Five activists to receive Stonewall awards
QSanAntonio.com, August 20, 2010

The Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio this week named five local activists who will receive awards at their annual banquet set for September 25 at the Airport Hilton Hotel.

The banquet will also mark Stonewall’s tenth anniversary. The occasion will serve to honor the group’s remaining "living founders" which include Roberto J. Flores, Daniel Graney, Dee Villarrubia, Norma Martinez Rogers, and Nancy Russell

Following is the list of Stonewall’s 2010 awards and recipients.

Roberto Flores with Dan Graney, his partner of 36 years.

Special Achievement Award - Roberto J. Flores

Roberto J. Flores is a native of Corpus Christi, Texas and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest of the Franciscan order in 1965. He served in various parishes and administrative posts and was a founder of PADRES, an organization of Chicano priests. He met his partner, Daniel Graney, in the lower Rio Grande Valley in 1974 and the couple has been together 36 years.

Flores obtained his masters degree in psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and then he and Graney moved to San Francisco where they lived and worked from 1975 to 1977. They then moved to Houston where they lived for 15 years until moving to San Antonio in 1992.

Flores worked as an adjunct faculty and counselor in the Disability Services Center at San Antonio College before retiring in 2006. He was a founder of Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio and has served as co-chair of SDSA the past two terms. He was a Democratic Party precinct chair in Bexar County from 1999 to December of 2009, when he was elected the first openly gay County Chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party on an interim basis and served in that capacity until May of this year. He has been a delegate to every Texas Democratic Convention since 2000. He also has many years experience as an election judge.

Flores was a member of the Board of Directors of Equality Texas, a singing member of the Alamo City Men’s Chorale and member of the Alamo Business Council and the Rainbow Garden Club. For the past three years, he has been a faculty member of the GLBT sensitivity training for cadets in the San Antonio Police Academy. On October 15, 2009, Flores and Graney celebrated their 35th anniversary by getting married in a civil ceremony in Vermont.

Nickie Valdez and Deb Meyers

Community Leadership Award- Nickie Valdez and Deb Myers

Nickie Valdez and Deb Myers have been partners for 24 years.

Valdez was one of five founders of Dignity San Antonio, a GLBT Catholic advocacy and support group. In the 1970's, she was a founding member of Forward Foundation, which organized the first Gay Pride Parade and ministered to inmates at the Bexar County Jail.

In the 1980's, Valdez worked to create the Trinity Council to bring together local GLBT friendly churches and educate the community in self-acceptance and self-worth. She was a founder of the San Antonio Lesbian/Gay Assembly to advance GLBT issues at the local and state level.

Valdez’ work extended beyond religious issues, into HIV/AIDS awareness, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, the National Organization for Women and the advancement of people of color. She organized PRO San Antonino, an interfaith network of GLBT friendly clergy, churches and lay people.

Myers has served on the local, state and national levels of Dignity USA for the last 24 years. The majority of her time has been spent on the Liturgy Committee that organizes the liturgy and music for the weekly mass. She is a moderator for the Progressive Religious Organizations of San Antonio and has worked with the group since it's founding in 2006.

In addition to her advocacy work, Meyers served on the Archdiocesan Justice and Peace Commission, the Archdiocesan Anti Violence Effort Committee and the Mayor's Commission for a More United San Antonio under former Mayor Ed Garza. She is a physical therapist at University Hospital.

Volunteer Appreciation Award- John Courage and Zada True Courage

John Courage and Zada are straight allies to the GLBT community and have given much to the Democratic Party and to Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio. Both have served as Precint Chairs to the County Executive Committee.

John has run for public office three times. Zada is a former SD 25 committeewoman and helped to develop a grassroots handbook for the Texas Democratic Party. Both have given presentations at the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio meetings. John is a public school teacher in the San Antonio Independent School who works with special needs children.

Zada works as a treasury professional at a financial services company. John and Zada have four children and are especially close to the GLBT Community through their close relationship with Zada's lesbian cousin Martha and her partner Margaret.

The Courages are community leaders who say they are working to turn Texas blue.

Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio Awards Banquet, September 25, 2010 at the Airport Hilton. Tickets are $75 each. There is a maximum of 10 people per table. Click here to purchase tickets. Send inquiries to ChrisForbrich@stonewallsanantonio.org.

Bexar ‘United Democrats’ to open headquarters
QSanAntonio.com, August 7, 2010

A coalition of Democratic clubs from across San Antonio (including the Stonewall Democrats) have banded together as the Bexar County United Democrats and will open their official headquarters at 1101 Broadway on August 9.

The BCUD offices will have all of the trappings of a campaign headquarters where local candidates can rent an office and take advantage of perks like phone banks, mailing services and a staff of volunteers.

Already, about 41 Democratic candidates have moved into offices in the facility including Nico LaHood, the candidate for District Attorney. Office manager for the new headquarters is former City Councilwoman and Stonewall Democrats Co-chair Elena Guajardo.

"The idea, kind of, is for us to take care of the base vote and allow candidates to go out into persuadable areas and swing voters and convince them," Northwest Democrats Chair Jacob Middleton, one of three people who helped organize the BCUD, told the San Antonio Current last July.

Funding for the BCUD office is coming from the Vote Texas PAC. Democratic campaign veteran Christian Archer told the Current he "predicted a six-figure kitty for this fall’s elections."

The idea for an organization like the BCUD was hatched this Spring after the Bexar County Democratic Party suffered a couple of major setbacks -- the first being the embezzlement of over $200,000 from the party’s back account by its former treasurer. (See related story -- A Troubled Organization -- below.)

The party is now deeply in debt with hardly enough money to pay its bills, much less fund campaign efforts for local Democrats.

A second setback is the rift that immediately developed between party leaders and newly elected Party Chair Dan Ramos, a grassroots organizer who’s expressed little interest in taking direction from party stalwarts. Ramos is the leader of a coalition of South Side community organizers and precinct chairs called the Barrio Boys.

Ramos stunned Democratic honchos last March when he proved victorious against Choco Meza, a longtime party insider and aide to former Mayor Henry Cisneros. With the vigorous endorsement and commitment of support from party leaders, Meza ran on a promise to get the party out of debt.

After Ramos was elected, those same Democratic leaders expressed concern about putting money into party coffers given the new Chair’s promise to clean house, to make changes autocratically and without the counsel of party elders.

In a March 3 interview with the San Antonio Express-News, County Judge Nelson Wolfe said, "I get the feeling that no one is going to be writing checks until there is a damned good sense of where (the incoming chairman) wants to take the party. I know I won't be writing any."

In the same article, Ramos tells the Express-News, "Henry (Cisneros), Nelson Wolff, Leticia (Van de Putte) — all those power players were presuming Choco would take over. Well, I got news for them: Instead of grandstanding, maybe they should do what they said — come up with the money like they said they would."

Although no one with the organization will say as much, by opening a new headquarters office the BCUD circumvents Ramos and the Party’s financial problems and sets about the business getting Democrats elected this November.

The organizations that have signed on to be part of the BCUD represent Democratic constituencies from all parts of the city. They are the Northwest Democrats, the Northeast Democrats, Democratic Women of Bexar County, the Alamo Democrats, the Mission Democrats, the Young Democrats and the Stonewall Democrats.

Middleton told the Current that the BCUD is a "short term alliance." He said the group will deliver updated phone and address lists to the party as well as rosters of newly elected officials. "Hopefully BCUD can serve as a model for the party," Middleton told the Current. ‘This is what the party should be doing every year."

Bexar County United Democrats Grand Opening & Campaign Kickoff, Monday, August 9, 2010 from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. at 1101 Broadway (at Jones). For more information or to volunteer call office manager Elena Guajardo at 210-369-9071.

Victory Fund president is keynote speaker for Stonewall Dems banquet
QSanAntonio.com, July 30, 2010

Chuck Wolfe, the president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, will be the keynote speaker at the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio Awards Banquet on September 25.

Wolfe served on the Victory Fund's board of directors for four years prior to joining the staff. During his tenure as CEO, hundreds of openly GLBT candidates have been elected to public office, and the list of states with no out elected officials has dropped from 13 to just five.

