Endorsement watch: The way in J

The Chron endorses CM Mike Laster for re-election in District J.

Mike Laster

Mike Laster

This district has a deep need for important constituent services, and Laster has dedicated his office to providing them. From working with the Urban Land Institute on redesigning Richmond to helping Gulfton youth collaborate on creating a skatepark, Laster puts his longtime City Hall expertise to good use.

In addition to his time on the Sharpstown Civic Association, Laster has worked as a senior city attorney and as former chair of the Sharpstown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. He was a key proponent of the Houston equal rights ordinance – an important tool for his diverse district. On pensions, Laster says that we need a new system for new hires at the Houston Fire Department, but also warns against cuts that could drive needed public safety workers to retire.

Besides [Jim] Bigham, Laster faces two other challengers: Dung Le, who said he is running as a bridge to connect minority voters, and Manny Barrera, a former City Hall staffer perhaps best known for his bizarre anti-gay tirades in the comment sections of local political blogs.

Laster has earned his third term at City Hall, but we hope to see Bigham run again in the next election.

I gotta say, if “perhaps best known for his bizarre anti-gay tirades in the comment sections of local political blogs” is an accurate part of your biography, you have probably wasted your life. Be that as it may, I called this one right, and it was easy enough. Bigham is indeed a good candidate, but CM Laster (interview here) has a fine record and no disqualifying actions. He’s a good guy and I’m rooting for him.

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34 Responses to Endorsement watch: The way in J

  1. PDiddie says:

    First drink at the Guava Lamp is on me, Manny! Or we can try the Gaslamp and see if we can get in without any chicks.

  2. Steve Houston says:

    I wonder how many comments this one is going to muster…

    In fairness, who really thinks MB’s comments are often “bizarre anti-gay tirades” rather than “run of the mill anti-gay commentary”? What really makes them bizarre?

  3. Manuel Barrera says:

    I will compare what I have done in my life to anyone. What do you do know about me to claim that I have wasted my life? Did you know that I adopted an autistic child? He is still with me and will stay with me until the day I die. Tell me Kuffner what have you done to help your fellow humans? Call people haters with whom you disagree?

    Bigot a person who is intolerant of others’ opinions. Kuffner that is you.

    The editorial staff and the Chronicle does not know me. I did not interview with them. What is bizarre about my posting?

    The HERO supporters claimed that a man had never used a similar ordinance to attack women. I did research, do you know what that is? That was a bogus argument by the HERO supporters.

    Kuffner is great at calling people names, but fails to bother doing research. Kuffner attacks Abel Davila and Yolanda Navarro Flores based on lies by the Chronicle and Veselka a friend of former trustee Richard Schechter. Veselka’s report did not find any wrong doing he wrote the report as if he did. For instance, the part about Yolanda Navarro Flores, Veselka based his findings that there may have been impropriety because an anonymous source said Abel Davila said it. Abel Davila told Veselka he did not say that. The contractor that supposedly used Flores’ s son submitted an affidavit that said he did not. The company that was supposedly using Flores’s son submitted an affidavit that said he did not. All that is in the Veselka report, but Kuffner has refused to even consider that someone he hates, and he hates a lot people, could be right or innocent. I have challenged him in the past to read the report.

    The true villains were Art Tyler and Mary Spangler, but somehow they were not even investigated. Did you know that they had already set the contract with Chevron Energy Solutions for them to win, even before it went out for bid? Did you know who did the study as to energy needs? It was Chevron, they still came in second and got the bid. There are records of Art Tyler and Mary Spangler meeting with Chevron management before they went out for bid? Ignorance is bliss, are you a happy person Kuffner?

    I will compare what I have done for Houston with what Kuffner has done any time and if the persons are fair and impartial it will not even be a contest.

    I do have a blog, but have not been posting lately, INSIDE HCCS, when I stopped posting I was close to getting a million hits over a 12 months period. But I do my research, where is Kuffner’s research? When does he do open records request.

    Kuffner it is your blog and you can resort to name calling and innuendos, but intelligent people can argue without resorting to name calling. Why is it that you cannot?

    You can even remove this post like the Houston Chronicle often does when it does not like comments. But the truth won’t change and I have no trouble sleeping.

