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Byrd Lynching Resurfaces as Dem Election Tool Kevin CurranVoters in Houston go to the polls Saturday to elect their next mayor. Their choices: an incumbent black Democrat and a Hispanic Republican challenger. But one other name has entered the campaign and its presence has added a decidedly racial overtone to the election: James Byrd. In June 1998, Byrd, a black man, was dragged behind a pickup truck to his death in Jasper, Tex. Three white men were convicted of murder. Two of them were given the death penalty. Byrd’s death spurred calls for a revised hate crime bill in Texas. Supporters of the legislation assembled members of Byrd’s family to back their measure, which carried James Byrd’s name. As the 1999 legislative session convened in Austin, the victim’s relatives joined the bill’s sponsors in a meeting with the governor to seek his support for the legislation. George W. Bush informed them he could not back the measure as it was written. A Bush spokesman told Salon.com in Oct. 2000 the governor would not sign a bill that included homosexuals as protected victims. Bush’s views became moot, as the package never passed the legislature. Since that first taste of the political spotlight, members of James Byrd’s family have made appearances on behalf of Democratic and liberal causes. They took part in ads sponsored by the NAACP National Voter Fund during the 2000 election. Those ads were placed in targeted areas and were credited with leading to the largest turnout of black voters in Florida history. Byrd’s sister, Louvon Harris, traveled to Philadelphia to make an appearance with Vice President Al Gore in the closing days of the 2000 election. This month, Ms. Harris inserted herself into a more local contest. In a recorded message being dialed to Houston voters, Harris urged support for Brown. "Orlando Sanchez, the Republican candidate for mayor, led the fight against the James Byrd Jr. hate crime law," she said, "Please make sure to vote for Mayor Brown, because if hate wins Houston loses." Sanchez, 44, is a three-term city council member who emigrated from Cuba in 1962. If elected, he would be Houston’s first Hispanic mayor. Brown, 64, has been the mayor since 1998. He has held a series of senior law enforcement positions in Houston, New York, Atlanta and Portland, Ore. He was also President Clinton’s "drug czar" for three years. As the hate crime bill was once again introduced in the Texas legislature earlier this year, Brown backed a city council resolution urging its passage. Sanchez voted against the resolution. At the University of Houston’s Center for Public Policy, Professor Richard Murray was not surprised to see the Byrd case revisited in this election. He said reaction to that horrible crime sent African-American voters to the polls in record numbers in Texas last year. Murray also cautioned the injection of such a divisive issue in the campaign puts Sanchez at a disadvantage. "It’s hard to figure out how to counterpunch this." he told NewsMax.com. "Just hope it doesn’t work." Murray added such emotional appeals might work with marginal voters who are driven more by feelings than personal analysis. These voters, Murray said, may not even go to the polls on election day. Sanchez’s vote against the hate crime resolution gave Brown an opportunity. Murray said Brown can count on getting 99% of the black votes in this election, but he must ensure black voters actually get to the polls. Murray’s analysis is Sanchez can count on support from white conservatives. His backing among fellow Hispanics is more difficult to judge. Hispanic elected leaders are generally Democrats who back Brown. Murray said Sanchez needs to hope ethnic pride will send rank-and-file Hispanic voters to the booths for him. Brown campaign spokesman Joe Householder dismissed critics of the Louvon Harris tape, "what the city should have a problem with is an elected official who won’t stand up and say hate crimes are wrong." Voter Dallas Lawson was not impressed with Brown’s tactics. "The Jasper incident was just devastating," he told KHOU-TV Nov. 19, "I thought it was a very low thing to hit."
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