Wolfe was previously the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the American Legacy Foundation, which was created as a result of the 46-state settlement with the tobacco industry. He entered the public sector as an appointee to the late Florida Governor Lawton Chiles, where he served the governor for seven years in such capacities as director of external affairs, director of tobacco control and executive director of the Miami Financial Oversight Board.

Wolfe was an Eagle Scout and has a long history of leadership within the Boy Scouts of America, including a two-year term on the National Executive Board. For more than ten years he was active and outspoken in the effort to rid scouting of its discriminatory policies towards gays and lesbians.

In addition to Wolfe, the banquet also will feature an address by Linda Chavez-Thompson the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor. Carlos Guerra, a former columnist with the San Antonio Express-News, will serve as master of ceremonies.

Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio Awards Banquet, September 25, 2010 at the Airport Hilton. Tickets are $75 each. There is a maximum of 10 people per table. Click here to purchase tickets. Send inquiries to ChrisForbrich@stonewallsanantonio.org.

Texas Democrats adopt pro-GLBT platform and resolutions
QSanAntonio.com, June 30, 2010

Delegates meeting at the Texas Democratic Convention this past weekend in Corpus Christi adopted a platform and resolutions that champion gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality and nondiscrimination on a variety of levels.

For the first time ever, the 2010 State Democratic Party platform uses the words "gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender" in calling for the repeal of discriminatory laws and policies against the GLBT community.

The platform also advocates for anti-bullying policies in public schools, diversity in institutions for higher learning, passage of the Employment Non Discrimination Act, increased education initiatives and services to address HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, an end to discrimination in the state foster care system, strong enforcement of both federal and state hate crimes laws and repeal of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.

Four pro-equality resolutions proposed by Equality Texas, and which passed numerous senate district and county conventions, also were adopted on the floor of the convention without opposition.

These resolutions included: (1) a state employment nondiscrimination policy that includes GLBT protections, (2) competitive insurance benefits for GLBT employees at Texas universities, (3) accurate birth certificates for same-sex parents of adopted children and (4) policies that would prohibit bullying and harassment in Texas public schools,

Two other GLBT resolutions were adopted. One supported GLBT foster and adoptive parents and the other called for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. Another resolution calling for the repeal of the discriminatory Texas Constitutional Marriage Amendment was not passed.

Similar resolutions had been approved by previous convention resolutions committees but never made it to the floor of the convention for a vote.

The new Texas Democratic Party platform stands in stark contrast to the State Republican Party Convention two weeks ago, which adopted a platform that denounces homosexuality as "tearing at the fabric of society" and calls for the felony prosecution of anyone who performs a marriage ceremony for a same-sex couple in Texas.

Gay delegates flood convention

Hundreds of GLBT Texans were among the 5,000 delegates and alternates who attended the convention. The Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus, which is the official GLBT Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party, hosted a reception on June 24 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of its founding.

The TSDC also held an Executive Board meeting and Caucus membership meeting at the convention, both of which were well attended. Dan Graney of San Antonio was re-elected President, Erin Moore of Dallas was re-elected Vice President and Carol Cappa of Fort Worth and Shaun Nelson of Houston were respectively elected the new Secretary and Treasurer of the Caucus.

Graney and Moore will represent the TSDC on the State Democratic Executive Committee or SDEC, which is the governing body of the State Democratic Party between conventions
Also elected to the SDEC were four openly GLBT members of Stonewall Democrats chapters in Texas: Eli Olivarez of McAllen, Garry Brown of Austin and DeeJay Johannessen and Mary Edwards of Tarrant County. Stonewall Democrats members were also elected to all five of the permanent committees of the convention, which includes credentials, rules, platform, resolutions and nominations.

"The 2010 State Democratic Convention proved beyond a reasonable doubt that GLBT Texans have a place at the table of the Democratic Party", exclaimed Graney. "As for the Republican Party of Texas, it might as well call itself the Republican Party of Uganda because of all the hate and bigotry that is dripping from its platform."

Texas Democrats are gearing up for the midterm elections this November and are hoping to elect Bill White the first Democratic governor of this state in 16 years. The 2012 Texas Democratic Convention will take place in Houston.

