Fort Worth voters pick the best candidate to fill their City Council vacancy, and it doesn't seem to matter that he's gay

“Joel’s election proves that leadership and experience are more important to voters than sexual orientation. The people of Fort Worth rewarded Joel’s obvious dedication to his city, and ignored the tired politics of division.”
--Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund ("the only national organization dedicated to increasing the number of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender elected officials at all levels of government"), after yesterday's runoff election

There seems to have been a fair amount of nastiness regarding Fort Worth real estate agent Joel Burns's sexual orientation (he's gay), but in the end the voters in City Council District 9 seem to have gotten beyond it.

In the November general election Burns finished at the head of the field of six candidates, having been endorsed by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which praised his knowledge of city issues and the wisdom of his positions. ("Burns champions intelligent, sustainable economic development; a more advanced urban transportation system that would include expanded rail transit; continued central-city redevelopment that further revitalizes older neighborhoods; quality affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents; strong code enforcement; and well-equipped, well-paid police and firefighters.") That set the stage for yesterday's runoff, which he won with 54 percent of the vote.


UPDATE: MORE GOOD NEWS FROM FT. WORTH

Apparently all these years of Republican rule have started sinking in-- even in Texas, where progressive Democrat Dan Barrett won a special election yesterday for an open State House seat in an overwhelmingly (once overwhelmingly) Republican district. Texas bloggers, who helped finance Barrett's candidacy, have reports at the Burnt Orange Report here and here. Blue America-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega campaigned for Barrett and helped with his get out the vote effort. Rick's statement:

"Yesterday, Texans voted for change. They stood up for Texas values and said no to business as usual. They said no to the politics of division. They said yes to an independent voice who will put Texas families and children first.

"Dan Barrett's win in the Texas State House is about change for Texas, but it's also about a change in how campaigns are won. We wouldn't have narrowed the Republican majority from 26 seats to 8 seats over the last five years without the work of Texas netroots. That's why your actions online-- from raising attention to raising money-- are so important."