In
Houston, when Annise Parker was elected to city council
in 1997, the first openly gay person to hold public office
in Houston, the gay community exalted. It had been a long
time coming, several gay people had tried to gain the
council seat in the past, and Parker herself had lost
in two campaigns. The local gay press used terms like
"making history." David Bowers must have been bemused.
After all, he'd already been on Galveston's city council
for three years, since 1994. While Bowers was never actively
associated with the gay community like Parker is, he has
always been open about his sexual orientation. It's just
that in Galveston, it's not such a big deal.
Far from
being considered a fringe candidate, Bowers has been voted
"Best City Council Person" three years straight by Galveston's
hometown newspaper, the Galveston County Daily News. He
is both an attorney and realtor. He belongs to the Rotary
Club, has been on the board of the Galveston Historical
Society, and served as president of the Silk Stocking
Historical District Association. And now he is running
for mayor in Galveston's elections on May 6 against incumbent
Roger Quiroga.
"We haven't done a poll," Heber Taylor,
editor of the Daily News, told OutSmart, "but I'm hearing
anecdotally that it's probably going to be pretty close."
"[It is important that] gays and lesbians seek political
office," Bowers says, "whether they be Log Cabin Republicans
or Stonewall Democrats." He urges members of our community
not to give up the right to participate in government.
"Everyone should keep in mind the phrase liberty
and justice for all, and what those words really
mean."
I met the tall, dark-haired Bowers at his home–a
charming shotgun cottage he shares with his partner.
He welcomed me with a firm handshake and a tour of the
house. From the beginning of our meeting he emphasized
his continued desire for "good, clean politics." This
to him, he explained, meant "exposing and removing internal
corruption and special interest groups," as he calls
them, who put their agenda before the public's.
This is no mere politician's rhetoric:
In one of his boldest moves, Bowers publicly opposed the
Moody family over working conditions for laborers in the
Port of Galveston. The Moodys are one of Galveston's oldest
and wealthiest families, and they wield considerable power.
The atmosphere became so tense that Bowers was forced
to hire armed guards to protect his home.
Born in Kansas,
and reared in Vermont, Bowers moved to Galveston in 1989.
He has been a 'political junkie," as he puts it, all his
life. In fact, eight out of the last nine generations
of his family have had members who held public office.
I spoke with Bowers and his campaign manager, Fran Holmes,
about many things. For the most part, Bowers' sexuality
has been a non-issue within the scope of the many issues
he faces as a public official and mayoral candidate. He
considers his sexuality "as private as his spirituality,"
and has never flaunted either.
Yet when there is an issue
that affects or deals with the gay community, he is often
contacted for comment by the media. When members of a
right-wing religious group protested at Matthew Shepard's
funeral, Bowers spoke out on the local television news
as a public figure and as a gay man: "When hate puts on
a religious collar, it is still hate."
Another Galveston public official, Don Mafrige, used
the word "queer" on a flyer to describe Bowers' stand
on a particular issue. Mafrige claimed it was not an
attack on Bowersı sexual orientation. However, Mafrige's
own people, when confronted directly by Bowers, admitted
that it was an intentional smear tactic on Mafrige's
part. The smear backlashed. The diverse people of Galveston,
according to Bowers, saw it for what it was--a desperate
attack. They simply did not care about him being gay.
As Bowers said, "Itıs just no big deal anymore." The
rest of Texas could well learn a lesson from Galveston's
electorate.
Another incident that brought Bowers in front of the
cameras occurred in 1998 when a local Baptist minister,
Ken Barber of the Grace Baptist Church of Galveston,
spoke out against a gay couple who opened the Hollywood
Guest House on the Seawall. Once again, Bowers was moved
to speak out against the intolerance. As I watched a
short documentary produced by A&M film students on the
controversy over the guest house, I was impressed by
Galvestonians' tolerance, and by Bowers' intelligent,
well-spoken defense of the couple as businessmen--businessmen
who also happened to be gay. The minister tried to portray
the entire episode as a den of immoral activity, sin,
etc., ad nauseum. He even tried to include pederasty
and anti-Semitism as part of his outrage over a gay
guest house on the Seawall. Thankfully no real trouble
or violence stemmed from Barber's attack. The controversy
(and the Reverend Barber) has been all but forgotten
in Galveston.
I find it refreshing that
Bowers' openness about being gay is basically irrelevant
to his public life. It certainly speaks well of the people
of Galveston. Bowers is proud of the island's diversity,
which he credits as strengthening its cohesiveness as
a community.
Judging from the dozens and dozens of signs I saw
sprouting from people's lawns supporting him for mayor,
Galveston is proud of Bowers. He has found their support
"exciting and gratifying." He wanted to make it very
clear that his political mission is to "clean up local
government that it may better serve everyone."
"No matter what your orientation, inner self-esteem
moves you to do something, even if youıre the only one
in town doing it...." Luckily, Bowers is not the only
one in his town who feels as he does, so we may well
be seeing a gay mayor in Galveston.