Photo by Rosie Gonzalez

Stonewall Dems endorse three for school boards
QSanAntonio.com, April 14, 2010

The Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio announced endorsements this week for the Alamo Colleges board of trustees and for NEISD District 7. The election is on May 8.

For the Alamo College board, Stonewall endorsed Tyler Ingraham, a St. Mary’s University student running in District 1 and attorney Blakely Latham Fernandez, who is running in District 7. Both candidates will receive a $100 contribution to their campaigns from SDSA.

At the endorsement meeting which was held on April 12, both of the endorsed candidates said they would support a request made by GLBT students and professors to include sexual orientation and gender identification in the Alamo Colleges anti-discrimination policy.

Three of Ingraham’s opponents, Joe Alderete, Jr, Rowland Marting and Thomas Hoy attended the endorsement meeting as well.

Stonewall also Tammy L. Wincott for the Northeast Independent School District school board District 7. She also will receive a $100 contribution to her campaign.

In other business, Stonewall presented a $200 check in support of the Gay and Lesbian Association of San Antonio College. (See above photo)

Bexar Dems approve GLBT resolutions in three of four senatorial districts
QSanAntonio.com, March 26, 2010

At least three of the four Democratic senatorial district conventions in Bexar County adopted resolutions calling for equal treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Texans. One local district also adopted a marriage amendment repeal measure.

The resolutions were approved on March 20 when Texas Democrats held their county and senatorial district conventions. According to reports received by Dan Graney, President of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus, at least 14 conventions across the state adopted the resolutions including conventions in Dallas, Denton, Tarrant, Harris, Travis, and Hidalgo counties.

In Hidalgo County, located in the lower Rio Grande Valley along the Mexican border, all five resolutions were unanimously adopted. Graney attributes the successful passage of the resolutions in socially conservative Hidalgo County to the hard work of the Stonewall Democrats chapter in the Valley and its President, El Olivarez.

Four of the resolutions were drafted by Equality Texas and call for: (1) A state employment nondiscrimination policy that includes GLBT protections. (2) Domestic partner benefits for employees at Texas universities. (3) Accurate birth certificates for same-sex parents of adopted children. (4) Policies that would prohibit bullying and harassment in Texas public schools. One other resolution calling for the repeal of the anti-gay Texas constitutional marriage amendment was adopted by at least 5 conventions.

The resolutions were initially adopted by precinct conventions held on March 2, the night of the Democratic primary election. The resolutions were then sent to county and senatorial district conventions, where delegates and alternates to the state convention are selected.
Resolutions that pass multiple county and senatorial district conventions are given priority consideration by the Resolutions Committee. If the Resolutions Committee approves the resolutions, they are sent to the floor of the convention for a vote.

The resolutions now advance to the State Democratic Convention that will take place in Corpus Christi on June 25 and 26. GLBT delegates and visitors to the convention will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the recognition of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus as the official GLBT Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party.

The celebration will feature a reception at a restaurant on the Corpus Christi bay front on Thursday, June 24, honoring the founders of the Caucus. The weekend will also include the biennial meeting of the Caucus, which drew over 500 attendees at the State Democratic Convention in Austin in 2008.At the biennial meeting, Graney will seek re-election to a second two-year term as President of the Caucus.

Bexar Democrats will vote on GLBT resolutions
QSanAntonio.com, February 25, 2010

Voters in Democratic primaries across Bexar County and the state Texas will assemble in precinct conventions after the polls close on Tuesday, March 2 and vote on a number of resolutions related to GLBT issues. According to Daniel Graney, President of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus, the four GLBT resolutions drafted by Equality Texas will appear in the precinct convention packets of all 603 voting precincts in Bexar County.

Graney says that including the resolutions in convention packets "assures maximum exposure of our issues to as many Democratic voters as possible." Graney adds that efforts are being made by Stonewall Democrats chapters in other Texas cities to introduce these resolutions in as many precincts as possible so that they will receive priority consideration at the State Democratic Convention which will take place in Corpus Christi on June 25-26.

