House candidate admits former work as prostitute (Democrat in Texas)

DALLAS — A Dallas Democrat seeking election to the Texas House of Representatives has acknowledged that he once worked as a prostitute.

Tom Malin, a salesman and actor, said he no longer works as a prostitute but conceded that his previous life could cost him the nomination in the March 7 Democratic primary.

"I've made mistakes in my life, and I've stood before my creator and I've accepted responsibility for my behavior," Malin told The Dallas Morning News for its editions today.

"I've also accepted his grace and his redemption and his love and his forgiveness," and that's what is important, he said.

Archived versions of Web sites that are now defunct advertise the services of a male escort identified as Todd Sharpe. The phone number listed with Sharpe belongs to Malin, The Morning News reported.

Malin, who once was a member of the Dallas Citizens Police Review Board, has also worked as a Mary Kay salesman and performed in Dallas-area theater productions. His candidate Web page describes him as a managing director for the marketing arm of a Dallas electricity provider.

Malin faces retired salesman Jack Borden in the Democratic primary. The winner will face incumbent Republican Dan Branch in November in a race to represent a district covering much of central Dallas.

On his candidate Web page, Malin said he is "committed to giving our families a voice in Austin, with a focus on education, the economy, and restoring a 'spirit of ethics' to our State House."

"I don't regret my past, nor do I wish to shut the door on my past," he said. "I think anyone who has made mistakes in their lives can be a viable member of community and society."

Former Dallas County Democratic chairwoman Susan Hays, a Malin supporter, said the candidate had informed her about his past.

"He's been a mess, but righted himself," she said. "He's got more honesty and energy than his Democratic opponent and Dan Branch."

The Dallas Tejano Democrats endorsed Malin on Thursday, before the group learned of Malin's prostitution. Chairman Domingo Garcia said Malin did not mention his past during candidate screening.

"Obviously we will have to reconsider our decision based on the new information," Garcia said.

Malin said he's been sober for 13 years after being addicted to alcohol. He said he grew up in an abusive household and that he was abused physically, emotionally and sexually as a child.

"I know that there are people that can benefit from my experience," he said. "This is not about winning an election; this is about empowerment. There is a higher calling and a higher message involved in this."

I found this story in the archives of the Houston Chronicle dated March 14, 1990:

Killer transsexual in runoff for county chair

By LORI RODRIGUEZ
Staff

After electing an associate of fringe presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche as their Harris County party chairman two years ago, Democrats Tuesday cast a majority of their votes for a mainstream investment banker with a famous name and a transsexual convicted murderer.

With 97 percent of the vote counted, Ken Bentsen Jr., a nephew of U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, was headed for a runoff against Leslie Elaine Perez, convicted under the name of Leslie Douglas Ashley in the 1961 shooting-torch slaying of Houston insurance salesman Fred Tones.

Ashley's death sentence was overturned and a second trial resulted in a 15-year sentence. After being paroled in 1971, Ashley underwent a sex-change operation.

Felons are barred from holding public office in Texas, but that prohibition is lifted after they have served their sentence.

In late but incomplete returns, Bentsen had about 42 precent of the votes, Perez 27 percent and lawyer Mike Charlton 19 percent.

Claude Jones, a LaRouche follower who shocked county Democrats two years ago with his victory, was a distant fourth with 12 percent of the vote.

Besides his most obvious political connection, Bentsen, 30, has worked in statewide and congressional campaigns since 1980. He also has been an aide to U.S. Rep. Ron Coleman, D-El Paso.

Perez is no novice to party politics. The 52-year-old real estate investor is president of the Houston chapter of the Gay and Lesbian Democrats of America and was a delegate to the state Democratic convention in 1984 and 1988.

She also is president of the Houston chapter of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACTUP).

In the equally surprising 1988 Democratic race, Jones defeated the incumbent, lawyer Larry Veselka, who barely campaigned.

Jones served as chairman until he was booted out in early 1989 by state Democratic Chairman Bob Slagle. The removal came after reports that he had campaigned against the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, Michael Dukakis.

Local party Secretary Jack Carter was temporarily handed the reins.

Bentsen said he believes the party lost momentum during the controversy over Jones and that he will work toward regaining it. Priorities include raising money for a permanent, salaried party staff and for voter registration drives.

Perez, who says she now is a different person, said the party needs to be revived after a few years of relative inactivity and disorganization caused by Jones' election. She also called for more involvement in the party by minorities.

In subsequent years, Perez again ran for the county chair as well as City Council. He/she never actually won the job but got in run-offs a few times. He/she once got into a shoving match at City Hall with another gay activist over the first Gulf War and was arrested. Sorry about getting some of the facts wrong but this was 15 years ago, it turns out.

His/her race reminded me of the two LaRouche supporters who won races in Chicago many years ago as Democrats during the Jane Byrne era. Folks were shocked that these two candidates won but it was easy to figure if you saw the squishy-lib names they ran under - Hart and Goodfellow.

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