consensus-builder) to restore the funding—ball drop number two. If Ed Oakley or Chris Luna had been on the Council, I seriously doubt that anyone would have had to start protesting the cuts before action was taken. So much for advocacy, and so much for leadership by Ms. Hunt.
I find it extremely telling that Mr. Webb references Ms. Hunt and Ms. Medrano as “strong advocates” for the community without any credit to Delia Jasso, who actually formed the city’s LGBT task force in response to concerns raised about the 40 complaint (as of 2009) filed under the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance. When the number reached 53 earlier this year and more concerns were raised, Ms. Hunt expressed concern. Wow, gee, thanks.
So, I don’t consider Ms. Hunt a “good political friend.” Additionally, Mr. Webb seems confused about the 2005 Council Election. Candy Marcum did not run as an openly gay challenger to Ms. Hunt. Ms. Marcum and Ms. Hunt were running for an open seat.
I’m not confused about the 2005 election. I was merely noting that Marcum was unable to beat Hunt in the race for the seat.
I was at the endorsement meeting and none of that discussion took place. But nice planted comments from the ‘other’ campaign. Please read the Dallas Morning News endorsement of Angela – they don’t use the word divisive, they say: she knows her stuff, her willingness to take on big challenges is an asset for her constituents and the city at large. Voters should return her for another term. The Sierra Club endorsed her and said: known to many as probably the smartest member of the city council, she has continued to ask the right questions and taken stands where others were too nervous or watching the polling stats to do so.”
More endorsements Dallas Police Assn, Dallas Fire Fighters Assn, AFL-CIO, MetroTex Assn of Realtors. DFFA named her 2010 Councilmember of the Year. The Dallas Morning News says: the challengers pale next to Hunt in their level of civic involvement, not to mention on their knowledge of zoning, redistricting and the major factors contributing to Dallas’ north-south gap. Well-rehearsed answers, chock-full of jargon and catch phrases, did nothing to persuade us that they would provide more effective leadership than Hunt. A strong, strong ally to the LGBT community.
Nor do I fear retribution if Hunt is re-elected. My choice six years ago for the seat was Marcum, who in effect challenged Hunt, whose endorsement by the popular, outgoing incumbent, Veletta Forsythe Lil, virtually guaranteed her a win. In fact, I was in Marcum’s hotel suite, where the candidate was holding a campaign watch party, when we learned Hunt had indeed won her first term. Hunt won the race fair and square, she has been a good friend to our community, and I believe she deserves LGBT support for her final term on the council. She obviously already has that, regardless of what I might write. Hunt didn’t hold a grudge against the LGBT community because of the widespread support for Marcum so I can’t imagine she would do such a thing now.
David, I thought you were retiring? You aren’t even eligible to vote in the Dallas City Council elections since you’ve moved to Cedar Creek Lake and you live to keep drama and turmoil stirred up in that area. Why this publication wastes good ink and helps FURTHER discourage businesses from advertising by printing your rants is a subject I will never understand.
Another attack ad by the Nowlin on the Hunt campaign that is completely misleading and untrue. The City cut AIDs outreach funding in late September 2009. Angela Hunt tried to get $250K of the funding restored but was rebuffed by the majority of the City Council and the City Manager. Then Council woman Hunt together with the City Manager applied for AIDs funding and were awarded $247,000. https://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/09/dallas-voice-city-awarded-2470.html
Doesn’t sound anything like the allegations made against Angela Hunt in James Nowlin’s ad. Why is James Nowlin trying to win this race using lies and mistruths? Next ad you see, please get online and do a simple Internet search and see the real truth.
Another attack ad out from the Nowlin campaign today mistating the facts. Truth is that AIDs outreach funding was cut by the City Council. Angela Hunt tried to get $250K reinstated but was rebuffed by the majority of the City Council and the City Manager. The City and Angela Hunt then applied for grant money and were successful in getting
Even if I don’t vote in the Dallas elections anymore because of a residency change, I still have opinions about the candidates. And the Cedar Creek Lake area has always been a hotbed of drama and turmoil, long before I moved down here full-time. Anything I’ve written about the area is a reflection of that, not the cause of it.
Is this why I have such little support amongst the gay community? Everyone seems hyper-focused on a district where, whoever wins, we are going to have a good, strong advocate for LGBT issues. Meanwhile in my district, I’m running against someone who has never publicly supported anything at all relating to our community. And no one cares to comment on that, just a pissing match between two factions who each support someone, either of which we all KNOW will serve our community well. The fact is, I need more help to win my race, but it IS winnable! My opponent has very little support and that is reflected by the voter numbers in the last two elections, I DO have name-recognition in even the most core areas of South Dallas- drive along MLK and you will see Casie Pierce signs too! I CAN win this race but I need support from our LGBT community to get me to the finish line. Will you support the candidate who has our best interests at heart against someone who does not?
Good Point, I do agree and I support Angela Hunt. Caise Pierce seems like a good person too, and it would be great that the Grove would have a council member, and at least there is support for South Dallas. One of the reasons why I left Dallas is all the politcial crap that goes on here, and with the LGBT, they make it worst. I would not be shocked if I ran for a office if I had to make a Christine O’ Donnell “I’m not a Witch commerical, becaue even from them, I’ve been called so many names in the books for standing up for my beliefs. It should not be able whos Gay or not, but rather who can do the job right! I shocked to see even we’re not even hearing a bunch of news from Ft. Worth, and about Joel Burns, ya his running un-opposed, but is he even doing anything for the city? In my opinion, no. This is where I get to my soap box about him.
@David and all the other supporters of Angela who say she has been such an advocate, we are still waiting for you to give us an example of effective leadership from her. What issue did she champion that she was actually able to take to the finish line? What has she done for us other than give us lip service? Don’t get me wrong, I believe she is truly a progressive that supports the community in her heart, but when you cannot build consense to accomplish things, you are an ineffective leader.
@cantgetfooledagain, where were you during the cuts to the AIDS funding? I was there on the front line from day one. I think you have the exact facts about what happened a little wrong. Angela did nothing to maintain the funding until the community became very public about the importance of the funding. In fact, I was one of the first people to contact her and was told to find the funding elsewhere and she would support it. That’s not my job; that is her job as our elected official and that’s definitely not leadership.