The four resolutions developed by Equality Texas, ask that the Texas Democratic Party support legislation calling for: (1) employment nondiscrimination; (2) competitive insurance benefits for same-sex partners of faculty and staff in Texas universities; (3) accurate birth certificates listing both parents of a child adopted by a same-sex couple and; (4) a statewide policy protecting all children from harassment and bullying in public schools.

The text of the four resolutions can be obtained in PDF format from the web site of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio (stonewallsanantonio.org).

At least one other resolution being circulated by members of Stonewall Democrats would call on the Texas Democratic Party to support the repeal of the anti-gay Texas constitutional marriage amendment that was approved by voters in 2005.

In even-numbered years, voters in both Democratic and Republican primary elections meet in precinct conventions the night after the polls close on election day to elect delegates and alternates to their respective senatorial district conventions, which in turn elects delegates and alternates to each party’s state convention. Additionally, participants in these precinct conventions may present resolutions on an assortment of issues that they hope will eventually be adopted on the floor of the state convention.

The 2010 Republican Primary ballot statewide includes five ballot propositions that are similar to resolutions. One proposition calls for the use of the word "God," prayers and the Ten Commandments in public gatherings, schools and buildings. Another proposition would require a sonogram to be performed on a woman who is about to undergo an abortion.

Although the rules of the Texas Democratic Party allow for a petition process to place propositions on its statewide primary ballot, the 2010 Democratic Primary ballot includes only candidates and no propositions. Instead, Democrats utilize resolutions during the convention process to influence important Party actions on issues.

Front row: Roberto Flores (Bexar County Democrtic Party Chair), Elena Guajardo (staff), Rosemary de Hoyos (staff). Back row: Minerva Mendoza (volunteer) and Cheryl Novak (Primary Elections Manager) at party headquarters.

Politicians seek GLBT vote in San Antonio
Photos by Antonia Padilla, QSanAntonio.com, February 1, 2010

Over 70 politicians sought the endorsement of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio on January 31. Below are photos of some of the candidates who attended the meeting.

Lainey Malnick (U.S. House Dist. 21), Ciro Rodriguez (U.S. House Dist. 23), Hank Gilbert (Agriculture Commissioner), Hector Uribe (General Land Office Commissioner), Linda Chavez-Thompson (Lt. Governor).

Jeff Weems (Railroad Commissioner), Masarrat Ali (Rep. Dist. 122), Margaret Montemayor (Bexar County Dist. Clerk), Esmeralda Montez (Bexar County Dist. Clerk), Tim Ybarra (Bexar County Clerk.).

Delicia Herrera (Bexar County Commissioner Pct. 2), Paul Elizondo (Bexar County Commissioner Pct. 2), Tommy Adkisson (Bexar County Commissioner Pct. 4), Shiela McNeil (Bexar County Commissioner Pct. 4), Roberto Rios (073 Dist. Court).

Catherine Torres-Stahl (144 Dist. Court), Aida Rojas (150 Dist. Court), Maria Teresa Herr (186 Dist. Court), Peter Sakai (225 Dist. Court), Paul Vasquez (227 Dist. Court).

Rosie Alvarado (285 Dist. Court), Milton Fagin (285 Dist. Court), Lawrence Morales (285 Dist. Court), Paul Talamantez (285 Dist. Court), Tina Torres (288 Dist. Court).

Stephanie Boyd (290 Dist. Court), Norma Gonzalez (290 Dist. Court), Sylvia Marie Lopez (290 Dist. Court), Rosa Maria Gonzalez (436 Dist. Court), Pamela Gabriel Craig (437 Dist. Court).

Rebecca C. Martinez (4th Court of Appeals Pl. 2), David Rodriguez (County Court 3), Alfredo Ximenez (County Court 4), Ina Castillo (County Court 5), Linda Penn (County Court 5).

Ray J. Olivarri (County Court 6), Monica E. Guerrero (County Court 7), Deborah Sandheinrich (County Court 7), Karen Crouch (County Court 8), Liza Rodriguez (County Court 8).

