ARLINGTON, Texas— Rogelio “Rojo” Meixueiro launched his campaign for Arlington City Council’s District 4 on a platform centered on representation, inclusion and community access.
When he launched his campaign Feb. 2, Meixueiro said he believes it is important that Arlington’s leadership reflects the diversity of the people who live in the city. While Arlington is home to a wide range of cultural and ethnic communities, many of its elected officials are older white men. Meixueiro argued that broader representation on the City Council would allow the city to better address the needs of its residents.
It’s a message that gained emotional weight when the City Council on Feb. 10 approved a revised anti-discrimination ordinance that does not include protections for LGBTQ+ residents. Indeed, the new ordinance does not specify protected classes and instead refers to state and federal law.
Election set for May 2
The city’s general election to elect the mayor, Council Districts 3, 4, 5 and at-large District 8 is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 2. Early voting is scheduled to run from April 20 through April 28.
Meixueiro is a native of North Texas and was appointed to Mayor Jim Ross’s LGBTQ task force before the city removed explicit protections for the LGBTQ community.
At the Feb. 2 campaign kickoff event, Meixueiro was introduced by members of his campaign team and family. His maternal aunt spoke about Meixueiro’s mother immigrating to the United States as a young girl. She described the family’s pride in seeing him advocate for both Arlington’s LGBTQ community and its Latino community.
A quadrilingual campaign
Meixueiro said his campaign is committed to language accessibility. He said language barriers can prevent residents from not only participating in government affairs but also seeking help at places like the Help Center, since they may not feel comfortable speaking in their secondary language. As a result, his campaign is quadrilingual, with members who can speak Vietnamese, Arabic, Spanish and English, which are the predominant languages spoken in the area.
In a later interview, Meixueiro discussed his work on the LGBTQ task force, saying one of its largest undertakings was organizing the city’s Pride event. Last year, Arlington hosted the largest Pride celebration in the state, beating out events in major cities like Austin, Dallas and Houston. Meixueiro described the event as a landmark moment for both the local LGBTQ community and the task force’s efforts to promote inclusion and acceptance.
Despite its success, the event was not without pushback. Meixueiro said attendees faced harassment and attacks outside the safety of the event gates.
Following the removal of LGBTQ protections by the city, the task force decided to cancel what would have been this year’s Pride event. Meixueiro said the decision was a full-circle moment, to see Arlington go back to its conservative ways after making strides toward acceptance.
Seeks full representation in government
Meixueiro also outlined policy changes he would push for if elected to the City Council. Although Ross has publicly expressed support for the LGBTQ community, Meixueiro said he believes the City Council should issue its own proclamation affirming that queer residents are welcome and valued in Arlington.
He also said city-conducted studies and surveys should be offered in multiple languages. In previous years, studies conducted by the LGBTQ Help Center were available only in English, a choice Meixueiro said excluded residents with limited English proficiency and reduced participation by queer Latino members, who are the largest population that uses the center.
Meixueiro said he believes it is important that the city has queer people and people of color on its committees and councils, as they are underrepresented by the current members.