Linda Yanez, candidate for Texas Supreme Court, Place 8 will be the keynote speaker at the Stonewall Democrats awards dinner. Other speakers include Jon Hoadley, the Executive Director of the National Stonewall Democrats and Annise Parker, the openly lesbian Houston City Controller and former Houston City Councilwoman. The evening will be emceed by Stonewall member Judge Monica Guerrero of the Bexar County Court at Law No. 7.

Stonewall Democrats’ awards dinner set for September 6
QSanAntonio, August 25

The Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio have announced details of their third annual awards dinner scheduled for September 6 at the El Tropicano Hotel. The keynote speaker for the event will be Linda Yanez, candidate for Texas Supreme Court, Place 8. The event will feature awards given to five "outstanding citizens" in the community who are doing their part to advance the cause of GLBT equality.

The Political Advocacy Award will be presented to Judge Barbara Nellermoe of the 45th District Court of Bexar County. Judge Nellermoe has been a strong advocate of GLBT equality hears numerous cases involving same-sex adoptions and child custody cases as well as legal name change applications for transgendered persons.

Stonewall’s Community Leadership Award will be given to Retired Marine Sergeant Eric Alva, and to Phillip Barcena and his partner James Poindexter.

Alva is a national hero and the first serviceman to be injured in the Iraq war. Since his retirement he has been a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, traveling around the country and advocating for the repeal of the military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy.

Barcena and Poindexter showed leadership in the community durning the past two years as the main organizers of the Gay Pride San Antonio Block Party and Parade. Under their guidance the event has grown in size and participation, allowing them to disburse much-needed funds to several local GLBT non-profits.

The Volunteer Appreciation Award will be given to Linda Allen, a Stonewall member who designed and manages not only the Stonewall San Antonio Web site, but also those of the Bexar County Democrats and the Texas Democratic Women. She and her partner have been active in Democratic Party politics and campaigns in Austin, Corpus Christi and San Antonio.

Keynote speaker Linda Yanez is a candidate for Texas Supreme Court, Place 8 and the first Latina woman appointed to a Texas Appeals Court by Governor Ann Richards. She is an outspoken advocate for GLBT equality and endorsed by gay political groups all across Texas. If elected, she will be first Latina woman elected to Texas Supreme Court. Yanez has compelling life story. She grew up picking cotton in South Texas, was a teacher, lawyer and taught at Harvard University.

Other speakers include Annise Parker, the openly lesbian Houston City Controller and former Houston City Councilwoman, Daniel Graney, President of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus, and Jon Hoadley, the executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats. The evening will be emceed by Stonewall member Judge Monica Guerrero of the Bexar County Court at Law No. 7.

Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio Third Annual Awards banquet. Saturday, September 15, at 6:00 p.m. at the El Tropicano Hotel, 110 Lexington Avenue. Tickets are $90. Attire: Business casual. For more information call Lynne Armstrong at 210-232-8102 or Roberto Flores 210-494-7442. To purchase tickets go to brownpapertickets.com/event/37524.

GLBT voter registration drive slated for Labor Day weekend
QSanAntonio, August 27

Political activists from the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio are hoping to register at least 100 new GLBT voters during the Labor Day weekend. The effort is part of a national and statewide push by the Obama Pride Get-Out-The-Vote effort.

The local registration drive is being spearheaded by Dan Graney, President of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus and a member of Stonewall San Antonio. Graney tells QSanAntonio that the call to action in Texas came from Jesse Garcia, Stonewall Dallas President and National Co-chair of Obama Pride.

In a letter to Stonewall chapters in Texas, Garcia wrote: "Obama Pride has asked GLBT communities throughout the nation to do massive voter registration drives during Labor Day weekend: Friday, Aug. 29-Monday, Sept. 1. Sen. Obama in his Aug. 28 speech will put a call out for people to get registered to vote. Communities backing him will respond." The aim, says Garcia, is to register 1000 GLBT voters in Texas during that weekend.

Graney says that volunteers will be setting up registration sites at the Bermuda Triangle and at the Saint. Graney also reminds anyone living in Bexar County and who has not registered yet can also do so online by going to bexar.org/elections/ and click on the link: "Register to Vote." A voter registration form can be downloaded, printed out and mailed to the Voter Registration office.

Click here to download a voter registration form.

