Bill Nelson, right, and Terry Tebedo
The Blue Tidal Wave that swept across Texas on Election Day — culminating in the election of LGBTQ Democrats up and down the ballot — did not happen overnight. Its origins trace to the early 1980s, when a ripple began, stirred by a group of dedicated Dallas activists: Louise Young, Viv Armstrong, Mike Anglin, John Thomas, Peter Brooks, Marc Lerro, the late Don Baker, Al Calkin, Bill Nelson, Terry Tebedo and many others associated with the Dallas Gay Political Caucus.
Their strategy was straightforward but groundbreaking: Establish an LGBTQ presence throughout the most fundamental levels of the Democratic Party, beginning with neighborhood precincts.
The blueprint, known as Project 80, was designed to mobilize LGBTQ voters across North Texas and turn out the vote in Democratic primary elections. It was remarkably successful.
Community members were elected as delegates to the party’s state convention, introducing a new generation of dedicated LGBTQ+ activists to established party leaders and regulars. A substantial contingent of community representatives attended the next Texas State Democratic Convention.
One particularly significant result was Don Baker’s election as an official delegate to the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City.
The strategy was about more than winning elections. It was about establishing a permanent presence and ensuring county and state Democratic Party leaders understood that LGBTQ+ people were not simply an outside constituency asking to be heard. They were party members — represented in its precincts, participating in its conventions, and helping shape its future.
That early investment in grassroots political organization paid dividends for decades.
It took many years before a member of our community would be elected to the Texas Supreme Court, but the groundwork had been laid long before. These early activists understood something fundamental: Political influence begins at the local level, and meaningful representation requires showing up, organizing and claiming a seat at the table.
Today’s Blue Tidal Wave has deep roots. We should remember and recognize the people who started the ripple.
William Waybourn, succeeded Bill Nelson as president of the Dallas Gay Alliance during the AIDS crisis. Under his leadership, the organization helped establish the AIDS Resource Center, the Nelson-Tebedo Clinic, a food bank, the AIDS Financial Assistance Fund, the Dallas Legal Hospice and a community center, now known as the Resource Center. Waybourn and his husband of 53 years, Craig Spaulding, co-founded Crossroads Market with Nelson and Tebedo in 1980. Waybourn and Spaulding now live outside Washington, D.C.