Among those in attendance this weekend at the Texas Stonewall convention in Austin is openly gay Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns, shown speaking to the group this afternoon. Burns became Tarrant County’s first openly gay elected official in 2008 after he won a special election to replace Wendy Davis, who stepped down to run for state Senate. Burns is up for re-election in May, and although he had to defeat six other candidates to capture Davis’ seat, this time no one has filed to run against him. Burns said he’s already raised more than $90,000 for his District 9 re-election campaign. The filing deadline for Fort Worth elections is March 9. “I’m preparing for a race regardless,” Burns told me today. “I intend to be a formidable opponent.” He added that if he doesn’t see a challenger, he’ll use the money for public information campaigns, his Web site and direct mailings to constituents.
