Fresh from the inbox:
CAUCUS PAC ENDORSES IN MARCH PRIMARIES
The Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC endorsed in contested races for the March 2010 primaries this week in two membership meetings.
“We are very excited about these candidates,” said Kris Banks, Caucus president. “Government officials have a profound effect on the lives of our community. The people who hold these judicial offices will decide whether we can adopt children or whether we can change our names to the gender with which we identify. Our screening committee worked hard to identify which candidates to recommend, and our members put much thought into whom they trust with these important decisions.”
All endorsed candidates went through a rigorous screening process. First, the candidates filled out questionnaires. Some judicial candidates compared the questionnaire to taking the bar exam again. Then, the candidates met with a panel of members. Finally, the membership as a whole voted on the endorsements.
The Caucus is a bipartisan organization and opened its endorsement process to both parties, however, only Democratic candidates opted to screen. The Caucus will endorse again for the general election.
The endorsements follow:
United States Representative, District 18: Sheila Jackson Lee
United States Representative, District 22: Doug Blatt
Governor: Bill White
Lieutenant Governor: Ronnie Earle
Commissioner of the General Land Office: Hector Uribe
Commissioner of Agriculture: Hank Gilbert
State Representative, District 146: Borris L. Miles
County Judge: Gordon Quan
County Clerk: Sue Smith Schechter
I edited out the judicial endorsements, which you can see here. And of course, the appropriate ones have been noted here.
The caucus is really NOT a bipartisan organization. Most gay or gay-accepting Republicans are unwilling to join or participate, and are not welcomed when they make overtures. Even when courageous and qualified Republicans like Stephen Costello seek support from the Caucus in non-partisan contests, they are unsuccessful in large measure because the currently leadership and much of the membership views Republicanism as a disease. A new group, Republicans for Inclusion, was recently formed locally to provide a more welcoming environment for gay conservative political activists.