Worried about the outcome of a potential run-off between two candidates, Joel Burns and Chris Turner, in the six-candidate City Council race in Fort Worth, Texas, councilman Chuck Silcox urged a group of Republicans to vote for Turner because Burns is openly gay.

Said Silcox: “‘This is an excellent time to have Republicans get out and support a Republican: Chris Turner,’ Silcox told a group of about 50 at a Fort Worth Republican Women’s Club meeting and a forum for Republican state House District 97 candidates. ‘We have two people of opposite partisan politics, opposite philosophical persuasions and opposite sexual orientations. I didn’t tell you which one was homosexual,’ Silcox said as the crowd laughed. Pointing to Turner, Silcox continued: ‘He’s married to a female, and the other’s married to a male. You make your own mind up.'”

Silcox told the Star-Telegram he brought it up because the paper, which has endorsed Burns, has not brought up the fact that he is gay: “The Star-Telegram doesn’t talk about it. They don’t put the negative out there. Every damn article that was written about Louis McBee (a former candidate) mentioned that he was gay. I’m just [angry] about the way that the Star-Telegram has treated this…I’m not trying to be derogatory about the young man. I’ve never even met him. From what I understand, he is openly gay. I’m not saying good, bad or otherwise. He has a different political philosophy and philosophy about life than most Republicans.”

Said Burns of Silcox’s remarks: “We live in the state of Texas, and I have a partner that I live with, who is a partner of 15 years. It is unfortunate that Mr. Silcox and Mr. Turner want to bring partisanship to a nonpartisan race.”

Councilman raises issue of homosexuality in city race [fort worth star telegram]