Endorsement watch: Thanks but no thanks

UPDATE: It would appear that the email that purported to come from Christians for Better Government with the homophobic slam on Annise Parker is a complete fake. I have just gotten off the phone with the Rev. Willie Wright, the president of the real Christians For Better Government, who confirmed this to me. CFBG did endorse a slate of candidates last week, and their real list is included below. According to Rev. Wright, he has been contacted several times in the past by “right-wing groups” who want to use the name “Christians for Better Government” and are dismayed to find that Rev. Wright’s group isn’t right-wing. That suggests the possibility that this is an especially dirty trick, as the CFBG name has been sullied by the fake email. I deeply regret that my post may have contributed to that in any way, so let me set the record as straight as I can: The email that went out earlier today, with the sender’s address of “christiansforbettergovernment@gmail.com”, which purports to be from Christians For Better Government and which endorses Gene Locke for Mayor while rejecting Annise Parker for being a “homosexual”, is a fake. The real CFBG sent out its real endorsements last week, and their real email is as follows:

Christians For Better Government (CFBG)
3430 Anita Street * P. O. Box 88314 * Houston, Texas 77288-0314
Phone/Fax: (713)655-0315 * Cell: (832)881-1459
Web: www.christiansforbettergovernment.com
President: Rev. Willie Wright Jr.

Pentecostal Churches Make Endorsement

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Contact: Rev. Willie Wright Jr.
Christians For Better Government (CFBG)
(832)881-1459
E-mail: browright@yahoo.com

Houston- Christians For Better Government (CFBG), formerly called the People’s PAC of the International Ministerial Alliance in 2001, is a nonpartisan political corporation comprised of Pentecostal-Charismatic pastors and members who have submitted themselves to the Lordship of JESUS CHRIST in living while being engaged in civil government, public policy, and the political process.

CFBG’s Core Values include but are not limited to the following: Children first, Fiscal responsibility & accountability, Better representation for all hard working Americans, Government that works for all, etc.

CFBG has endorsed the following candidates for Houston’s upcoming municipal elections:

City Controller- Ronald C. Green

City Council Districts:
A- Lane Lewis
B- Jarvis Johnson
C- Anne Clutterbuck
D- Wanda Adams
E- Mike Sullivan
F- Mike Laster
G- Oliver Pennington
H- Ed Gonzalez
I- James G. Rodriguez

Positions:
1- Stephen C. Costello
2- Andrew C. Burks
3- Melissa Noriega
4- C. O. “Brad” Bradford
5- Jolanda “Jo” Jones

Note that they did not endorse in the Mayor’s race; according to Rev. Wright, they will defer their endorsement to to runoff. Note also that a Google search for “christians for better governmemt” does not yield a result with the Christians For Better Government domain name. Had it done so, this post would have been very different from the beginning. I can’t do anything about that, but I can try to correct the record. My sincere apologies to the Rev. Wright for any trouble my original post caused him and his organization, and my sincere hope that whoever did this gets found out. I’m putting the original post beneath the fold and will delete everything after this sentence after the election.

Here’s something you don’t see very often: A rejected endorsement. A group called Christians for Better Government sent out a press release touting its voters guide for the 2009 Houston elections. They said the following regarding the Mayor’s race:

In this election our city is faced with a major deficit and how best to turn our city around financially. That is why Christians for Better Government has decided to endorse Gene Locke for Mayor. Gene is the proven leader this city needs “for such a time as this”. He is a family man and a person that knows how to get things done. He has always been on the forefront on issues that affect the community. Gene understands the community and its needs; the others only talk about understanding.

Here is why Peter Brown and Annise Parker are not the best choice for Mayor. Peter Brown puts out false claims that he is a champion for issues affecting the community. Annise Parkers lifestyle that of being a HOMOSEXUAL is not the proper role model to lead the fourth largest city in the United States. The Bible speaks clearly against the lifestyle she represents, James 1:8 says, “A double minded man is confused in all his ways”. She does not believe in what the scripture says about her lifestyle which in return means she doesn’t believe in God.

I suppose it was just a matter of time before someone brought out the anti-gay crap. (As musings notes, there’s already been a push poll along these lines.) To his credit, Locke responded as follows:

“I vehemently reject this so-called ‘endorsement’ from a group calling itself ‘Christians for Better Government.’ Furthermore, as a church-going Christian, I reject any association with this bogus and divisive style of campaigning. I find the message contained in their press release to be reprehensible, and the people of Houston do, too. I trust Houstonians to choose a new mayor based on the issues and the candidates, and not to be swayed by this kind of ugly rhetoric.”

I wish I could tell you more about “Christians for a Better Government”, but I can’t. Google yielded basically nothing, and I can’t recall ever hearing the name before. For what it’s worth, here’s the rest of their slate:

Controller – MJ Khan

District A – Brenda Stardig

District B – Jarvis Johnson

District C – Anne Clutterbuck

District D – Wanda Adams

District E – Mike Sulivan

District F – Joe Chow

District G – Dexter Handy

District H – Ed Gonzalez

District I – James Rodriguez

At – Large Position 1 – Hermann Litt

At – Large Position 2 – Rosalyn “Rozzy” Shorter

At – Large Position 3 – Melissa Noriega

At – Large Position 4 – C.O “Brad” Bradford

At – Large Position 5 – Dr. Davetta Daniels

I’m curious as to whether anyone else will follow Locke’s lead on this. I’d also like to know more about this group; if anyone knows anything, please leave a comment. As a further curiosity, there’s another group out there issuing endorsements called Christians for A Better Government. Among those who have received their nod are Jolanda Jones and Lane Lewis. I don’t know anything about that group, either, but it sure is weird there’s two such groups with amazingly similar names and different preferences in candidates. Stace has more.