Sunday, June 3, 2007

Frisco City Council runoff features gay candidate

By David Webb of Dallas Voice

A runoff race for Place 4 on the Frisco City Council features Chris Moss, an openly-gay eight-year resident of the city.

“I think my chances are very good,” Moss said in a telephone interview. “I think there are some people out there who thought I wouldn’t be able to do that. I think they might have been surprised that I did so well.

Moss finished second in the general election with 842 votes, compared to opponent David Prince’s 1,044 votes, which were just five votes short of giving him a majority vote and avoiding a runoff election. A recount confirmed the accuracy of the count.

Moss, who is a risk management consultant, said his good showing has generated excitement among his supporters, who include a former mayor, two former council members and a former chamber of commerce president.

“It’s sort of ignited some excitement about my campaign, and I think we are going to ride that wave all the way to victory,” said Moss, who currently serves as a member of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

Moss is president of Frisco Pride, an LGBT social organization, and a trustee of the Collin Equality Foundation, a nonprofit group raising money for educational purposes. He was a founding member of the Collin County Gay and Lesbian Alliance, but is no longer associated with the group, he said.

Moss said Frisco is a “family-oriented” town, but it has a sizable LGBT population. The straight residents are generally accepting of gay people, he said.

“I’ve just found people to be very accepting in my personal experience,” Moss said.

He noted that his partner was president of the homeowner’s association for two years.

“Our neighbors were completely aware of who we were when they elected him to the board of directors, and we’ve always gotten along with our neighbors very well,” Moss said.

“It’s not to say we haven’t had anybody who hasn’t been ugly to us at all but generally speaking, when people get to know us they tend to be convinced pretty quickly our intentions are pure,” Moss said.

Moss said he is operating a grass roots campaign, primarily going door-to-door. He also has sent out brochures, made phone calls and sent e-mails, he said.

The candidate, who is endorsed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, said he is hoping for a strong turnout from his supporters on Election Day.

“It’s one of those situations where every vote counts,” Moss said.

Pegasus News content partner - Dallas Voice, the community newspaper for gay & lesbian Dallas.

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