  4. Steve Houston says:

    MB, keep in mind that Charles (and others) base much of their opinions on what media reports. Those with specific insider knowledge of particular events or organizations are going to have a significantly different viewpoint than the hack job the Chronicle is going to do in most cases. Sometimes, that is based on their priorities or political leaning, other times on their complete indifference to portray events accurately or wanting to scoop bloggers or other media.

    You have posted a number of times about a “gay agenda” and how gays were pulling political stunts or how they could hide their sexual identities to avoid discrimination. While I disagree with these statements, they just seem run of the mill anti-gay, hence my inquiry into what constitutes “bizarre”. Given Charles’ politics and other beliefs, of course he’s going to view as suspect anything you write as a result. In some cases he will be wrong but just as you were bashing me over my “real identity” not long ago, suggesting anything I wrote was flawed based on that rather than the meat of the comments made (a logical fallacy), most people do that in one way or another (letting a person’s stance on one topic influence credibility on others).

  5. Manuel Barrera says:

    Steve, I did it once, I think I have a good idea of who you are, not by name, by what you post.

    If I am wrong about a homosexual agenda, I am waiting for someone to prove it. I reached the conclusion based not what is occurring just here in Houston but throughout the nation.

    It would make an interesting study as to how many homosexuals, lesbians, bi-sexual persons are in media.

    If I made a statement that the Koch brothers had an agenda, many of the people that call me a hater would agree with me. We all have lived different lives and experienced different things thus we see with rose color glasses and have biases. No one knows what I have done, or what I have seen. I have known Ray Hill since the 70s and respect him because he stands for what he believes. I have known Ovide Duncantell since the 70s. I don’t agree with many people that I respect but I respect them for standing up for what they believe. We are different and think differently.

    One can take this with whatever, but I was blessed or maybe cursed with above average intelligence and stubbornness. I have no problem accepting people the way they are unless they harm others. My hero is Mother Theresa, but she was also against contraception and abortion, which I also agree with. Her views on homosexuality were;

    “In the words of mother Teresa, who called homosexuals “friends of Jesus,” she said “Jesus loves you always, even when you don’t feel worthy. When not accepted by others, even by yourself sometimes, He is the one who always accepts you. Only believe, you are precious to him. Bring all you are suffering to His feet, only open your heart to be loved by Him as you are. He will do the rest.”

    Mother Teresa loved those who had same-sex attractions, but she still called them to purity. In fact, it is precisely because she loved them that she called them to practice chastity. It is a false form of compassion to lead others to think that they can find fulfillment by living outside the will of God.”

    Is she one that should be hated?

  6. Manuel Barrera says:

    During arguments, civil arguments, valid points can be used, thus the “bashing”. My blog INSIDE HCCS does not have my name on it, except for every now and then.

  7. Manuel Barrera says:

    By the way those reports on properties purchased by HCC was based on information that I had posted on my blog. I do my research, when someone claims that no incident has occurred before I form an opinion I will research. If someone claims that homosexuals are born that way I will do research. Research is actually inconclusive as to source of homosexuality, but does suggest that it is not in the genes. If later research proves that it is in the genes, I will accept it. I also look into who is doing the research to see if there may be bias.

    Steve I will invite you do research on media reports and tell me why every time someone comes out it is news worthy? Why was the fact that Lance Berkman made a commercial against HERO merit national attention and from so many reporters? I did extensive research and reading before I came to a conclusion that there was a homosexual agenda. Think tanks think of agendas and how to get their agendas accepted.

  8. voter_worker says:

    The irony of The Chronicle’s description of Mr. Barrera’s opinions of non-hetero people as “bizarre” begs for comment. Their comments platform is well-known as a sounding board for residents of Crazy Town. As Steven Houston points out, Mr. Barrera is mainstream and can be civilly responded to. I routinely see extreme comments on Facebook and other platforms that make Mr. Barrera’s take on the subject seem more like mild annoyance, by comparison.

