Gay Texas Politician Fighting Removal After Grindr Leak

Cross Coburn, a 19-year-old councilman in Groves, Texas, lost his position during a recall election on November 6th after nude photos of him from Grindr were leaked to the press.

It was only a few months after his 2017 election that the scandal began. Someone anonymously sent an envelope containing nudes and screenshots of a Grindr conversation to City Hall. Coburn says the mayor of Groves, Brad Bailey, asked him to resign from his position. He declined.

Not long after that, the photos were sent to the local media.

Coburn, who is openly gay, refuted the idea that he had done anything wrong.

“I regret that it got out, but I will never regret being human,” he said. “I do not believe that me having consensual conversations with another adult has any merit to how I can perform my duties.”

Mayor Bailey informed the people of Groves that while he couldn’t remove Coburn from office, they could recall him. And so a petition circulated, ultimately gaining more then the required 893 signatures, and led to the recall election this month.

Now Coburn has filed a complaint with the District Court of Jefferson County in an attempt to challenge the results of the election. There has been concern from the beginning that a number of signatures on the petition, including some collected by the mayor’s wife, were forged.

There has also been significant speculation that the photos were leaked to the media from within the small town’s government.

“Make no mistake,” Coburn said at a press conference after the petition was approved. “This petition has been the personal vendetta of a select few in the government. I was targeted.”

Even if nothing comes of Coburn’s decision to challenge the outcome of the recall election, he says this experience has not changed his mind about staying involved in politics.