In this time in history where truth seems to be nothing more than a fleeting thought, something to give little notice to, I must stand by the truth, because nothing is more important in reality.
My 15 minutes of fame began today, Thank you Andy Warhol for that quote. An hour before I made my first appearance as Mayor Jess, and article appeared in the 'Texas Observer'. It was written without yet speaking to me or clarification.
While it was a wonderful well written article, it opened with a glaring untruth.
It said at was elected mayor, I was not.
Last year I ran for my alderman seat, a seat that also included road commissioner and mayor pro-tem. The mayor at the time ran against and new comer in town.
The mayor suffered a heart attack after the cutoff for filing for election and passed away days before the election. He still won. That left the council without a mayor. As a Class B town under Texas general law, the council was compelled to appoint a new mayor. As the longest serving alderman, road commissioner and Mayor Pro-ten, they appointed me.
So I am not the first elected transgender mayor in Texas, just the first seated transgender mayor on record.