Brian Thompson: Running Proud

Texas has an openly gay man running for the Texas House: Brian Thompson. Pretty cool... and he's running against Dawna Dukes, one of the infamous Craddick Ds. By supporting Craddick, Dukes, a Democrat from Austin, has enabled policies that have severely hurt the GLBT community -- most notably the anti-marriage amendment, prop 2.

It's really great to see a young, competent, gay man running to defeat Dukes. The Caucus has many battles ahead of us right here in Harris county, but we should show our support and interest in Brian Thompson's cause.

Here's how Brian recently introduced himself:

My name is Brian Thompson and I’m running for Texas State Representative in House District 46. With your help, on March 4, I will become the only openly gay member of the Texas Legislature.

I am writing because in order for me to win, I need your help.

Donate

My opponent’s largest donor is a man named Bob Perry. He is the largest Republican donor in Texas, funded the infamous “Swift Boat” ads that derailed the John Kerry campaign, and he contributed $150,000 to a right-wing, anti-gay group called “Texans for Marriage.” This group was one of the vehicles used to support (and pass) Proposition 2 in November of 2005, the unnecessary and hateful Constitutional Amendment that banned gay marriage in Texas. Even though my opponent is a Democrat, she is funded by Republicans, and she continues to support, endorse and enable Republican Speaker Tom Craddick.

Since announcing my candidacy just before Christmas, we have already raised more than $10,000 from 90 community activists, grassroot Democrats, and members of the GLBT community online. Like me, these donors want real representation and change for East Austin. You can view our incredible results on ActBlue.

300!

I was just informed that our Caucus army has reached a historic milestone. The Houston GLBT Political Caucus may now proudly claim 300 active, contributing members. This the largest number of members our organization has ever had. Our database of progressive contacts, who share our drive for equality, also continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, as we modernize our cataloging and voter identification methods. Furthermore, during our most recent get-out-the-vote campaign, the Caucus organized a remarkable number of new volunteers. No one could remember a time when we had so many volunteers.

I imagine that most people don't know the rich history of the Caucus. We've been working elections since 1975. Back then, our efforts were covert. Candidates met us secretly, and we promoted our goals in whisper campaigns. Today, we're heralded in the Houston Chronicle and across the progressive blogosphere. We're the oldest GLBT political activist group in the South, and, though we've had a mixed history of success, last night at our January general meeting, Ray Hill, Houston's legendary activists, spoke passionately about the confidence he has in the current leadership and vision of our organization. We're growing and winning, but, as Rick Noriega, last night's guest speaker and Democratic candidate for the U.S. senate, said, "The best is yet to come."

We have great momentum. Equality is in sight, and, with your help, 2008 will be our most successful year yet.

Join the Caucus.