Primary winners Judge Monica Guerrero and Richard Garcia, Jr.

Victory for two GLBT candidates in primary
QSanAntonio.com, March 4, 2010

Two of the six GLBT candidates running in the March 2 Democratic primary scored decisive victories and will go on to face Republican opponents in the general election in November.

Judge Monica E. Guerrero of County Court 7 successfully fought off a challenge from attorney Deborah Sanheinrich by garnering 69 percent of the vote. Guerrero will go on to face Republican Eugenia "Genie" Wright in November.

Speaking to her supporters at her victory party at an Olmos Park restaurant (see photos below), Guerrero said, "Thank you to all my supporters who made the election win possible. I could not have won without you all. Now on to victory in November."

Criminal attorney Richard Garcia, Jr. staged something of an upset in his run for Judge County Court 12. His opponent, incumbent Judge Michael Mery was the odds-on favorite in the race who garnered numberous endorsements including the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio and the San Antonio Express-News.

Garcia won with 58 percent of the vote. He will go on to face Republican Scott Roberts in the general election

In a posting on his Facebook page Garcia wrote, "A huge thank you goes out to my family, my friends and my supporters. Your help, friendship, words of encouragement and your vote made the primary election a great success. Now we look to the future of November's general elections. Thank you again!"

A third candidate who's going into the general election is Rosa Maria "Rosie" Gonzalez , running for District Judge 436 Judicial District. Gonzalez ran unopposed in the primary. In the general election she seeks to unseat the Republican incumbent Lisa K. Jarrett.

Three candidates for Justice of the Peace slots lost their bids.

Travis Cox, candidate for Justice of the Peace, Pct 2 Pl 2 lost to Robert "Robbie" Vasquez who garnered 70 percent of the vote.

Mauro E. Garza, owner of the Pegaus bar and candidate for Justice of the Peace, Pct 3, narrowly lost to William Peche by 122 votes.

Albert G. Lopez came in third in a four-way race for Justice of the Peace, Pct 4. The top two vote-getters in that race, Avery D. Walker (27 percent of the vote) and Rogelio "Roger" Lopez (34.5 percent of the vote), will compete in the April runoff.

Photos -- Judge Monica Guerrero's victory party
QSanAntonio.com, March 2, 2010

Judge Monica E. Guerrero of County Court 7 successfully fought off a challenge from attorney Deborah Sanheinrich by garnering 69 percent of the vote. Her victory party was held at Ciao Lavanderia in Olmos Park.

GLBT candidates on the stump
QSanAntonio.com, February 11, 2010

The Bexar County Young Democrats have released of series of YouTube videos of candidates they've endorsed for the March 2 primary. Three of those endorsees are GLBT candidates. Following are videos of their presentations before the BCYD endorsement committee.

Rosie Gonzalez, candidate for 436th District Court Judge

Judge Monica Guerrero, candidate for County Court 7

Travis Cox, candidate for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2 Place 2.

The Bexar County Democrats held a pot luck dinner on January 4 to mark the filing deadline for the March 2 primary. Louis Hidalgo -- Chair of Precinct 2057, Rosie Gonzalez -- candidate for 436th District Court Judge, Gilbert Casillas -- Chair of Precinct 2114, and Albert G. Lopez -- candidate for Justice of the Peace Precinct 4. Judge Monica Guerrero of County Court 7.

Roberto Flores, Chairman of the Bexar County Democrats, with David Plyar of the Stonewall Democrats. Dan Graney, President of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus with Mauro E. Garza, candidate for Justice of the Peace Precinct 3.

Record number of gay candidates file for March primary
QSanAntonio.com, January 8, 2009

The offices and meeting rooms at the Bexar County Democratic Party headquarters in San Antonio were filled to capacity on the evening of January 4 as local politicos gathered to celebrate the filing deadline for the Democratic primary on March 2. When the party released the official roster of candidates it included six gay contenders -- more than in any previous local election.

"There will be over 100 candidates on the Bexar County Democratic Party Primary Ballot on March 2." said county Chair Roberto Flores. "I am pleased that a number of these candidates are openly GLBT. In the past, we’ve had openly GLBT candidates run for City Council, but having them run in the Democratic Primary is a first for Bexar County."

The list includes one incumbent, Judge Monica E. Guerrero of County Court 7, who is running for her third term. She is being challenged in the primary by Deborah Sanheinrich. The winner of this race will face Republican Eugenia "Genie" Wright.

Lawyer Rosa Maria "Rosie" Gonzalez, candidate for 436th District Court Judge, has no primary challenger. In the general election she seeks to unseat incumbent Lisa K. Jarrett.

Richard Garcia, Jr., candidate for Judge County Court 12. Travis Cox, candidate for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2 Place 2.

Criminal attorney Richard Garcia, Jr. is running for Judge County Court 12. In the primary he is going up against the incumbent Michael Mery. The winner of this race will run against Republican challenger Scott Roberts.

Travis Cox, candidate for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2 Place 2., is in a three-way primary race with Lauro Bustamante and Roberto A. Vasquez. The winner will face Republican incumbent Bill Donovan.

Albert G. Lopez is running for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4. Lopez faces four opponents in the primary -- incumbent Rogelio "Roger" Lopez, Deborah Spence, Roberto Vargas, and Avery D. Walker. The winner in the primary will claim a final victory since there is no Republican challenger.

Mauro E. Garza is a candidate for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3. Garza, who is the owner of the Pegasus Bar, will run against William Peche in the primary. This winner of this race will face the winner in the Republican primary race between incumbent Keith Baker and Bob Behrens.

The emergence of so many local gay candidates appears to be part of a national trend that was described in a recent article in the New York Times. The report stated that according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, there are currently at least 445 openly gay and lesbian people holding elected office in the United States, up from 257 eight years ago.

The article goes on to say: "One key to victory for gay politicians has been building reputations in their communities as candidates well qualified for the job. Voters who may be uncomfortable with homosexuality in the abstract are often willing to vote for a gay individual they feel they know, political strategists said."