Boyd Richie, Chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, spoke to just over 100 people at the August 18 meeting of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio. After the talk Richie mingled with audience members who included Frances Carnot, candidate for State Representative District 122 (center photo).

Chairman of Texas Democratic Party speaks at Stonewall meeting
QSanAntonio, August 19

Boyd Richie, Chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, spoke to just over 100 people at the August 18 meeting of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio. About 20 of those in attendance were incumbents or candidates for office.

For the most part Richie’s talk was designed to rally the troops for the upcoming November election. However, he did not fail to address issues that were important to the mostly GLBT audience.

Richie complimented the Stonewall Democrats as one of the most active Democrat organizations in the state. He said that the group excelled when it came to organization, fundraising and volunteerism adding that he believed Stonewall would have a positive impact on the future of the State of Texas.

When asked about same sex marriage in Texas, Richie said that as an officer of the court it was his responsibility to uphold the state constitution that was recently amended to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. However, Richie said that personally he felt the amendment was "an abomination." Rather than expand the rights of citizens, he said, it compresses the rights of one group of citizens.

Richie also spoke in favor of gays adopting foster children saying that the State should not be left to define what constitutes a family.

In terms of Texas politics, Richie told the group that no Republican seat in the Texas Legislature is safe. He said that only 5 more seats were needed for the Democrats to have a majority in the State House. He also pointed out that some of the most important races are among judicial nominees. The Texas Supreme Court, in Richie’s view, needs to restore the public trust and eradicate the "Justice for Sale" mentality that has tainted its reputation under Republican leadership.

Stonewall Democrats contribute $5000 to area candidates
By Lynne Armstrong and Roberto Flores, QSanAntonio, July 23

In an effort to wield greater political influence, the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio have issued checks totaling $5,000 to five Democratic candidates who will be on the Bexar County ballot this November.

The five recipients are Joe Farias, incumbent candidate for State Representative, District 118; Catherine Stone, candidate for Chief Justice 4th Court of Appeals; Amadeo Ortiz, candidate for Sheriff; Chip Haass, candidate for County Commissioner, Precinct 3 and Frances Carnot, candidate for State Representative, District 122. Three of the candidates participated in San Antonio’s Gay Pride Parade on July 5 of this year.

All five candidates were endorsed by Stonewall earlier this year and identified by the group’s Endorsement Committee as being in critical races. Committee members spent at least one hour interviewing each candidate to assess their positions on GLBT issues and the status of their campaign. The Endorsement Committee made its recommendations to the Stonewall Board of Directors who approved the distributions.

Stonewall is a general-purpose political action committee registered with the Texas Ethics Commission. This enables the group to make political contributions to state and local candidates.

Membership in the group has almost doubled in size from a year ago and this has resulted in increased contributions to its coffers. Stonewall is the only organization of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and their allies in San Antonio that screens and endorses candidates for political office.

Stonewall Co-Chairs Lynne Armstrong and Roberto Flores, accompanied by other Stonewall members, will present the checks to the candidates over the next two weeks.

"We are extremely proud that we are in a position financially to make these campaign contributions," exclaimed Flores. "If these candidates prevail in November, Stonewall can say it played a role in helping them win and we will count on them to deliver on their promises to support GLBT equality," said Armstrong.

Democratic Senate candidate Rick Noriega speaks before the endorsement meeting of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio held on January 27, 2008.

Activist urges gay S.A. Dems to support Noriega bid for Senate
QSanAntonio, July 17

Daniel Graney, President of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus and member of Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio is spearheading a drive to help raise funds for the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Rick Noriega. Recent campaign finance reports show Noriega badly trailing incumbent Republican John Cornyn in the Texas U.S. Senate race. According to those reports, Cornyn has over $9 million in the bank compared to $900,000 for Noriega.

"This does not bode well for the Democrat who needs to get his name and message out to a statewide audience through television advertising, which can cost millions," says Graney. "Cornyn is anti-GLBT all the way, whereas Noriega has ‘walked the talk’ of supporting GLBT equality."

As a state representative from Houston, Noriega voted against every anti-GLBT bill that was introduced in the Republican-controlled state legislature. He has been endorsed by every GLBT political group in Texas and spoke before an audience of over 500 who attended the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus biennial meeting at the Texas Democratic Convention on June 6.

As an active duty member of the Army National Guard, Noriega has pledged his support to end the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy in the U.S. military. Cornyn, on the other hand, supports the continuation of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" and has been a chief sponsor of the anti-gay federal marriage constitutional amendment in the U.S. Senate.

