Councilwoman Angela Hunt, above right, says former Mayor Tom Leppert, below left, has “no moral compass.” Hunt and Leppert are shown at gay Pride in 2009.
Dallas City Councilwoman Angela Hunt, one of the staunchest LGBT allies on the Dallas City Council, said this week she’s “disappointed” that Stonewall Democrats recently endorsed her challenger in the District 14 race.
However, Hunt vowed to continue advocating for the LGBT community — and to continue working with Stonewall Democrats.
Stonewall Democrats voted last week to endorse openly gay candidate James Nowlin, a member of the group’s board who’s running against Hunt.
“It was a fair process,” Hunt said Thursday of Stonewall’s endorsement screening last weekend. “I am disappointed. I’m very proud of my consistent 100 percent voting record on LGBT issues and I’m unwavering in that, and I’ll continue to fight and advocate on behalf of the LGBT community. … I’m proud to keep working with Stonewall Democrats on important citywide issues.”
When pressed about whether she feels betrayed or was hurt by the endorsement, Hunt said: “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but look, I’ve had a positive, strong relationship with Stonewall Democrats, as well as the larger LGBT community, since I’ve been in office and since before I’ve been in office, and that won’t change. It hasn’t changed, and it won’t change.”
Stonewall Democrats President Omar Narvaez said the group’s debate of the endorsement was “intense” and the vote to back Nowlin was extremely close, although he declined to release the final tally.
Narvaez said some Hunt supporters argued that endorsing Nowlin would be tantamount to turning the group’s back on the incumbent despite her support for the community. However, Narvaez said he thinks Hunt’s indecision about running for mayor allowed Nowlin to build early support among Stonewall Democrats.
Ultimately, Narvaez said he believes the endorsement was decided by a few members of Dallas Stonewall Young Democrats who felt Hunt didn’t sign on to their Light Up Oak Lawn campaign until she knew she had a gay challenger.
Asked whether there’s any truth to that allegation, Hunt said: “I’ll say this, I think anyone who knows my work in neighborhoods knows that I am responsive and I work in partnership with neighborhood leaders across the district to address issues as quickly as possible.”
Hunt has also been criticized in the comments of this blog in recent days for the fact that the city of Dallas has never prosecuted a complaint of discrimination based on sexual orientation under its 2002 ordinance. Hunt noted that she’s actually the one who, along with Councilwoman Pauline Medrano, launched an investigation into the city’s handling of the complaints in response to a recent letter from Resource Center Dallas.
Hunt said she and Medrano plan to meet with representatives from Resource Center to go over complaints that have been filed under the ordinance one by one.
“I agree that it is important to ensure that our nondiscrimination ordinance is actually being enforced,” she said. “If there’s no teeth to it and if the city isn’t actually following through on enforcement, then the city is failing the LGBT residents in Dallas. I agree that it’s a very important issue that has to be taken seriously and that’s why Pauline and I immediately got involved to make sure we had an investigation to address this.”
Hunt said she directed city staff to post a link to information about the ordinance on the main page of the city’s website. She said she also supports establishing a city GLBT relations commission.
Hunt said she’s attended every Pride parade and Black Tie Dinner since she’s been in office. But she called those things “a little superficial” compared to other things — such as speaking at rallies in support of same-sex marriage. She also took the opportunity to slam Mayor Tom Leppert for his recent shift to the right on LGBT issues, calling it “pandering in its lowest form” and saying Leppert has “no moral compass.”
Despite the Stonewall endorsement, Hunt said she still has her share of supporters in the LGBT community, many of whom have contacted her in the last few days. And she said she’s confident about her chances for re-election.
“I really have been humbled by the outpouring of support I’ve received,” she said. “I’m proud to be an advocate for equality.”
Angela still has my vote!
Love Angela!! I can’t vote in Dallas but she’s always been our friend. We can’t lose with either one of the candidates.
What a joke. This group completely lacks impartiality and credibility. They need to put down the cocktails and give Councilwoman Hunt the thanks that she deserves for years of faithful service to Dallas and its GLBT community! She is a credit to all that call Dallas home.
The Stonewall Democrats made a huge blunder in not endorsing Angela Hunt. Narvaez’ comments only make a bad situation worse. The credibility of the group has suffered. Let’s hope the DGLA does right.
