How would you explain acity that voted for Wendy Davis, then voted to overturn an “equal rightsordinance?”
Houstonwas the first major city in the United States to elect an openly lesbian mayor.Annise Parker was elected city-wide nine times in a row over 18 years – drawingvotes from a wide range of Houstonians. Interestingly, her sexual orientationwas never a campaign issue for her or any of her opponents. Houstonians – evenin the early 1990s – didn’t seem to care. By the early 2000s, Houston hadelected at least five gay men and women to city council, and a transgendercandidate for city council – Jenifer Rene Pool – was considered a seriouscontender.
LiberalDemocratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis got a majority of the Houstonvote in 2014, despite losing by a huge margin – drawing less than 39 percent ofthe vote statewide.
Then,in 2015, Houston voters overwhelmingly voted to repeal a recently-adopted“Equal Rights Ordinance,” which was designed to create special protections forpeople with any of 15 “protected characteristics,” including gay andtransgender individuals. The campaign to repeal the ordinance was focused onthe transgender issue – tagged by social conservatives as an ordinance to letguys dress up as women and hang out in women’s’ restrooms. Earlier this month,Houston elected a conservative mayor over a well-known Democratic politicalveteran.
Yourtext discusses Daniel Elazar’s political cultures theory, contending that Texasis a mix of traditionalistic and individualistic cultures. I would contend thatHouston is perhaps the most individualistic city (we don’t even have zoning!)in Texas.
Writea college-level, 3– 5 page essay about;
- The political culture ofHouston.
- What do you think isimportant to Houstonians?
- How would you explain acity that voted for Wendy Davis, then voted to overturn an “equal rightsordinance?”
Submitin Word. Cite your sources.
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