BLACK FOLKS ELECT WHITE MAYOR BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT HE WAS BLACK

By BMS Staff on November 11, 2013
(BlackMediaScoop)

Dave Wilson laughs as he talks about his shady political campaign. “I’d always said it was a long shot,” Wilson says. “No, I didn’t expect to win.”



Still, he figured he’d have fun running, because he was fed up with what he called “all the shenanigans” at the Houston Community College System. As a conservative white Republican running in a district whose voters are overwhelmingly black Democrats, the odds seemed overwhelmingly against him.

Dave Wilson led voters to believe he was black

Then he came up with an idea, an advertising strategy that his opponent found “disgusting.” If a white guy didn’t have a chance in a mostly Black district, Wilson would lead voters to think he’s black. And it apparently worked. In one of the biggest political upsets in Houston politics this election season, Wilson — an anti-gay activist and former fringe candidate for mayor — emerged as the surprise winner over 24-year incumbent Bruce Austin. His razor thin margin of victory, only 26 votes, was almost certainly influenced by his racially tinged campaign.

“Every time a politician talks, he’s out there deceiving voters,” he says. Wilson never showed his face on election materials, instead decorating them with African-American faces he’d pulled from the Internet, he acknowledges. The caption: “Please vote for our friend and neighbor Dave Wilson.”

Dave Wilson's misleading ads

On top of that, he said he was “endorsed by Ron Wilson,” the name of a former state representative who is black. In fact, the Ron Wilson that the candidate was referring to was his cousin in Iowa. “Ron Wilson and Dave Wilson are cousins,” the campaign material said in smaller print. Wilson won the race by 26 votes over a 24-year incumbent, Bruce Austin, who wants a recount. Wilson is an electrician who was best known for opposing LGBT rights.

Wow!

What do you think…should there be a recount?

White, Anti-Gay Republican Wins Local Election After Pretending To Be Black
The Huffington Post | By Mollie Reilly
Posted: 11/10/2013 4:03 pm EST | Updated: 11/11/2013 10:58 am EST

A white anti-gay activist won a local election after leading voters to believe he is African American.

Dave Wilson, who unsuccessfully ran for Houston mayor in 2011, narrowly won a seat on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees after pretending to be black in his predominantly African American district, KHOU 11 News reported Friday.

KHOU offered details on how Wilson, a conservative Republican, misled voters on his race:

Wilson, a gleeful political troublemaker, printed direct mail pieces strongly implying that he's black. His fliers were decorated with photographs of smiling African-American faces -- which he readily admits he just lifted off websites -- and captioned with the words "Please vote for our friend and neighbor Dave Wilson."
One of his mailers said he was "Endorsed by Ron Wilson," which longtime Houston voters might easily interpret as a statement of support from a former state representative of the same name who's also African-American. Fine print beneath the headline says "Ron Wilson and Dave Wilson are cousins," a reference to one of Wilson's relatives living in Iowa.
Wilson, who had previously made a name for himself in Houston politics by sending out thousands of mailers attacking an openly gay mayoral candidate, defeated 24-year incumbent Bruce Austin by just 26 votes.

"I'd always said it was a long shot," Wilson said.

Austin, Wilson's opponent, called the tactic "disgusting," and told the Houston Chronicle that he will seek a recount of the extremely close race.

"He never put out to voters that he was white," Austin said. "The problem is his picture was not in the League of Voters [pamphlet] or anywhere. This is one of the few times a white guy has pretended to be black guy and fooled black people."

Wilson, however, insists he won the race "fair and square" because voters disapproved of Austin and the HCC board's actions.