Really, Stonewall?? In the words of Julia Roberts circa Pretty Woman, “Big mistake. Big. HUGE.”
Angela needs to be on the council until she decides to become mayor.
Stonewall has lost all credibility with this endorsement. They really need to stick to democratic party politics.
They won’t diclose the vote tally on the endorsement? What happened to transparency?
This group has basically become a dinner club at Ojedas. They eat, drink, complain and only a few do anything productive.
Stonewall made a huge mistake endorsing Nowlin over Hunt. She has worked very hard for our community and deserves re-election. It is obvious that the endorsement of Nowlin has to do with his sexual orientation and you’re kidding yourself if you believe otherwise.
How nice to have two such strong candidates from which to choose. Having recently moved from Dallas, I, obviously, will be unable to vote for either one of them. However, Angela Hunt has had, and will continue to have, my support. She not only has proven herself to be an ally to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community with her votes and her presence, she has stood firm on other issues in the face of strong opposition. Without question, she is a strong leader, and regret that I will not be able to vote for again for city council and for mayor when the time comes … and I do hope it comes.
What were they thinking????
They endored Nowlin because his Gay, end of story.
Dallas Voice = Stonewall Dems = Dallas Voice = Drink Promos = Nowlin endorsement = Throw Hunt under the bus = WTF?
At this point, Stonewall will have to work hard to regain any credibility. This sends a terrible message to elected officials who work so hard for our community. Work hard for us but we will throw you under the bus. So who is next? Elba Garcia?
Stonewall lost its credibility when it it emailed its questionnaire to Natinsky less than 2 days before its candidates forum, with out informing him that he had no chance for an endorsement. I thought we picked candidates who could do the best job judged by their records in the public arena. Sometimes I find the groups who claim to be the most diverse to be the most discriminating.
Just the fact that Stonewall wants to throw Angela Hunt under the bus is proof positive that this group has some serious issues with combining free vodka with endorsments and board elections. Not only are they ineffective but embarrassing for the rest of the community. In addition, they were unfair to Mr. Natinsky. The LGBTQ community is smart enough to read between the lines of the Dallas Voice.
Angela Hunt is an incredible public servant for the City of Dallas. She not only deserves re-election to council this year, but I truly hope one day she will also become Mayor of Dallas. Her tireless efforts on behalf of all people in Dallas are really quite impressive. I predict Stonewall’s endorsement in this particular race will have little or no effect whatsoever on the outcome and that our long-time ally and supporter, Angela Hunt will be returned to office. Mr. Nowlin might indeed be a good candidate in the future for this district, one certainly worthy of our support then, but in this election, as a community, we need to strongly support those who have always supported us in the past!
We voted for James because he looks better in a tight shirt.
The Stonewall Democrats and their counterparts the Young Stonewalls are a JOKE!!! It used to mean something to be part of this group, but not anymore. Mostly because of the crapy naive kids coming out of young stonewalls, this group is done for and no longer relevant in Dallas. James Nowlin is a Republican and we all know it.
Good by stonewall and young stonewall, WE DON’T WANT YOUR ADVISE!
You have to bare in mind that James Nowlin is also a Stonewall member. He joined the Dallas Stonewall group as soon as he hit town almost 3 years ago. He moved to district 14 about 6 months ago as soon as he heard Angela might be running for mayor. He is also a Voting member and was therefore the only candidate allowed in the room during the vote. As a voting members he was allowed to vote for himself.
Has anyone bothered to look into James Nowlin Excel Global Partners. Attorney Nowlin has claimed international success in this as a Global Business and Finance Consulting Firm yet no one seems ever to heard of it. No one in the Dallas Business business community nor international investment consulting community can point to anything. It seems only to employ himself as CEO and his partner, no employees at all. There appears to be no client list and no references from satisfied nor dissatisfied clients anywhere in the world. Whats going on here? Is this some kinda shell company set up and ready to dole out city contracts or just a complete sham? Whats going on here?
I am severely disapointed in Stonewall Democrats for this decision. In Ms. Hunt we have an excellent candidate with a long, proven track record of supporting our causes. Mr. Nowlin’s position with the Stonewall Democrats seems to have been the over-riding reason for this endorsement, and Ms. Hunt’s response to this rather shocking endorsement showed why we need her to remain our representative on Council.