Out candidate Sara Martinez receives backing in crowded justice of the peace precinct 5, place 1 run
From left to right, Beth Villarreal, Sara Martinez, Susan Lopez-Craig and John McCall Jr.
Stonewall Democrats of Dallas are poised to endorse incumbent Precinct 5 Constable Beth Villarreal and openly gay justice of the peace candidate Sara Martinez after its members chose them during candidate screenings.
During the screenings, both Villarreal and lesbian challenger Susan Lopez-Craig were questioned about the recent lawsuit Villarreal filed against Lopez-Craig using her surname. The lawsuit was dropped late last week.
Villarreal said the suit was filed because she believed Lopez-Craig filed under an illegal name. Lopez is on her birth certificate, but her name was changed to Craig a few years ago when she was adopted. Villarreal said she dropped the case because of the expected cost of delaying the printing of ballots when an appeal was likely. She added that the suit could have affected other female officials running or serving under their maiden name, like herself, instead of their married names.
Lopez-Craig told the membership that she filed under her name so she wouldn’t lose her Hispanic heritage. She said Villarreal offered to originally drop the lawsuit if she dropped Lopez from the ballot. She said she plans to have her name legally changed to Lopez-Craig so this issue won’t come up again.
While Precinct 5 is a heavily Hispanic district, candidates in that race also will be fighting for the LGBT vote. Villarreal received the backing of the LGBT community during her first run in 2010. She has a gay son and is a member of PFLAG. She mentioned that she recently marched with PFLAG in the Dallas Pride parade.
“The LGBT community has been there for me for the last three years,” she said. “I am invested in this community not only personally but professionally.”
As for hiring practices, Villarreal said she has a gay chief of staff. She said she had an employee who didn’t open up for two years until her chief of staff started.
“We have made this office so comfortable so out staff can be comfortable around who they are and with who they are,” she said.
Lopez-Craig, who currently works as a Dallas Independent School District security officer, said she wants to work with the schools to lower truancy rates, as well as reach out to the LGBT and other communities.
“I want to see my community taken care of just like I want the Hispanic community taken care of,” she said. “You can’t just pick one community. I want to make it better for the people that live in this community and make it safer.”
Villarreal highlighted the transparency and efficiency she’s brought to the office, as well as relationships she’s built with other law enforcement agencies.
But Lopez-Craig and the two other Democrats challengers, Michael Orozco, a deputy constable in precinct 3, and police officer Rick Lozano, called for more efficiency and transparency in the office. Orozco and Lozano explained they’d work with the LGBT community to ensure its members would have equal representation, but ultimately the choice seemed to be between Villarreal and Lopez-Craig, with Villarreal receiving the endorsement.
Endorsements must be voted on by the full Stonewall membership at its monthly meeting Jan. 21.
The race for the vacant justice of the peace, precinct 5, place 1 seat also brought four candidates for consideration, and two of them are gay.
Attorney Sara Martinez, who’s openly gay, has worked in every justice of the peace precinct in the county. She said with the large LGBT and Hispanic portions of the precinct, “it’s vital that the person elected is inclusive so everyone has a seat at the table.”
She said she has family members who also are LGBT, so she knows the important issues facing the community.
“This is a community that’s near and dear to my heart so I have tried to represent them in every aspect,” Martinez said.
But having only lived in Dallas County since 2009 seemed to hurt her at the screenings because her party work has been minimal. However, the endorsement went to her.
Openly gay attorney John McCall Jr. highlighted his career as a litigator and his knowledge of how the JP office works. His involvement with Stonewall for less than six months seemed to hurt his candidacy among the group, who asked about his organizational affiliations, which include preservation societies and a gay car club in Oak Cliff, and focused on his time with the county Democratic Party.
Luis Sepulveda, who previously held the justice of the peace seat before he was removed from office for fraud allegations, seemed to face harsher questioning about his past and election fraud.
Attorney Melissa Bellan seemed to be the close contender for the endorsement based on the questioning about her legal experience and whether she’s bilingual.
Bellan said that she’s in a program to help her become bilingual by the time she takes office if she stays on the progressive track.
She addressed the fact that’s not a member of the LGBT community but said she could still represent it effectively.
“Some people may want to side with people in the race because they are a member (of the LGBT community),” Bellan said. “But I’m also a member because I want to fight for the community by treating couples fairly and trans jurors the same.”
Another contested race of LGBT interest is Dallas County treasurer where former Dallas Councilwoman Pauline Medrano and David Bradley, both Stonewall members, sought the endorsement.
Bradley, a county accounting supervisor, said he’s worked for more than two decades to establish LGBT recognition in the Democratic Party.
Medrano, a longtime LGBT champion during her four terms on the council, was asked about her response to a meeting with a trans activist several years ago about restroom use in the trans community.
Medrano said she has supported the LGBT community for more than 40 years and strongly denied being dismissive of the trans issue.
The endorsement went to Medrano.
Uncontested candidate screenings take place from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Jan. 11 at Resource Center. Out judge Tonya Parker and openly gay state House District 102 candidate George Clayton are among those seeking endorsements.
To read candidate questionnaires, visit Scribd.com/StonewallDallas.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition January 10, 2014.