In Houston's District H Council, Council candidate Cynthia Reyes-Revilla faces backlash following accusations of her campaign engaging in tactics criticized as homophobic. Reyes-Revilla has been scrambling to assert her innocence after a text message was released by her camp, containing insinuations about her opponent's integrity and religious beliefs, accompanied by a photograph of Castillo with his husband.
In defense, Reyes-Revilla told FOX 26 "I am not what I am being called. I am not anti-gay. I am not homophobic. Probably more than half of the people on my campaign are LGBT. They are paid. They are volunteers. They are supporters, but I don't wish to use my friends and my family's personal choices and sexual orientation to gain a vote. They are people. They are my friends and that's how I see them."
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on Saturday that he withdrew his endorsement of Reyes-Revilla because of her campaign’s inexcusable attack on our LGBTQI+ community “No room for that on our City Council,” he said on X, as reported by Houston Public Media.
Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia followed suit, expressing his disappointment and calling for an apology from Reyes-Revilla. Meanwhile, her opponent's silence has been addressed as well. Reyes-Revilla criticized Castillo for not speaking up on the matter, declaring, "If he is unable to speak about his actions on his campaign and here I am standing, defending myself, and letting people know what the truth is. I think that speaks volumes," as FOX 26 reported.
The repercussions extended as the flyer led to public statements of disapproval from influential local figures such as Austin Davis Ruiz, president of the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus, who condemned the flyer as "abhorrent and disgusting" in an interview with Houston Public Media.
Castillo's campaign has labeled the flyer as an "age-old tactic for gay-baiting," a direct quote from campaign representative Grant Martin to Houston Public Media.
