Stonewall Endorsement Forum

Stonewall Dems Vote ‘No’ On Mayoral Endorsement

On April 8, the board of directors of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio made a historic decision to forgo their endorsement in the upcoming mayoral race. This marks the first time that Mayor Julian Castro, who has been in three mayoral campaigns, will not be endorsed by the Stonewall Democrats. In the past, Mayor Castro has always attended the endorsement meetings and fully answered their candidate questionnaire.

The Stonewall endorsement committee had initially recommended inviting the four mayoral candidates, including Mayor Castro, to their April 15 meeting to reconsider the “no endorsement” decision. However, the board of directors determined that the vote taken by the group’s membership on March 17 to not endorse any candidate would stand. The reason for this decision was to maintain the fairness and integrity of the endorsement process, avoiding giving any special treatment to a single candidate.

Mayor Castro’s absence from the Stonewall endorsement forum and failure to complete the candidate questionnaire created a stir in the community. Some in the LGBT community feel that the Mayor should still be endorsed despite his actions, while others believe his actions have shown disrespect to the group. The Mayor has expressed frustration with the questionnaire, saying that he doesn’t like “yes or no” surveys and that his record should speak for itself.

Meanwhile, the Community Alliance for a United San Antonio, a group of LGBT activists, has been working to change the city’s non-discrimination ordinances since 2011. The Mayor and City Councilman Diego Bernal have expressed their support for the cause, but the Mayor has taken a cautious approach in changing city ordinances to include LGBT protections, opting for a gradual approach instead of a full-fledged Human Rights Ordinance (HRO). The Mayor’s senior policy advisor and LGBT liaison stated that they are still in the process of understanding exactly what the HRO would entail.

Despite the controversy surrounding the endorsement, Stonewall officials emphasized that candidates can leave the questionnaire boxes blank and add written comments instead of a simple “yes or no” answer. Several candidates have used this technique, and Mayor Castro was promised to complete the questionnaire by the political director of his re-election campaign. The “no endorsement” decision by the Stonewall Democrats has sparked both frustration and resentment among the LGBT community, and highlights the ongoing tensions in the fight for equality and fairness in San Antonio.