  9. Steve Houston says:

    MB, every time I’ve asked about the “homosexual agenda” as mentioned here, very little was provided, leaving me to wonder if it was just a convenient strawman. I don’t doubt your experiences have differed from mine based just on your physical description of yourself and how it has impacted you, that genetic lottery we all partake in certainly leaving a mark. I also think a lot of people in the media are gay/lesbian or are very liberal and actively support that lifestyle though frankly, I know far more people who claim the media is “controlled” by either big money interests or “the Jews”. I really have no idea which is why I ask the questions I do.

    But just because most of us can appreciate Mother Teresa (I believe that’s the spelling, correct me if I’m wrong) doesn’t mean we have to agree with everything she said. Many believe in a different deity or variation of religious practice (or none at all), whose to say what is correct for another?

    And I agree regarding civil arguments, hence my generally refraining from personal attacks in favor of personal observations under most circumstances but even if I listed my credentials, sources, and trained expertise in various fields, it wouldn’t change the need to research a point you disagree with. Take everything with a grain of salt and look into it for yourself but some of us have found out the hard way that having a writing persona has long been established as a good idea, crazies coming after me some years back because I hadn’t learned that lesson.

  10. Manuel Barrera says:

    PDiddie, had to loop up Guava Lamp, does it have good food? Would it surprise you to know that in college I had friends that were Lesbian and Homosexuals and did go into some of those bars that were located in Montrose? I am not afraid of learning, I have also gone into almost all denominations of churches and listened to their messages. I have read the Bible, the Koran, english translations of sanskrit, have read extensively about Budda and his teachings, and also Confucius. One of my favorite poems is called Ozymandias. I usually recommend that everyone read the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, Siddaharta by Herman Hesse, and Mien Kampf to see how the German people were manipulated. If one has time to look into the face of despair, read the poem “I Am”.

    By the way I still know people that are homosexual and lesbians, but I don’t go out much as most people tend to not understand autism and my son goes with me almost every where.

  11. Steve Houston says:

    MB, I never followed the HCC matter closely but research into sexual issues like nature versus nurture have a great deal more support for genetics than personal choice, regardless of source (all researchers are biased, I should know, I worked on various research myself). That is why peer reviewed research is the best way to go over media accounts where reporters, typically generalists with poor understanding of stats and research to begin with, rely on each other’s works, changing the words around to avoid outright plagiarism.

    Berkman: I could be flip and say “slow news day” or take wild shots in the dark as to “why” but in general, any time a celebrity says something outside the beaten path, it gets picked up, even a sort of celebrity like Berkman who I know as much about as Honey Boo Boo (close to nothing). If he commented how blacks were much smarter than Asians or how me favored Bollywood movies over those made in Hollywood, it’d get picked up too, anything at all off the beaten path many have come to accept.

  12. Paul kubosh says:

    The thing that I got.out of this is that the chronicle editorial board is reading kuffs blogs. Maybe they think I am bizarre too. I know Steven is. πŸ™‚

  13. Ross says:

    Manuel, just what is the “gay agenda” you seem to dislike so much? From where I sit, that agenda seems to consist mostly of a desire to be treated the same as you or me, and to not get beaten up for being different – basically they want to be treated like human beings.

  14. Manuel Barrera says:

    Good Question Ross, deserves an answer although I doubt that you will agree. First we have to give agenda a definition.

    Do you think that there is wide spread beating up for being homosexual? I won’t say Lesbian because that does not seem to occur at least at the same level that homosexuals tend to make the news.

    If that is a goal, not getting beat up, to accomplish that in itself is an agenda.

    I don’t know about you and me, I don’t know if you are European-American or something else. Remember that European-Americans have been the majority in this country for several hundred years. I would be labeled as Mexican-American so I seriously doubt that you and I would have been treated the same. Has a police officer pointed a gun to your head? Have you been told to go back to where you came from? Were you ever told that you could never be President because you are “Mexican”? Have you ever been told not to bother going to college because you are “Mexican”.

    Being treated the same means we are the same, no “Mexican-American”, no “White American”, no African American. In fact we are being treated differently. I am not sure why anyone would want a label to make themselves different.

    Are there biases and discrimination, of course, no law will ever change that.

    I just don’t buy that they are not treated as human beings.

    I don’t doubt that they have internal conflicts that lead to higher suicides and feeling of not being human (or worthy). The solution is not to get people like me to think they are normal, the solution is for them to internalize their feeling where they have a feeling of worth. One does not find happiness outside of oneself.