"There is still time for Noriega to raise the funds he needs to wage a viable campaign. However, it is going to take lots and lots of small contributions to make this happen," Graney says. To that end, Graney has set up a fundraising page through Act Blue in conjunction with National Stonewall Democrats to encourage GLBT Democrats to contribute to Noriega.

The page can accessed at the following Web address: ActBlue.com/page/stonewallnoriega. Graney encourages every "self-respecting GLBT person" to go to his page and donate.

"People can donate $5, $10, $25 or whatever they can to Noriega’s campaign. Cornyn’s popularity is running below 50 percent in Texas, so we have a golden opportunity to elect a person as our next U.S. Senator who is not only a friend of the GLBT community but who will be good for Texas on all the important issues," says Graney.

Ginger Yachinich and Lauren Burrier of the gay-straight alliance at Wagner High School. (Photo by Antonia Padilla) Monica Arrambide, Director of Programming and Youth Leadership at Out Youth in Austin.

Stonewall Dems host discussion on problems of gay youth
June 17, 2008

The Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio hosted a discussion about the problems of GLBT youth at their monthly meeting on June 16. The discussion included two presentations, the first by two teenagers involved with the gay-straight alliance at a local high school. The second presentation was provided by Monica Arrambide Director of Programming and Youth Leadership at Out Youth in Austin.

Ginger Yachinich (a sophomore) and Lauren Burrier (a graduating senior) are members of the gay-straight alliance at Wagner High School in Northeast San Antonio who related their experience of participating in this year’s annual Day of Silence.

They explained that the gay-straight alliance at Wagner decided to participate in the day of Silence by pinning a small sign, about the size of a piece of notebook paper, on their shirts explaining their participation in the day’s event. The students decided that if called on in class they would answer but they made an effort not to speak between classes or during breaks.

Sometime around lunch that day, school administrators decided that the students’ signs were a disruption and them asked to remove them or be sent home. All the students turned in their signs, except for one. Rather than remove the sign Yachinich decided to go home. Her story became widely publicized across the country after an article about the incident appeared in the San Antonio Express-News.

Both girls emphasized the importance the gay-straight alliance has played in helping GLBT teens at their school. Yachinich says she knows of two teens that committed suicide after coming out to their families and this is just exactly what the club hopes to avoid in the future.

Monica Arramibide’s presentation reinforced the difficulty GLBT youth face in schools. Statistics show they are more likely to dropout, commit suicide, self-mutilate themselves, face homelessness and use drugs. They are also more likely to be harassed by their fellow schoolmates.

Arrambide works at Out Youth in Austin, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support and provide services to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth ages 12 to 19. Out Youth also sponsors the Texas GSA Network, a collaborative community of students and allies interested in forming and strengthening gay-straight alliances in Texas schools.

Arrambide says there are 80 gay-straight alliances in Texas. She says that these clubs are playing an important role in schools considering that some children are coming out as early as six years of age. While gay-straight alliances are more common in high schools and colleges, she says there is reason to believe such clubs might do some good in middle schools as well.

Arrambide points out that advocacy for GLBT youth is not a matter of equal rights but of safe school environments. She said that gay-straight alliances are one way to achieve that but the community at large must play a role as well. With the Christian Right and the Ex-Gay movement eager to "convert" young people back to heterosexuality, it’s important for all GLBT citizens to urge local school districts and politicians to commit to creating safe school environments for all children, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

S.A. activist elected President of Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus
QSanAntonio, June 10

Over 500 delegates and alternates at the Texas Democratic Convention attended the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus on June 6 in Austin and elected Daniel Graney their new President. Graney is a former co-chair of Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio and a long-time queer political activist. He succeeds Shannon Bailey of Dallas in the position.

Graney pledged to be a strong voice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Texans and to build coalitions with other minority groups within the Democratic Party.

Teresa Herrin of Houston was elected Vice President and Kaye Gooch of Dallas was elected Secretary. Al Daniels of Dallas was re-elected to a fifth term as Treasurer.

As the official LGBT caucus of the Texas Democratic Party, the TSDC promotes equal rights for LGBT persons through grass-roots involvement in Democratic Party politics. As a result of their elections, both Graney and Herrin will become members of the State Democratic Executive Committee, the governing body of the Texas Democratic Party.