Michael Mery (County Court 12), Monica Gonzalez (County Court 13), Barbara Schraf-Zeldes (County Probate Court 2), Travis Cox (J.P. Court Pct. 2 Pl. 2), Roberto Vasquez (J.P. Pct. 2 Pl. 2).

William Peche (J.P. Court Pct. 3), Albert G. Lopez (J.P Court Pct. 4), Roegelio Lopez, Jr. (J.P. Court Pct. 4), Choco G. Meza (Bexar County Party Chair), Dan Ramos (Bexar County Party Chair).

Gay activist elected chair of Bexar County Democratic Party
QSanAntonio.com, December 16, 2009

A little bit of gay political history was made on December 15, when Roberto J. Flores, Co-chair of the Stonewall Democrats, was elected interim Chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party by members of that group’s Executive Committee.

Flores was elected to fill the vacancy left by the outgoing County Chair Carla Vela who resigned because she intends to run for County Clerk. Flores was one of two candidates nominated at the meeting. He was elected by a vote of 101 to 30.

Flores will serve as interim chair until a new County Chair is elected by the voters of Bexar County in the March Democratic Primary and possibly will remain chair until the end of April after the primary runoff election. He is not a candidate for a full two-year term on the March primary ballot. His primary responsibility as interim Chair will be to oversee the Democratic Primary Election that takes place on March 2.

Flores is the first openly gay person ever elected County Chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party. He has been co-chair of Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio since 2007, is a former member of the Board of Directors of Equality Texas and has been the Chair of the San Antonio Peace Officers Training Committee, which provides GLBT sensitivity training to San Antonio police cadets. He has served as Democratic precinct chair of Bexar County Precinct 3122 since 2000 and resigned his precinct chair position after he was elected interim County Chair.

In his speech after being nominated, Flores recounted his lifelong involvement in the Democratic Party and his participation in various civil rights movements, including the GLBT equality movement. He pledged to do whatever he could to unite the local party to turn Bexar County a deeper shade of "blue" in 2010.

A troubled organization

Carla Vela made a tearful announcement of embezzeled funds. Vela said Treasurer Dwayne Adams drained the Bexar County Democrats bank account of $202, 000. (Photo courtesy of WalkerReport.net.)

Flores inherits an organization that is plagued by an internal scandal. On the night when Flores was elected, outgoing Chair Carla Vela opened the meeting with a tearful announcement that the organization’s Treasurer, Dwayne Adams, had embezzled $202,000 from a bank account that contained funds left over from the Democratic Primary in 2008 and owed back to the State.

Adams was to have finished a report that was to accompany the funds being returned to the State. Vela says she did not learn of the missing money until a check she had written bounced and she went to the bank to investigate.

Vela said that Adams had added his name a signatory on the account and over time had been withdrawing cash. Vela was supposed to be the only person with access to the funds in that account. In an interview with WOAI-TV Vela said that she had spoken to Adams and that he had told her he would be returning the money.

However, attempts to reach Adams since then have proven futile so Vela and Flores decided to meet the District Attorney on December 16 to press charges.

Photos -- Gay activist couple weds in Vermont
QSanAntonio.com, October 24, 2009

San Antonio activists Dan Graney and Roberto Flores were married on October 15, 2009 in a civil ceremony held at the Lilac Inn, a bed and breakfast in Brandon, Vermont. Justice of the Peace Joyce Heath officiated at the ceremony.

Graney is the President of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus and Flores is Co-chair of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio. The couple has been together for 35 years. The wedding was part of a trip to the Northeast that included a visit to New York City and participation in the GLBT March on Washington D.C. on October 11.

Roberto Flores (left), Stonewall Co-Chair, and Deputy Chief Jose Banales of the San Antonio Police Department at the meeting of the Stonewall Democrats on August 17. (Photo by Antonia Padilla)

Deputy Police Chief fields questions at Stonewall Democrats’ meeting
QSanAntonio.com, August 18, 2009

Deputy Chief Jose Banales, the San Antonio Police Department’s GLBT liaison, made a quick appearance at the August 17 meeting of the Stonewall Democrats and offered a progress report on the department’s efforts to respond to the community’s concerns.