    The agenda is gain power over the media and to bully others into accepting what they want them to believe, it is called manipulation. The Chronicle’s use of the word bizarre and anti-gay is a perfect example of that. Trump’s use of Mexicans being rapist is the same thing, or using words like anchor babies, or illegals.

    By the way I also think that homosexuals as a group are of much higher intelligence than non homosexuals, they also tend to be more artistic than non-homosexuals.

    It may get me more in trouble with others but the Jews do the same thing with the holocaust and yes they are also in much higher percentages in the media, Steven that is for you.

    Ross why don’t we see a lot of images or movies about what happened to the Native Americans?

    In a nutshell homosexuals have an agenda, I personally think that in the long run it may do them more harm, but only time will tell. They want to be loved.

    Ross why would I care what a bigot or racist thought about me? I don’t lose sleep over it that is something they have to deal with.

  15. Manuel Barrera says:

    Short answer the agenda is to force me by bullying to accept them, manipulation. I should accept someone because of what they are not because some unnamed bullies write that I post bizarre anti-gay tirades.

  16. Steve Houston says:

    “Ross why don’t we see a lot of images or movies about what happened to the Native Americans?”
    Well, from the time I used to watch Fess Parker in the Daniel Boone series on through to Dances With Wolves, Pocahontas, and of course “Avatar” (the biggest grossing movie of all time and a thinly veiled allegory about Native Americans) to mention a few of the scores of shows on the “noble savages”, Hollywood has bombarded us with “what happened to them” and how they were so much more civilized than Europeans. The days of the raiding Indians as bad guys is largely over and has been since you were a pup. You’re certainly old enough to remember that old eco-commercial using the crying Indian Chief to shame us into cleaning up the country, yes? As someone who walked parts of the Trail of Tears back in the 70’s in a cross country tour out of Clark University, I think I know a little bit about it, how those in Congress have not changed a bit when it comes to treaties, and other things that contribute to my cynical nature. πŸ˜‰

    But I’ve known gays that were dumb as stumps, grandmasters at chess and everything in between, the bulk I’ve known personally in the arts where they did work for me (or vice versa). Stereotyping them, even favorably, is as fraught with error as with any other group. But previously, you mentioned political agendas of gay groups to suppress Latino voting or candidates, an agenda to be treated equally a basic human right to me.

    PK, guilty as charged. πŸ™‚

  17. Manuel Barrera says:

    Steve here in Houston, the part of homosexual agenda to suppress the Latino vote is true. There are more Homosexuals/Lesbians seating in the horseshoe than Latinos. Why is that Steve? Whether Latinos vote in low numbers or not the fact remains that there are more votes than homosexual/lesbian votes. But then one can tell that a person is a “Mexican” by the looks or his name. Whether conservative Republicans or liberal Democrat the percentage of not Latinos voting for Latinos is about the same. Why is that homosexuals/lesbians manage to have more people in office if there is so much discrimination that they have to face? Robert Gallegos a person that is openly Gay according to Out Smart stated in his interview that he has spent his life working to elect opening gay persons. That statement tells me that Robert Gallegos identifies more closely with the homosexual community than the Latino community.

    Honestly I don’t expect too many votes from the white community in District J, that is the nature of the beast. I will bet you a dinner that when people go vote they will assume that I am Mexican but very few will assume that Laster is homosexual, again he is openly gay according to Out Smart.

    Name those movies that hollywood has done Steve? Buried My Heart at Wounded Knee? One of the best was Dancing with Wolves. Avatar was interpreted that way by some really that is a movie about Native Americans? By the way Native Americans, means all the Americas. Apocalypto by Mel Gibson certainly does not do wonders for cultural awareness.

    Steve we all stereotype, because that is the nature of the beast. We do have to be aware that the one rule that is constant is that for rules there are always exception.

    Steve have you visited some of the Reservations in Oklahoma or other states? Steve yes they have stopped portraying the Native Americans the way they used. But what movies have they done to show what happened to them? They don’t make those movies because Native Americans are not in control of the media. The same thing for African Americans, I prefer just Americans, but we have to distinguish people don’t we. The last great show was Roots and maybe the Color Purple, how long ago was that.

