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FRIDAY, DEC. 5, 2008


		Ellen Cohen, president and CEO of the Houston Area Women’s Center, faces State Rep. Martha Wong in the race for District 134. Cohen has received the backing of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus.


local news
By JUSTIN H.S. BREAUX OCT. 13, 2006

Democratic candidate Ellen Cohen offers Montrose-area voters an alternative to incumbent Republican Martha Wong’s anti-gay tendencies

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Last day to register to vote: Oct. 10
First day of early voting: Oct. 23
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Last year, the Texas House of Representatives passed House Joint Resolution 6, an amendment to the constitution defining marriage as a contract between a man and a woman.

The amendment passed, despite the fact that residents of District 134 had voted no on the amendment. District representative Martha Wong was part of the committee that voted to send the amendment to the House floor for a vote. She was subsequently present but abstained from voting.

With the November elections quickly approaching, residents of District 134—which includes Meyerland, West University Place, Bellaire, the Texas Medical Center and parts of Montrose—have another chance to go to the polls and choose an official who will best represent their interests and values.

Ellen Cohen, president and CEO of the Houston Area Women’s Center, faces State Rep. Martha Wong in the hotly contested race for District 134. And she feels she can make a difference.

“It’s a district where people do a lot of people thinking for themselves,” says Tammi Wallace, vice-president for the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, the oldest civil-rights organization in the South.

For some time, residents of District 134 have been wondering if Wong really does represent their interests. She positions herself as a moderate Republican, but her opponents say that she is anything but that.

“In fact, she has voted consistently as a right wing ally of Rick Perry,” says Ryan Goodlond, a board member of the GLBT Political Caucus, in reference to the governor who once told gay citizens to leave Texas if they didn’t like the ban on gay marriage.

Indeed, Wong, a 20-year veteran of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), has come under fire for a number of programs that she supports that seem diametrically opposed to the interests of her constituents.

She is often a target of attack in education because of her support of private school vouchers. Wong also supported a bill whose revenues from a newly created business tax went to property tax cuts instead of funding for new schools.

“The state has not seen (education) as a priority,” says Cohen, who is endorsed by the Texas Parents PAC. “At one point, the state gave $250 million to HISD. Now, it gives $160 million.

“Who do you think is going to make up the difference? You are.”

Cohen plans to fund education via a two-step process. The first is to change the current formula as it applies to the new business franchise tax and move some of those funds to education. The second would lower the current tax rate from $1.48 to $1.20—as opposed to the $1 rate posited by Wong.

“It still gives homeowners a break,” Cohen says. “That 20-cents could have a big impact across the state in terms of putting money into education.”

Environment

Additional issues have arisen in the race that should ring alarms with voters. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has studied the amount of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from cars and power plants into the air in District 134. You may have seen the effects while driving; It is signified by the red sunrise or sunset.

The increased amount of NOx and particulate matter (dust, ash and other materials) bend light waves toward the red end of the spectrum, which the Commission says, “indicates that the air is not really clean.”

Wong says that she is a supporter of clean-air legislation, but she was one of 20 representatives that voted against five clean air amendments. These individuals are now known as the “Toxic Twenty.”

Cohen has been endorsed by the Texas Coalition for Conservation, which serves to “develop and promote a unified message of conservancy to educate elected officials and the public about the need for substantial and sustainable conservation financing.”

“We need to have stronger monitoring on fence line so we can see just what is going on out there,” Cohen says. She also stresses the need for enforceable penalties for businesses who don’t conform to cleaner emission standards.

CHIP

In 2003, the Texas legislature had a decision to make: invest $200 million in state revenues to garner $1 billion in federal funds; or save those same revenues and be forced to drop 180,000 youths from the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP).

The state chose to keep the funds.

Wong says the cuts had to happen to curb fraud and protect a then-fragile economy. In the dining room of the Briar Club during a September debate, she maintained her position that CHIP was improving and cited that it now takes less than a minute to reach an operator.

CHIP is a federally funded, state health insurance program. It is intended to provide insurance to the children of working families who may earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.

In order to be eligible for CHIP, a family’s gross income must be at or below 200-percent of the Federal Poverty Level. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issues this guideline every year, and federal and state programs use this as an indicator to determine eligibility.

According to some, CHIP is now a shell of what it could have been.

“We simply have not invested in the Children’s Health Insurance Plan,” says Cohen, herself a 37-year breast cancer survivor. “The state budget is $140 billion over 2 years. $200 million seems like a lot, but in relation to $140 billion?”

GLBT

According to the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, District 134 is home to 17,000 supporters of GLBT issues.

Despite those numbers, and an overwhelming “No” vote from the district, same-sex partners are still not allowed to get married.

The ability to get married in this country is accompanied by some 1,100-1,200 rights, which allow for various benefits (tax, estate planning, government, employment, family, medical, death).

“We have fundamental rights to protect our relationships,” Wallace says. “If churches don’t agree or disagree, that is their right. What we are talking about is the contractual obligation between two people to get married.”

If there can be a lesson learned, then, from last year’s passage of Proposition 2, it is that it takes more than an amendment to change the hearts and minds of people. It takes a movement—and every movement needs a leader.

“I’m Jewish. I know what it means to have anti-Semitism addressed to me,” Cohen says. “I can only imagine what it would be to not be able to love the person I love or raise a family with the person I wanted to raise a family with, be able to make end of life decisions for my partner.”

Wallace is adamant about preventing any roadblocks in the face of progress made by herself, the GLBT Caucus and countless others.

“When you vote against our community, we will actively work against you,” she says. “If you are anti-gay, we will do everything in our power to make sure that you are held accountable.

“In this particular case, we are at the point of election, and accountability means defeating Martha Wong.”

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