Banales had no prepared comments. He did however offer an update on the Internal Affairs investigation of a drug raid made on the home of a lesbian couple (click here for related story) that found no evidence of wrongdoing but left the women traumatized and shaken for months afterward.

According to Banales, the investigation is almost complete and that the findings would be presented to a review board. He said that Police Chief William McManus would take the lead in making sure the case would be resolved to the "satisfaction of all parties."

Banales also outlined a service initiative the SAPD has undertaken to survey citizens of San Antonio asking them to rate the performance of the department. Over 300 calls have been made and the SAPD eventually hopes to post the results of the survey on their web site. The SAPD is hoping to include the survey twice a year in City Public Service invoices.

The surveys are a reaction to widespread belief that policemen are callous and indifferent toward citizens. Banales said that 90 percent of the 300 surveys rated the police as doing a good job. He added that it was not good enough and the department wanted to bring up that rating.

During the question and answer session, two questioners, Nancy Russell and Dr. Lynne Armstrong admonished Banales on the treatment of GLBT citizens and the reluctance of senior SAPD officers to take and endorse sensitivity training.

Dr. Armstrong, who is a member of the Peace Officers Liaison Committee and helps conduct sensitivity training at the Police Academy, told Banales that when senior officers were offered the training very few signed up and those who did complained that they felt it was unnecessary.

Banales admitted that there was work to be done and that Chief McManus was committed to improving the SAPD’s relationship with the community.

Phyllis Guest, Reynaldo Garcia and Raymundo Garcia (seated) circa 1969. Phyllis and Raymundo at the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio meeting on July 20, 2009.

Speakers evoke memories of Stonewall 1969
QSanAntonio.com, July 21, 2009

Two Texans who were living in New York City in June of 1969, at the time of the Stonewall riots, offered up their personal recollections of those historic days at the July 20 meeting of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio.

Though their experiences were different Phyllis Guest from Dallas and Raymundo Garcia of San Antonio both say that the time was right for GLBT people to fight back against a system that routinely persecuted sexual minorities.

"Gay people were tired of being shoved aside," Guest said. "In 49 states gay sex was illegal, there was no law protecting a gay person’s job, housing or insurance."

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City.

Guest, who worked in NYC as a writer and proofreader, explained that late night raids on gay bars were not unusual in the city. "They would just come in turn out the lights and send everybody home," she said.

On June 28, the day the riots began, Guest stopped by the Stonewall Inn early in the evening to have a quick beer with friends. "It was a hot Friday afternoon and the day of the Judy Garland funeral," she recalls.

"The Stonewall was kind of a down and dirty place, mostly younger street kids, drag queens — a more flamboyant, open crowd," said Guest. Yet despite the altercation with police, Guest says that the disturbance was not as violent as it could have been. "There were no gun shots or fires started."

Garcia had only been in New York City a short time before the events of Stonewall. He moved to the city in 1969 at the urging of his twin brother, Reynaldo, who was studying ballet. The brothers shared an apartment on the city's Upper West Side.

In the first few days of his time in New York, Garcia took in the original Broadway production of "Hair," his first opera at the Metropolitan Opera House, his first ticker tape parade and the Stonewall riots. "It was phenomenal," he said.

Garcia recalls on June 27, 1969, he spent three-and-a-half hours waiting in line to see Judy Garland’s casket. He said that the crowd was colorfully dressed in hippie and mod fashions and that the gays were out in full force.

While he waited in line, Garcia remembers a man who was sobbing uncontrollably was helped out of the funeral home by two people. "My friend asked if he was a good friend of Judy’s. One of the people replied ‘No, but he has all her albums.’"

When Garcia finally got into the funeral home he recalls that Garland looked like Snow White laid out in her glass coffin.

Garcia said that later that evening he went down to the Village to meet up with his brother but when he arrived at the subway stop at Christopher Street he was not allowed by police to exit to the street. He had to go around to another exit a couple of blocks away before he could reach street level.

He says that when he arrived at Sheridan Square, which is across the street from the Stonewall Inn, the worst of the riot was over. His brother was there and had gotten a minor laceration to his head.