    Steve what about TV, what do you have to say about that media?

    By the way all that discrimination that happens to LGBT persons, ever looked to see which person is the most likely to be discriminated against, A black male homosexual.

    Look if you think homosexuals/lesbians need protection that is fine, but convince me that there is wide spread discrimination. In fact my experience is that the worse of group of people to discriminate are the homosexual/lesbian group. As I mentioned previously Annise Parker had all females on staff when she was a council member. Is that discrimination against males? As a controller she brought in a very large number of LGBT persons into the department, is that discrimination?

    Convince me Steve, if you are a researcher post links to prove that I am wrong. I will change my mind if convinced, but not because people think that I have wasted my life or resort to calling me names.

    Want to know about agendas Steve, would you believe that I increased my posting on blogs expecting that type of behavior from the Chronicle and certain bloggers. I manipulated them. I also knew that most candidates websites don’t get too many hits. I have not done bad, about 5000 hits in 40 days. As to how will I do in the race? I don’t know a lot of it depends on the turnout and if the Republicans are willing to vote for a Mexican. The higher the Latino voter turnout the better I will do. If I get the Pro Christian Voters, who knows I could win. I expect Laster to be in a run-off or lose. I got into the race with no intentions of spending more than $500 plus the filing fee. But I did hope to get certain endorsements as I have a history of being against HERO. Some of those endorsement come with a mailer from them. I did get Dr. Hotze endorsement and I am one of the persons that he is recommending, that should be worth some votes. I also have Houstonians for Family Values endorsement, I believe they will do a mailer.

    As to District J, it was created supposedly as a possible Latino district. I never believed that. District J was created for a homosexual to run and win, that would be Mike Laster, he had run often enough for council in this area.

    Bye Steve, enough said on this topic. Have a great day, each day is precious. By the way I have two adopted sons. I wonder how many Kuffner has or how he has used his life to be not wasteful. With that I do have to give credit to Annise Parker and her spouse for their adoptions.

  18. Greg Wythe says:

    Steve,

    I believe you now have your answer about why the “bizarre” characterization is warranted.

  19. Julian Deleon says:

    Congratulations to Mike Laster. Well deserved endorsement from the Chronicle. Mike is the best person for the District J job.

  20. Steve Houston says:

    Greg, well, at least he spoke his mind. πŸ™‚

    MB, we’ve discussed this before. If you want more Latinos to hold office, they are going to have to register to vote, then actually vote, and support qualified candidates for office that happen to be Latino. Nobody is disenfranchising them to get ahead, they are collectively participating in levels that just don’t win elections. But if there are two gay council members and two Latino council members, so be it; just as ethnic council members vote for all sorts of things that have nothing to do with their ethnicity, so do both Latino and Gay council members.

    Movies: As discussed, Native Americans are no longer the bad guys in movies or television and haven’t been in decades. If that was all you got out of the historically flawed Apocalypto, you just weren’t paying attention to the story though. But you could watch any of Tom Laughlin’s Billy Jack movies, dozens of westerns (even the recent Lone Ranger flick), and scores of documentaries regarding “what happened to the ‘Indians'” in a favorable light toward the natives. But yes, I have been on a number of reservations when younger, now typically visiting them for their casinos and not to learn about history, so I’m aware of a lot.
    For blacks, I suggest you check out 12 Years A Slave, Amistad, Belle, I Am Slave, or a great many others that played successfully in local theaters.
    For Jews, Schindler’s List is tough to beat though Life Is Beautiful, The Boy In Striped Pajamas, or The Book Thief might open your eyes.
    For gays, try Philadelphia, The Imitation Game, Stonewall, or The Band Played On, but there are many for each of these groups.

    As far as Parker in concerned, she brought on trusted employees that she believed were up to the tasks handed them, often people that already worked for her that were willing to move over with her or people that worked elsewhere that were far more qualified than others applying for such jobs because they wanted to show her support via more than a check.

