this ain't yer Daddys Texas anymore...
Posted on 06/04/2007 2:29:11 PM PDT by Zakeet
This conservative metropolis could become the nation's largest city to elect an openly gay mayor if a longtime city council member wins a runoff election later this month.
Ed Oakley's candidacy is the latest indication that Dallas' reputation as a conservative stronghold is giving way to more diversity. The city is already home to several gay elected officials, including the sheriff.
"Dallas is less and less the Dallas that people think it is," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. "And Dallas is less and less the Dallas that it used to be."
In the mayoral race, Oakley and former construction company CEO Tom Leppert emerged from a crowded 11-candidate field that included another openly gay man and a transgendered woman. Oakley and Leppert will be the only candidates in the June 16 runoff.
But if Oakley, 54, is on the edge of history, he doesn't talk about it. His sexuality hasn't figured prominently in the campaign. Oakley said his internal polling showed it had little impact on voters.
"I have never made this an issue, a part of what I am or who I am or what I have done to represent the community," said Oakley, a small business owner.
Dallas, with a population of 1.2 million, is home to a growing gay community with an estimated 120,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered households.
The city has nondiscrimination policies covering sexual orientation and gender identity and offers health insurance to the domestic partners of city employees, measures praised as progressive by local gay-rights activists.
"I think some people don't realize that Dallas is very diverse: economically, ethnically, culturally," said Pete Webb, president of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I seriously doubt anyone here is afraid of a homosexual;
DISGUST AND REVULSION ARE NOT FEAR!
My 30 year old son and I where in Sundance Square in Fort Worth yesterday checking out lofts for him - needs to be closer to work - this kid is as straight as an arrow but also very handsome - the gay guys where openly eyeing him with me walking right next to him !!!! Downtown Fort Worth !!!!! We where both so disgusted we started looking elsewhere for a new place for him. Couldn’t believe it!
I voted for Max Goldblatt once. The city was a lot different then.
Ug. They blight any urban area, it seems.
this ain't yer Daddys Texas anymore...
News flash - I am not R. Lee Ermey! To solve this mistake, you need to immediately sign up with the Marines and tell your Drill Instructor in boot camp to shut up when he gives you his opinion about Texas steers and queers! :)
Only about 13 percent of registered voters turned out in the initial election.
With numbers like these the gay guy is going to win.
The city has nondiscrimination policies ... praised as progressive by local gay-rights activists.
"I think some people don't realize that Dallas is very diverse: economically, ethnically, culturally," said Pete Webb, president of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance.
Let's see: one of the highest crime rates in the nation, totally corrupt city council rife with political correctness and racism, abominable school system - sounds about par for the course. Yep, let diversity reign. /sarc
Dallas has been circling the drain for at least a decade. My in-laws finally made the move and bought a house closer to Waco. They can’t get out of Dallas fast enough.
Ed “Annie” Oakley. How charming for big D.
It was in both movies.
She also couldn't pass her Uniform TCLEOSE Peace Office Exam after several tries. I'm not sure if she ever did pass it.
Actually in “An Officer And A Gentleman” the line was used about Oklahoma, not Texas.
So WHY were you looking for a loft in a GAY neighborhood? LOL
Obviously we did not know it was a gay neighborhood - since we are new to this area we just thought it would be a great place to live - lots of activities, concerts, museums, etc.
I don’t normally take my kids, any of them at various ages, to known gay hangouts - would you have thought Fort Worth, Texas was a gay mecca?
I consider your comment rather insulting.
Our house in Dallas is on the market, and if we ever find a buyer, we're out of here to Las Vegas, where the city government can at least pave the roads and pick up the garbage. We have to spend a lot of time at City Hall, and I am fed up to the gills with the selfishness, cronyism, corruption, egomania and fecklessness. I don't know how so many people could have such big heads and such small brains.
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