Chron Credits Caucus

From the Houston Chronicle:

Montrose, on the map an awkward appendage to a district that covers the
south side of the city, provided almost all of the margin of victory for
candidate Wanda Adams in Saturday's runoff election contest against
Lawrence Allen Jr.

Adams, who lives in the Hiram Clarke neighborhood several miles to the
south, had worked in the Montrose area and was backed by the Houston
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Political Caucus.

Allen never sought the endorsement of the caucus, which ran an
aggressive voter turnout program in support of Adams.

The group exploited its database with contact information for more than
30,000 friendly voters throughout Harris County.

In some Montrose precincts, Adams garnered more than 85 percent of the
vote. Allen's showing was not as strong in any single precinct in the
district.

Adams won with 57.2 percent of the 8,183 votes cast.

"I thank the citizens and voters of Montrose," Adams said. "They really
wanted their voice to be heard."

Congratulations to everyone - volunteers, screening committee members, block walkers, phone bankers - that participated in this fall's victory strategy.

Victory!

The process of vetting and endorsing candidates is arduous and sometimes contentious, but when the GLBT community commits itself, works together, and, most importantly, when we speak out about our needs and our vision for the future of Houston, we win!

The Caucus was victorious in 16 of the 17 races in which we endorsed in the November general election and December runoff election, including the city council race for District D which encompasses the Montrose Area. Unofficial canvass reports from Harris County had Adams winning Montrose by about 800 total votes, receiving 88% of the vote in those precincts. The Caucus orchestrated an unprecedented get out the vote campaign that paid off big time. The GLBT Caucus also endorsed Jolanda Jones, At-Large 5 and James Rodriguez, District I for Houston City Council. With the election of this new generation of progressive, equality focused city leaders, the Caucus looks forward to helping Houston City Council move forward in granting equal rights to GLBT citizens.

Now that all the votes have been counted and things have turned out so well, I think we should acknowledge how important this election was for our organization. We grew this fall. Our screening committee invested a lot of time investigating the HISD bond. We took a big risk, being the first the civic organization to endorse the proposal, but our activism made the difference. Just like in Wanda Adam's race, Montrose and the GLBT block vote provided, in large part, the margin of victory.

I think Caucus President Jennifer Rene Pool said it best: “We are not a special interest group; we are a general interest group. That is why we endorsed in the HISD, county, and state bond elections as well. Our focus is on cleaner air, better public schools, increasing public safety, and electing quality progressive candidates. We want a better Houston for our families, and that starts by electing the best candidates.”


Join the Caucus. Support our efforts.

Block Walk for Jo and Wanda

Block Walk

The Houston GLBT Political Caucus, Houston Stonewall Young Dems, and the Harris County Young Dems will be block walking for Wanda Adams and Jolanda Jones Saturday at noon.

We are meeting at Lanier Middle School (Westheimer @ Woodhead).

The Houston GLBT Political Caucus is the center of a growing coalition of Houstonians that have positive vision for the future of Houston. Come out and walk. Join our coalition to make Houston a better city for all our families.