Gay Mayoral Candidate Could Make History in Texas
Ed Oakley said he has served as an openly gay public official for 15 years.
June 8, 2007 — -- Some activist groups are bursting with pride over the fact that Dallas may be on the verge of being the largest city in the United States to elect an openly gay mayor. But at town hall meetings and during fierce debates, his gayness seems a nonissue with voters.
City Councilman Ed Oakley, who has received the endorsement of the Democratic Party, said he has served as an openly gay public official for 15 years here in Dallas. In a debate moderated by ABC affiliate WFAA, Oakley said, "It has never been an issue. It is not going to be an issue. … I am who I am, and people know who I am."
His campaign manager, Craig Murphy, said the fact that the candidate is openly gay "Is totally irrelevant and that is why we are not talking about it."
All candidates running for Dallas mayor have campaigned saying they consider someone's sexual orientation a nonissue.
David Webb, the assistant editor of the Dallas Voice, a newspaper with a circulation of 50,000 that caters to the gay community, said he thinks "it is funny" to watch some of the reaction from people who do not live in Texas.
Webb said, "I am a native Texan. I am accustomed to correcting impressions. In the 1970s, during the TV show 'Dallas,' everybody thought we all lived in mansions. People also had this vision of people riding horses down Main Street. I think for the most part Dallas has become a really progressive city."
It is also a city that offers health insurance to domestic partners of city employees and has nondiscrimination policies covering sexual orientation. The Dallas sheriff, county judge and district clerk all hold office as gay employees.
In a Time magazine article last month, writer John Cloud noted that Dallas is also home to the 3,500-member Cathedral of Hope, the world's largest gay church.
The runoff for Mayor takes place June 16. Oakley's opponent, Tom Leppert, is campaigning on a platform of fighting crime and improving Dallas schools.
Asked whether he felt voters in Dallas were aware that his opponent is openly gay, Leppert told ABC News, "I don't know the answer to that." He is appealing to Dallas' gay community for support and says "at my table, everybody has an equal seat."
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