    As far as gayness determined by genes, the mistake you make is that you seem to believe it is an “all or nothing” attribute, go read up on the research by Alfred Kinsey or Masters & Johnson for a better grip. Otherwise:
    http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/10443/20141118/homosexuality-genetic-strongest-evidence.htm
    http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/11/study-gay-brothers-may-confirm-x-chromosome-link-homosexuality
    And there are many, many more supporting the idea but frankly, why would it matter? Even if being gay were a “choice” as you maintain, it is a lawful choice and protected by a growing number of laws across the globe. Your suggestion that gays/lesbians should just hide it or even that they CAN necessarily hide it (not always the case) suggests they should do so to avoid discrimination that exists. But if you really want evidence proving such exists and can’t Google it for yourself, by all means avail yourself of all the wonderful resources Houston has to offer you in that regard. There are thousands who can provide endless times they were discriminated against openly and they would love to educate a candidate for office such as yourself.

    On a related note, it has only been fairly recently that gays and lesbians were allowed to adopt children in Texas as you have. Doesn’t that sound a bit like discrimination to you? Think of all the children out there that remained in horrible conditions because of policies like that when there were loving couples ready to rescue them.

    But as far as District J being formed for gays to win office, if you seriously believe that, why would you run there? For the premise to be true, there would have to be a huge number of people that vote only on a single issue, sexual identity, and you’ve provided no evidence of that. Given that the area includes Gulfton and the SW part of town and the demographics show over 100k Latinos with a total population of 171k, it makes far more sense to agree it was carved out for Latinos than gays.

  21. Paul kubosh says:

    Wasn’t there a big to do about mayor Parker trying to form a gay district? I seem to remember her walking out of a press conference. Even if she did do that which I think she did then I say so what?

  22. Steve Houston says:

    PK, off the top of my head, the current District J was created instead of the proposed version that was located inside 610 (and some, not many) suggested would be a “gay” district. No one had any credible numbers that there was a large enough population of LGBT people located in that area to have their “own seat”, the bottom line being that there is no such thing if people don’t register and vote. The suggestion that either District J or I were created to seat a gay candidate is probably enough to get labeled a “bizarre, anti-gay tirade” type of person. lol

    But when over 60% of a district is a particular ethnicity such as District J, it does stand to reason that it was carved out to give Latinos a better shot at winning the seat rather than approach the creation of the district in a colorblind manner.

  23. Paul Kubosh says:

    Of Course it can appear to be a Latino district but if only 6% (i am guessing) of the Latino’s are registered to vote then is it really a hispanic district? I am signing off now to watch the Cowboys. See you next week.

  24. Steve Houston says:

    Take Care PK! As I recall, something like 18% of them were registered to vote which, if voting as a group, would overwhelm considering how few voters of other ethnicities vote. I might look it up later when I get a chance (just finished cooking my dinner…yum). πŸ™‚

  25. Mainstream says:

    District J was created as an “opportunity district” for Hispanic voters as some believed the Voting Rights Act in force at the time required, due to preclearance concerns. In fact, as we all know, most Hispanics in the southwest in the City are not US Citizens, are under 18, or are disconnected from local politics. There were proposals at the time for a different Hispanic opportunity district, much less regular in shape, and including parts of Spring Branch. My memory is that Greg Wythe either sketched them, or was present at meetings where this configuration was considered. In my view, those proposals lacked compactness and would violate equal protection law, under Shaw v. Reno and subsequent cases. But also from memory, local Hispanic politicians weighed in supporting the current shape of District J, because it would cause less disruption to existing district boundaries and the self-interest of those incumbents.

  26. Manuel Barrera says:

    Steve, you are a researcher? The first link is what a writer who seems to have quite a few articles promoting homosexuality interprets. Didn’t you say the study is what one has to look? Besides there a bunch of nasties on that site there that could damage a computer.

    The second link ends with “Bailey says, β€œbut until somebody finds a gene, we don’t know.”

    You don’t have anything Steve. Besides what does it really matter if homosexuality is in the genes? Does that mean that if the parents don’t want to have homosexuals or lesbians they can abort?

    Steve you are a disappointment, I thought you did research and the two links is the best you could do? I recall, writing it was inconclusive as to genes but probably not.

    You want me to prove to myself, why because you can’t? Where is the ancedotal evidence, Steve? Kinda reminds me of a t-shirt I used to wear, if you can’t dazzle them with your brilliance baffle them with your bull.

