Jenifer Rene Pool is seeking an open seat on the Houston City Council,
at-large, position 2, where the incumbent is term-limited. The election
day will be Tuesday, November 8. This is for a two-year term.
There is likely to be runoff, as it is unlikely that any one of the
many candidates will get better than 50 %. Early voting starts Monday, October 24.
I grew up wanting Houston to be a more cosmopolitan city. We have elected an
openly lesbian Mayor. Now we have a chance to elect a transgender
person to our City Council. In the 1970's transgender people were
subject to an oppressive ordinance against cross-dressing. Things have
been changing for the better since then.
I first knew of Jenifer Rene Pool as President of the Houston GLBT
Political Caucus, 2006 through 2008. She was the first transgender
person to hold that position. I saw her do an excellent job of
presiding over meetings. She has a forceful personality and a knack for
meeting the public, a talent for leadership.
She is serving as Commissioner of the Building & Standards
Commission, having been appointed by recent Mayor Bill White. This is
the board of last resort for people whose compliance with building
standards is under question. She has served 2 years as vice-chair. She
was reappointed by the new Mayor, Annise Parker.
She has also been appointed to the Police Advisory Commission by Mayor
Annise Parker. She is the first person from the glbt community to serve
on this panel since Annise Parker served in the 90's.
Jenifer started and owns a consulting company that specializes in
construction permitting, licensing, and project management. She does
much of her work for individuals.
Jenifer has been interviewed earlier in another
[http://www.dailykos.com/...
diary] on dailykos.
Please visit Jenifer Rene Pool's [http://www.jeniferrenepool.com
website] to find out more about her. Please also donate. Even a little
bit helps. If you are strapped for cash you can always ask friends to
donate. The best campaigns get their money from a broad base of people.
I have mentioned early voting above. The new Texas voter ID law went into effect September 1, and you can consider an election this year to be a dress rehearsal for 2012. Early voting is a good way to be on the safe side. Check that you have what you need to vote. Call your county clerk, your local Democratic Party, or a local campaign. In Houston the local Democratic Party is 713-802-0085. The Harris County Clerk is 713-755-5792. Texas is not the only state that has recently passed a voter ID law. Consider yourself fortunate if you have a local or state election this year.