By Emma Platoff, Texas Tribune March 13, 2018 Editor’s note: This story has been updated throughout. Gov. Greg Abbott himself was opposed to the controversial “bathroom bill” that dominated debate at the Texas Capitol for much of 2017, according to a state representative involved in keeping the legislation from passing the Texas House. State Rep.…
After Early Voting, Valdez, White in Runoff Territory
By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune March 6, 2018 Lupe Valdez and Andrew White are on track for a runoff in the Democratic primary for governor, according to early vote returns released Tuesday evening. Valdez, the former Dallas County sheriff, led White, the son of late Gov. Mark White, by 11 percentage points — 42…
Ted Cruz Getting His Own Queer Dance Protest at Texas Capitol
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. It’s been a year since 500 spandex and legwarmer-wearing Texans flooded the streets surrounding the Governor’s Mansion to protest newly-proposed “transphobic and homophobic laws” coming down the legislative pipeline. Governor Greg Abbott was conveniently not home to witness the planned “queer dance freakout.” But, if you recall, the…
“Bathroom Bill” Fizzles as Republican Primary Issue
By Patrick Svitek, February 6, 2018 The “bathroom bill,” once touted as a surefire issue for the 2018 Republican primaries, is barely registering in them with less than a month until Election Day. Last year, state lawmakers waded into an intense, emotional debate over whether the state should restrict which bathrooms transgender Texans could use,…
Lupe Valdez, a Democrat, kicks off gubernatorial bid in Dallas
By Cassandra Pollock, The Texas Tribune January 7, 2018 DALLAS — Lupe Valdez, the former Dallas County Sheriff, formally launched her Democratic bid for governor on Sunday, touting a campaign aimed at representing all Texans and listing a broad range of topics she plans to address as election season gets underway. “Together, we need to…
2017 in Review: A Year in the Life of LGBT SA
A select month-by-month recap of stories about our community reported here and elsewhere in 2017. JANUARY Jeffrey James is Fiesta Cornyation’s King Anchovy LII The board of directors of Fiesta Cornyation, billed as “the raunchiest, cheapest event of Fiesta,” announced in January that this year’s King Anchovy LII was Jeffrey James, the proprietor of James…
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez Officially Enters Governor’s Race
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez has made it official: She is resigning her office to run for Governor of Texas in the Democratic primary. Valdez’s announcement came just a week after news outlets in North Texas had prematurely reported her resignation ahead of a likely campaign. Her announcement on December 6 is the real thing.…
Despite Reports, Dallas County Sheriff Says She Hasn’t Resigned to Run for Governor
By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune November 29, 2017 *Editor’s note: This story has been updated throughout. Democratic Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez is still weighing a run for governor, despite reports that she has resigned ahead of a likely a campaign. Multiple local news outlets in North Texas reported her resignation Wednesday evening. At…
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez Emerges as Potential Challenger to Gov. Greg Abbott
By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune November 6, 2017 Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez has emerged as potential Democratic challenger to Gov. Greg Abbott in 2018. In an interview Monday, Valdez described herself as “in the exploratory process,” looking at the data for a potential run against the Republican incumbent. “I’ve been approached and I’m…
Anti-Cyberbullying Activists Wanted a Texas Law With “Teeth.” They May Have Gotten One.
By Kirby Wilson, The Texas Tribune Just months after her son David took his own life, Maurine Molak began to organize. She and her husband, Matt, who live in San Antonio, founded David’s Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to cyberbullying victim advocacy. Maurine said they met with lawmakers, law enforcement officials, district attorneys, school administrators,…