The TSDC is affiliated with National Stonewall Democrats and its Executive Board includes leaders from at least ten chapters of Stonewall Democrats in Texas.

For the first time in history, voters who participated in Texas Democratic Primary caucuses this Spring were given the option of self-identifying as LGBT to comply with national Democratic Party affirmative action goals that included LGBT. There were over 525 LGBT delegates and alternates at the state convention the weekend of June 6 and 7. At least 15 of the 228 Texas delegates who will be attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver will be LGBT.

Although a majority of LGBT delegates to the State Party convention were committed to Hillary Clinton as their presidential preference, most will now unite behind Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for President.

Assistant SAPD Chief addresses Stonewall Dems
QSanAntonio, May 20

Newly appointed Assistant Police Chief Geraldine Garcia addressed the members of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio at their monthly meeting on May 19. Her appearance comes on the heels of her promotion in April, making her the first woman to hold such a high rank in the San Antonio Police Department.

Garcia replaced former Assistant Chief Rudy Gonzales who was demoted as a result of alleged relationships with a prostitute and a cocaine trafficking suspect, and amid allegations that he used his position to gain entrance to a sold-out Final Four basketball game for free.

Assistant Chief Garcia joined the SAPD in 1982, and previously served as Deputy Chief of the Services & Support Division since 2006. In an article in the San Antonio Express-News announcing her promotion, Police Chief William McManus said of Garcia, "It's a very monumental thing for her to have accomplished, but she has proven herself over and over again." Garcia holds a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Education from Wayland Baptist University, as well as a Master of Science in Justice Policy from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

At her appearance before Stonewall members, dressed in her police uniform, the Assistant Chief revealed herself to be a soft-spoken mother of two who believes that peace in the community comes from "restraint and respect." "We are all individuals and none of us wants to be mistreated," she said.

To prepare for her Stonewall appearance, Garcia says she did a bit of research about the 1968 Stonewall riots and the Stonewall Democrats and dutifully recounted to the group what she had learned. While not yet fully conversant with local GLBT concerns, the Assistant Chief was receptive to the group’s questions and comments.

Garcia was happy to discuss diversity training for seasoned officers, the incarceration of transgender individuals with the general jail population, and the merger of the Park Police into the SAPD. While she had no concrete solutions, she took notes and promised to follow up on all of the concerns voiced by Stonewall members.

Most significantly, Assistant Chief Garcia said that thanks to Police Chief William McManus, she represented the "new face of the SAPD," where diversity seems to be the order of the day.

Steve Driscoll (photo left) and author Greg Herren, both members of the National Stonewall Board of Directors, spoke at the local chapter's meeting on March 17. (Photos by Antonia Padilla)

National Stonewall Democrats’ board members in San Antonio
QSanAntonio, March 18

Two board members of the National Stonewall Democrats were in San Antonio on March 16 and 17 for two consecutive events. Steve Driscoll and Greg Herren were the guests of honor at a fundraiser at the home of Lynne Armstrong and Olga Hernandez and the following day were the speakers at the Stonewall monthly membership meeting.

At the Stonewall meeting Greg Herren, a novelist and editor spoke to the group about a incident where he was invited to speak to a gay-straight club at a high school in Richmond, Virginia only to later have his appearance cancelled because local religious conservatives objected to his appearance.

Herren eventually spoke at the MCC Church in Richmond where he got support from local GBLT groups and the ACLU. Ironically, many of the same students who were to hear Herren speak at their high school attended his talk with their parents.

Steve Driscoll, co-chair of the National Stonewall Democrats and a founding member of the group spoke about the issues facing not only the GLBT community, but all Democratic constituencies. He emphasized that we can no longer let the White House remain in Republican hands.

Driscoll’s address was clearly meant to spur the local Stonewall Democrats into continued participation in the upcoming elections. Judging by the boisterous applause after his talk, the message was enthusiastically received.

Politicians seek local GLBT endorsements
QSanAntonio, January 28

An estimated 35 politicians came seeking the GLBT vote at the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio's candidate endorsement meeting held on January 27. There were also about a dozen more who could not attend but filled out Stonewall's questionaire in hopes of being endorsed. Among the candidates who spoke (with offices they seek in parenthesis) at the meeting were:

Top row, left to right: Rick Noriega (U.S. Senator); Dale Henry (Railroad Commissioner); Baltasar D. Cruz (Texas Supreme Court, Place 7); Linda Reyna Yanez (Texas Supreme Court, Place 8); Susan Criss (Texas Supreme Court, Place 8); Joe Farias (State Representative, Disrict 118).

