Dave Wilson wanted to win his election by any means necessary, even if it meant misleading voters into thinking he’s black. And he’s proud of his actions. His opponent for the Houston Community College System board seat, incumbent Bruce Austin, found his so-called ‘advertising strategy’ “disgusting.” I blame the voters who voted for him without even taking the time to read up about this man.

….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, 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.

“He’s a nice cousin,” Wilson says, suppressing a laugh. “We played baseball in high school together. And he’s endorsed me.”

Austin tried to answer the mailer with his own fliers showing Wilson’s face, calling him a “right-wing hate monger” and saying he “advocated bringing back chain gangs to clean highways.” But the campaign clearly caught him off guard.

“I don’t think it’s good,” he said. “I don’t think it’s good for both democracy and the whole concept of fair play. But that was not his intent, apparently.” Source: KHOU

Dave Wilson’s actions fit in quite nicely with the fact that some Republicans will steal an election right out from under us if we allow them to. Take the voter suppression tactics they tried in Florida and Pennsylvania during the 2012 presidential elections. Add gerrymandering to the mix. This is just a sign of things to come and we had better wake up and stand strong.

This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.