    While I gave annise parker and her partner credit for the adoption, there is evidence that it may be harmful to children. But like genes there is nothing conclusive either way.

    Greg, like arm pits you are entitled to your opinion.

    Paul anywhere from 15 to 30 percent of the voters in J will be Latino.

    Mainstream, as to the per-clearance who was going to challenge? The district was created for Mike Laster, if I was homosexual and wanted to get a friend or fellow homosexual in, I certainly would have created it for him just the way it was created. The mayor and city attorney know but would never admit that was what they wanted.

  27. Steve Houston says:

    MB, I had to participate in research projects as part of my advanced degree and then later when assigned to collect data as part of job assignments. No matter what links I provide to articles discussing research (I no longer have free access to educational databases, nor the ability to share them), a guy “best known for his bizarre anti gay tirades” isn’t going to care what the truth is. lol

    You can take statements out of context as you see fit but the evidence supporting a genetic predisposition is there for anyone who is willing to look it up, I’m not going to waste more time when you’re not willing to support your own comments with credible data. And yes, there is significant concern that finding the gene or genetic marker will lead to homophobes aborting babies, but maybe that’s part of your tinfoil hat conspiracy theory regarding gays controlling politics and the media (and Hollywood, etc). That theory would include the completely unproven assertion of yours that District J was created for Mike Laster.

    I almost wish your run for office wasn’t just a lark so your views could be presented to the entire electorate for them to see. πŸ˜€

  28. Manuel Barrera says:

    Steve thank you for admitting that you can’t prove that it is genetic, the first step to learning is admitting that one does not know.

    It is not my data but links to studies that show that there is no proof of homosexuality being genetic.

    To learn one first has to start with an open mind that is willing to accept facts that our minds do not agree with. Cleanse your mind Steve and do research, google works great.

    I don’t have to present my views to the entire electorate just to people in District J.

    Dave Wilson the white guy that beat Bruce Austin in a district that is 70% African American ran on two issues 1) Austin’s support of money for Qatar and 2) Austin’s close association to the homosexual community and his support for it. How did race come out.

    My views on homosexuality are mainstream, your views are in the minority. If your views were so popular why hasn’t a single incumbent that has opponents come out strongly with their stand on “Men in women’s bathrooms”?

    What makes you think that my views will not be presented to a large percentage of District J? Why is that Mike Laster on two occasions, where we debated claimed that he voted to allow us to vote? Why is that Jim Bigham another candidate started out supporting HERO and is now against it? Maybe those Christians, that think like I do, that were at the first forum approached him when I made it clear that he was for HERO. I had a couple tell me that they were going to make a sign supporting me and tell all their friends to support me. There were about 100 people there, non candidates.

    If people have internal problems they need to cure themselves first before seeking to change others to their beliefs. God bless you Steve.

  29. Steve Houston says:

    Manuel, given you are the one who continues ranting how District J was created for a gay man to win, it seems reasonable that following your own line of reasoning, the district should also vote in favor of HERO. I’m not a fan of Laster due to his support of the TIRZ programs and making major changes to HFD’s pension so I’d rather Bigham won, knowing nothing about the other guy and too much about you. :p

    Best Regards.

  30. Manuel Barrera says:

    Steve, you are smarter than that, well I thought so. Your argument is that people that vote in District J know Laster is homosexual? Just how would they know that? Does he have a big Red H hanging from his neck?

  31. Steve Houston says:

    Manuel, my “argument” is no such thing. It was YOUR argument that the district was hand carved to elect a gay man, not mine.

    Every time I ask a question about how you arrived at that conclusion, you change the subject. I don’t claim to have insider information on the matter, only what was publicly stated and how that area is two thirds Latino; perhaps there is a connection between being gay and Latino? You sure seem to think so.

  32. Jesus Gamboa says:

    So Jim Bigham was IN FAVOR of HERO, and now he’s AGAINST IT??

  33. Steve Houston says:

    Jesus: “So Jim Bigham was IN FAVOR of HERO, and now he’s AGAINST IT??”

    Unlike a certain someone in this thread, Bigham doesn’t seem to care enough about HERO to put it on his FB account, campaign website, or twitter account so consider the source.

  34. Jesus Gamboa says:

    That’s what I thought.

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