Center row, left to right: Frances Carnot (State Representative, District 122); Catherine Stone (Chief Justice, 4th Court of Appeals); Amber Lidell Alwais (Judge, 37th Judicial District Court); Lauro A. Bustamente, Jr. (Judge, 57th Judicial District Court); Mary Roman (Judge, 175th Judicial District Court); Amadeo Ortiz (Bexar County Sheriff); Carl Barella (Bexar County Sheriff).

Bottom row, left to right: Larry Ricketts (Bexar County Sheriff); Chip Haass (County Commissioner, Precinct 3); Steve Walker (Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2, Place 1); Daniel V. Pineda (Constable, Precinct 1); Jimmy Willborn (Constable, Precinct 2); Edward "Ed" Coleman (Constable, Precinct 3); Carla Vela (Chair, Bexar County Democratic Party).

GLBT Dems and friends raise funds for Senate candidate Noriega
QSanAntonio, November 6. 2007

Democratic State Representative Rick Noriega of Houston, who is running to replace Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn, spoke at a November 3 fundraiser held at the home of San Antonio activists Roberto Flores and Dan Graney. Approximately 65 GLBT Democrats and their allies attended the event where several thousand dollars were raised for Noriega’s campaign.

A five-term state representative from Houston, Noriega has a compelling life story. He enlisted in the Army in the wake of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis and later became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Texas Army National Guard. In 1990, he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he was an editor of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy.

He won his first race for state representative from Houston in 1998 and represents a working-class district in that city’s southeast side. Over the course of his service in the state legislature, Noriega has authored and sponsored bills on education, health care, consumer protection and economic development. He is pro-choice and pro-equality on GLBT issues. He voted against every anti-GLBT bill that came to the floor of the Texas House.

In 2004, Noriega was deployed to Afghanistan where he served for 14 months to train a new Army in that country. During his deployment, his wife, Melissa Noriega, served as his temporary replacement in the state legislature and voted against HJR 6, the anti-gay Texas constitutional marriage amendment.

Upon his return from Afghanistan, Noriega was tapped by Houston Mayor Bill White as Incident Commander of Houston’s Hurricane Katrina relief efforts at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Melissa Noriega has since been elected City Councilwoman in Houston.

Noriega’s Democratic Primary opponent, mega-wealthy trial attorney Mikal Watts, withdrew from the race two weeks ago. Noriega is expected to win the Democratic Primary in March of 2008 and to face Cornyn in the general election in November 2008.

Left to right: Jon Hoadley, Executive Director of the National Stonewall Democrats. The keynote speaker for the event was Glen Maxey an Austin politician who was the first openly gay member of the Texas Legislature.

The evening's awardees were (left to right) Former Citycouncilwoman Elena Guajardo received the Political Advocacy Award. Sam Sanchez, publisher of QSanAntonio.com received the Community Leadership Award. Bryan Gerard, former co-chair and a member of the Stonewall Democrats received the Volunteer Appreciation Award.

Stonewall Dems honor community leaders at awards dinner
By Jerry Avalos, QSanAntonio, September 19, 2007

Approximately 190 people were present for Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio’s second annual awards dinner held on September 15 at the El Tropicano Hotel. The evening’s special guests included State Representative Mike Villarreal, Dr. Richard Gambitta of UTSA and Glen Maxey who served as the evening’s keynote speaker.

Former State Representative Maxey is first man to serve as an openly gay politician in Texas. His political career began under the administration of former Texas Governor, Ann Richards.

Villarreal introduced Maxey as a man who "lives in values and fights for those values through legislation." When he took the stage, Maxey spoke about how he proudly displayed the U.S., Texas and Rainbow flags during legislative sessions. "This was so that other leaders could see what I was fighting for," Maxey said.

The Stonewall Democrats also recognized three exceptional members of the community, whether they are gay or not, who have contributed to the GLBT community. Elena Guajardo, former City Councilwoman, received the Political Advocacy Award. Sam Sanchez, publisher of QSanAntonio.com, received the Community Leadership Award. And Bryan Gerard, a local activist and Stonewall member, received the Volunteer Appreciation Award.

