A high school math teacher won a runoff
race for the San Antonio City Council, making him the first out gay
black man elected in Texas.
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, also a graduate
student, once worked for the councilwoman he will be replacing. He
left City Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan's office in 2019 amid
allegations of anti-gay discrimination and harassment.
The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which helps
elect LGBT candidates, had endorsed McKee-Rodriguez's campaign.
“Jalen shattered a lavender ceiling
in Texas, and it came as right-wing state legislators target LGBTQ
people and people of color with bigoted policies aimed at rallying
their extremist political base,” said former Houston Mayor Annise
Parker, president & CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund. “We need
more people of color, young people and LGBTQ people in state and
local government who will ensure politicians look to improve the
lives of Texans, not further marginalize them. Jalen’s victory is a
rejection of the homophobic and racist politicking so fashionable in
Austin and it will inspire more LGBTQ Black leaders to run and win.”
McKee-Rodriguez will graduate with a
Masters in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies this summer from
the University of Texas at San Antonio.
McKee-Rodriguez and his husband Nathan
live in the suburban San Antonio Northeast Crossing neighborhood.