Yesterday, Houston Mayor Annise Parker appointed Texas' first transgender judge, Legislative Queery reports:
"Phyllis Randolph Frye, longtime legal advocate for the transgender community, was sworn in this morning as the state's first transgender judge. Frye was appointed by Houston Mayor Annise Parker as an Associate Municipal Judge. The city council unanimously approved her appointment, along with a couple dozen other appointments, with little fanfare and no dissent. The significance of the moment was not lost on Mayor Parker who fought back tears as she welcomed the appointees to the council dais. Council member Sue Lovell who, along with Parker and Frye, fought for years as a citizen to improve the lives of queer Houstonians, beamed as she spoke of how far the three of them have come. Several council members specifically thanked Frye for her willingness to serve."
Frye is a nationally-recognized legal expert on trans issues.
Go Houston!! Who would of thunk it?
Posted by: JonJon | Nov 18, 2010 10:30:11 AM
This is exciting news. But I've read all manner of headlines recently about transgender candidates vying for office, and yet it always exclusively concerns transsexual candidates. I wonder if anybody realizes that the transgender collective is much, much, much more diverse just transsexual people :(
It's as if there always has to be a "hierarchy" of importance in the Queer space. If your sexual orientation or gender identity is not within the socially acknowledged upper echelons, then you don't exist and must remain silent.
Posted by: Randall Ellison | Nov 18, 2010 11:36:44 AM
I love my mayor.
Posted by: Brian in Texas | Nov 18, 2010 12:45:49 PM
Ditto, Brian. me2.
Posted by: tinhouston | Nov 18, 2010 4:31:02 PM
@Randall - I can assure you that Phyllis is aware of the broad diversity with-in the transgender spectrum. She was one of the co-founders of the Houston Transgender Unity Committee, an intentional effort to span the divide between the cross dressing and transexual communities, which today works for even broader inclusion. Houston's Trans community is the most united of any city I'm aware. A lot of that has to do with Judge Frye and her willingness to look beyond what is good for herself and work instead on what is good for everyone.
Posted by: Daniel Williams | Nov 19, 2010 6:16:15 AM
Enjoy it while you can because the mayor will not win a second term. He favoritism towards other gays is not only wrong but will kill her chance to win friends that are straight. Our city is poisoned with more crimes and growing at a alarming rate while our mayor installed red light cameras when we voted against it.
Posted by: Mike of Houston | Oct 27, 2012 10:37:00 PM