"These leaders have a real passion for rights of the GLBT community," said Lynn Armstrong, the co-chairwoman of SDSA, in making the announcements.

John Hoadley, the new executive director for the National Stonewall Democrats, was also in attendance and served as a guest speaker. Hoadley spoke about the importance and role of the organization and strides made within the past year. "Tonight, is a celebration of what this organization has done," Hoadley said.

"Building Bridges" was the theme of the night. Maxey said in order to do that, "you have to ask yourself how can you find a common bond with someone else?"

During his tenure as a state representative, Maxey says he’s learned many things. His message to fellow leaders: "Know that as open GLBT people, the work that each of you do is a role model to someone."

Update: Stonewall co-chair reappointed to city’s Affirmative Action committee
QSanAntonio, August 9, 2007

The San Antonio City Council has voted to reappoint Dr. Lynne Armstrong, co-chair of the Stonewall Democrats, to the city’s Affirmative Action Advisory Committee despite efforts by a group of local anti-gay "Christians" to table the vote "until a more adequate person is selected." (See related story below.)

The vote was taken at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 9th. One person, self-proclaimed homophobe Jack Finger, spoke for three minutes against Dr. Armstrong’s reappointment. According to sources familiar with City Hall protocol, the vote could have been tabled by the Mayor or any member of the City Council but no one suggested this option.

Councilwoman Shiela D. McNeil of District 2 put forth the motion for the reappointment and was seconded by Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros of District 1. The vote was unanimous except for Councilman Kevin Wolff of District 9 who was not present. Dr. Armstrong’s term for this position expires May 31, 2009.

"I realize that this is not about me, but rather about the constant battle for equality," Dr. Armstrong told QSanAntonio in response to the "Christian’s" protest. " As I told my partner last night, this is the first time in my life that I have been the recipient of the actions of people paralyzed by their own fears, manifest in prejudice and hatred. It is quite sobering for me."

Mayor Hardberger pays a call on the Stonewall Democrats
QSanAntonio, March 20, 2007

Mayor Phil Hardberger made an election season visit to the March 19 meeting of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio where he received a standing ovation and a very warm reception. For his part the Mayor seemed at ease and projected the confidence of a popular incumbent whose re-election to office seems almost certain.

The Mayor’s appearance at the Stonewall meeting was made possible through the efforts of District 7 City Councilwoman Elena Guajardo who was on hand to introduce him to the group. Hardberger had warm words for Guajardo. He commended her for helping him convince the rest of the City Council to get behind a $550 million bond proposal. He called her a "forward thinker" who was "out in front" of the issues.

The rest of Hardberger’s talk dealt mostly with the progress the city has seen under his watch and with the bond proposal that's on the ballot for the May 12 election. The Mayor described how bond money would be used for street and sidewalk repairs, for improved drainage and for new parks. He talked about the $200 million San Antonio Riverwalk extension, the 4.4 percent unemployment rate and the 40,000 new homes that were built last year. He said the city would soon see a new homeless facility, a no-kill animal shelter and a new Federal courthouse.

At the end of his talk Hardberger said that he had a vision of San Antonio as a "humane and non-discriminatory" place -- a "beacon to other cities." He thanked everyone for their support and reminded them to vote for him and the bond proposal. The applause was enthusiastic. Afterwards, Hardberger took questions from the audience.

One of the questions dealt with a 1999 ruling Hardberger made when he was Chief Justice of the 4th Court of Appeals. In that case, Chistie Lee Littleton, a San Antonio transsexual woman who had been legally married to a man in Kentucky, was denied the status of a surviving spouse after her husband's death. Hardberger agreed with 285th District Court Judge Frank Montalvo in his ruling that, because of chromosomal evidence, Littleton’s marriage to Jonathon Littleton was a same-sex marriage and therefore illegal.

In the only tense moment of the evening, Hardberger defended his opinion in the Littleton case by saying that he had followed the rule of law, inferring that it was a clear cut legal decision. However, the Mayor did not offer any clue as to what his personal thoughts on transgender and transsexual rights might be. (Click here for more information about the Littleton case.)

The Stonewall Democrats did not endorse Mayor Hardberger in the previous election and he did not seek their endorsement. According to Dan Graney, ex-officio member of the group’s board of directors, Hardberger indicated that he would fill out the necessary forms so that this year he could be considered for a Stonewall endorsement.

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