LGBT ally Theresa Daniel among those vying for Dickey’s seat
GOING AFTER THE GAY VOTE | Cecile Fernandez, left, speaks to Log Cabin Republicans of Dallas on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at Texas Land & Cattle in Uptown. Fernandez is one of two Republicans who’ve filed to replace retiring GOP Commissioner Maurine Dickey. On the Democratic side, longtime LGBT ally Theresa Daniel, above right, and Daniel Clayton are two of the three candidates running for Dickey’s District 1 seat.
DAVID TAFFET | Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
Stonewall Democrats President Omar Narvaez thinks Democrats have an excellent chance of picking up a fourth seat on the Dallas County Commissioners Court since newly drawn lines extend a district into Oak Lawn.
District 1 Republican incumbent Maureen Dickey — who voted against transgender nondiscrimination protections for county employees last year — isn’t seeking re-election. Two Republicans and three Democrats have filed to run for the seat Dickey has held since 2004.
Narvaez said two of the three Democratic candidates are members of Stonewall Democrats of Dallas — Theresa Daniel and Gloria Levario.
The redrawn district, he said, will be harder for a Republican to retain. Cedar Springs Road is the dividing line. The northeast side of the street will be part of the new District 1. The southwest side of the street will be represented by District 4 Commissioner Dr. Elba Garcia.
District 3 Commissioner John Wiley Price, also up for re-election, lost the Oak Lawn portion of his district but picked up more of Oak Cliff and Cedar Hill. Parts of South Dallas between Interstate 30 and US Highway 175 also shifted from Price to the new District 1.
Usually the filing period ends on Jan. 1 for the November race. Because of legal challenges to redistricting maps, Narvaez said the filing period will be reopened. Candidates whose districts have changed may decide to change races or may pull out of the running and receive a refund.
“And that’s extremely unusual,” Narvaez said.
So he said that the field of candidates — even for the Commissioners Court races where boundary lines haven’t been challenged — isn’t necessarily set. Although the primary is still tentatively scheduled for April 3, a firm date cannot be set until new maps are approved.
“I wonder how long this marathon is going to be,” said Daniel, one of the Democratic candidates for the District 1 seat.
Daniel was a staff member for Democratic Congressman Martin Frost. She has served on the State Democratic Executive Committee since 1996 and as chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party Advisory Committee for four years. Currently, she works with the Dallas Independent School District in program evaluation and accountability and is an adjunct professor of urban and public affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Daniel said she’s been a member of Stonewall Democrats for 10 to 15 years. As a member of the SDEC she helped add two seats to the state body for Stonewall Denocrats leaders.
“With their activity level, both locally and at a state level, they were a model,” she said.
In 2004, Daniel received Stonewall’s Democrat of the Year award.
Daniel said she’s glad sexual orientation and gender identity were added to the county’s employment nondiscrimination policy last year and called health benefits for the domestic partners of county employees a “civil right.”
County Judge Clay Jenkins has said he supports DP benefits but didn’t bring the proposal forward last year due to budget constraints.
On healthcare issues, Daniel said she needs to take a look at how agencies are funded but said, “I’d work to keep funding on track.”
She called the new Parkland hospital “absolutely wonderful.”
“When you have an 80-year-old building we’re going to have problems,” she said, adding that the new hospital shows Dallas County’s commitment to public health.
Daniel Clayton is the third Democrat running for the District 1 seat. He has worked for state Sen. Royce West for five years and currently serves as his political director.
Before joining West’s office, he worked on a number of campaigns. In 2001, he campaigned for Jim McGreevey, who became New
Jersey’s “gay-American” governor. Clayton served as deputy field director for former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk’s Senate campaign.
Since 2007, Clayton has served as president of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats.
In 2004, he was executive director of the Dallas County Democratic Party. That year, Sheriff Lupe Valdez and other Democrats swept into office, which began a run of Democrats who were elected to county-wide office.
“How do we make county government more efficient?” Clayton said when asked about his top concern.
He said continued funding for AIDS programs was a priority.
“Dallas County’s rate of HIV is so high,” he said. “It’s affecting the minority community terribly.”
On partnership benefits, he said the idea sounds fair and he needs to study the economic impact.
On the Republican side, Dickey has endorsed Cecile Fernandez, a former Dickey’s Barbecue executive vice president who helped create the franchise program and take the company national. District 2 Commissioner Mike Cantrell has endorsed Fernandez’s opponent, attorney Larry Miller.
Fernandez attended the kick-off event this week for the new Dallas Log Cabin Republicans chapter.
“I was impressed with the turnout,” she said of the meeting, adding that she attended because several of the founders “are longtime personal friends.”
She said that although the new boundaries of District 1 give Democrats a slight edge, her connections in the Hispanic community and position as vice chair of the Dallas chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly will make the difference.
“I think I’m the Republican who can win that seat,” she said.
She expressed support for LGBT issues. She backs partnership benefits for county employees, but worried that in the new budget year everyone’s benefits will have to be cut.
She said that funding for HIV and AIDS treatment must remain in place and added she sees no room for discrimination.
“It’s not the ’80s,” she said. “Everyone knows someone who’s died of AIDS.”
She said she supports Parkland Hospital and has had people in her family use the facility.
“The people at Parkland are so caring,” she said. Despite being overworked in a rundown facility, “they must really love their jobs.”
Miller and Levario did not return messages before press time.
Levario, the sister of Dallas County’s 204th District Court Judge Lena Levario, works for Baylor’s physician network to manage their medical practices. She’s also a member of Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, Narvaez said.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition February 3, 2012.
It’s hard enough for us to get respect using our correct name. It’s “Log”, not Logan. Ah, the travails of being LGBT Republicans!
Fred: Corrected!
Another typo, “As a member of the SDEC she helped add two seats to the state body for Stonewall Denocrats leaders.”
Also, as a member of the SDEC, how did Daniel vote when that body defeated by a vote of 33-22 to include the marriage equality referendum in the Democrat Primary ballot? I think that is important to know. Thanks.