"The gay club kids were strutting around like angry peacocks," Garcia said. "There were bricks, and broken glass everywhere." He says the civil disturbances continued on for weeks.

One year later, the Garcia brothers participated in the first Pride March in New York City. Garcia says that police never released official estimates of crowd size, but activists estimated that the march attracted over 150,000 participants. "We marched up Fifth Avenue to Central Park where another 100,000 people were waiting to have a rally."

Garcia believes that the years since Stonewall have not brought the change that GLBT people need. "Forty years later and we’re still fighting for the same things. There have been some advances but we need more. Change will come but it will take a long time."

Ciro Rodriguez non-committal when questioned on "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell"
QSanAntonio.com, October 24

Speaking before the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio’s monthly meeting on October 20, Democratic Congressman Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23rd District) was caught speechless when questioned about his failure to sign on as a co-sponsor for the Military Readiness Enhancement Act that seeks to repeal the anti-gay policy of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell."

It did not help the Congressman’s dilemma that the question was posed by retired Marine sergeant and HRC spokesman Eric Alva.

Congressman Rodriguez’ talk was one of many given by Democratic candidates making one last pitch for votes from Stonewall members before the November 4th election. The mood in the meeting room was one of pre-election elation and bonhomie. About a half-dozen politicians spoke before Congressman Rodriguez, who’s been endorsed by Stonewall, took the floor to make his case for re-election.

The Congressman spoke passionately and garnered several rounds of boisterous applause. He talked about education, veteran’s rights, the border fence, the economy, and Iraq. However, he did not mention any GLBT issues.

‘I’ll look into it"

It was when the floor was opened for questions that Alva stood to ask Rodriguez about "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell."

In March 2003, Alva became the first soldier injured in the Iraq War when he stepped on a landmine resulting in the loss of his right leg part of an index finger. On February 28, 2007, he joined Rep. Marty Meehan, (D-Mass.), in calling for an end to the government’s "Don’t ask, Don’t Tell" policy.

At the invitation of Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), chair of the personnel subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, Alva again testified before Congress on July 23, 2008.

"Congressman Rodriguez," said Alva, "I think you were in Iraq longer than I was." "I was there three days," said Rodriguez, holding up three fingers. "I was there only three hours," replied Alva, "I was the first soldier injured in the Iraq War and I’m gay."

The Congressman stood there and stared blankly. He did not recognize Alva even though the ex-Marine tells QSanAntonio that he has met with Rodriguez twice to make a pitch for repealing "Don’t Ask."

Alva went on to list four Texas Democratic Congressmen who had co-sponsored the Military Readiness Enhancement Act: Al Green (9th District), Sheila Jackson Lee (18th District), Eddie Jackson (30th District) and Lloyd Doggett (5th District). Alva added that more than 140 in Congress have signed on as co-sponsors for the bill. He then asked Rodriguez why he was not a co-sponsor.

After a long, awkward silence Rodriguez replied that he would "look into it" and added that if the "votes weren’t there," he would not support the legislation. He then quickly went on to other questions.

From liberal to moderate

Many in the room were disappointed with Rodriguez’ response. The Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio and the local chapter of the Human Rights Campaign both strongly supported Rodriguez with money and manpower during his previous run for the 23rd District House seat. As Alva put it, "We don’t want his Republican opponent to win, but the Congressman could have at least been prepared to answer questions relating to GLBT issues."

A September 15, 2008 article in the San Antonio Express-News explains why Congressman Rodriguez may be reticent to address "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" and other GLBT concerns:

Dan Graney, President of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus and a San Antonio Stonewall member, put it this way: "Since being elected to the 23rd District, Ciro Rodriguez has been AWOL in our community." Graney says he can only conclude that Congressman Rodriguez is hoping to keep a low profile on issues that alienate conservative voters in his district.

Congressman Rodriguez’ relationship with GLBT voters in San Antonio was best summed up when Darrell Parsons, President of the San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce, stood up at the Stonewall meeting and followed up on Alva’s question saying, "Congressman, we’ve endorsed you and helped your campaign. We need you on our issues and we need to see you at our events."

All the Congressman could do is shrug and nod.

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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