Gay veteran elected mayor in Texas

[n2doc]

A gay man who wears heels has been elected mayor in Texas – by a landslide.

Bruno “Ralphy” Lozano, 35, won 62 percent of the vote to become mayor of Del Rio, a city on the border with Mexico. 
The first-time candidate, who has served as a security forces patrolman in the US military, defeated four-year incumbent Robert Garza.

In doing so, Lozano became Del Rio’s first ever openly gay elected official – not to mention the youngest person to be mayor in the city of 40,000 people.

And he triumphed in the election after choosing to march in high heels during last year’s veterans parade.

more
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/05/07/gay-veteran-who-wears-high-heels-elected-mayor-in-texas/

[mountain grammy]

1. Bravo, Del Rio!

Congratulations to the new mayor.. I wish him well.

[cannabis_flower]

2. This isn't new in Texas

The current mayor of Houston is gay. And so was the last mayor. The sheriff in Dallas is a gay and female, and running for Governor.

At least in Houston, I haven't met that many people who are anti-gay. It might be different out in the small towns but metro areas in Texas are mostly gay-friendly.

[PDittie]

3. Sylvester Turner is gay?

I wonder how that slipped past me. I knew he was certainly as LGBTQ-friendly as Parker, but if he is gay, he's pretty much in the closet. Isn't he?

[cannabis_flower]

5. I stand corrected

I had the impression, that was the case. But it probably stems from this episode in Houston history.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-man-who-knows-everything/

A week before the runoff between Turner and Lanier, Dolcefino took to the air with a report linking Turner to an old $6.5 million insurance scam. On film, a young man named Dwight Thomas nervously denied knowledge of the affairs of a man named Sylvester Foster. The owner of a chain of hair salons, Foster had hired Sylvester Turner to draft his will—just after he was indicted for credit card fraud and three days before he disappeared in an alleged boating accident. Dwight Thomas had reason to look nervous; he was identified as Turner’s roommate, and he had been named the trustee of Foster’s estate. Dolcefino’s report continued with Turner, wearing a campaign T-shirt and vehemently denying any connection with Foster except for his legal duties. Dolcefino’s report was innuendo rather than proof, but the subtext was clear: Either Turner was hopelessly naive, or he was a gay crook, keeping up appearances with a wife and child while living in another house with a man. The story was astounding and impeccably timed. Turner, a graduate of Harvard Law School, had come from nowhere to knock incumbent Kathy Whitmire out of the race and appeared to be headed for victory.

[n2doc]

4. It is definitely different out in the sticks

And West Texas is very different than Houston/Austin/San Antonio. But clearly things are changing.
If most of Texas were gay friendly, most of the legislature, and Governor, wouldn't be homophobes.