Glen Maxey

Glen Maxey (born February 23, 1952) is an American politician from Austin, Texas who was the first openly gay member of the Texas Legislature. Active in the fight for gay rights, Maxey was a central figure in the establishment of facilities for the education and care of HIV-infected individuals, especially the AIDS Project of Austin (AAP).

The son of Byron Hale Maxey and Mary Ursula Ocker, Maxey's family ran a traveling circus. He was educated at Sam Houston State University and Texas A&M University. He first entered politics in 1968 as a volunteer on the Texas primary campaign of Eugene McCarthy.

While teaching school, Maxey continued to volunteer for local, state and Federal campaigns. In 1980, Maxey signed on to help Kent Caperton, a young Bryan attorney who was seeking to unseat the legendary "Bull of the Brazos," William T. (Bill) Moore. Moore had held the Senate seat centered around Bryan for 32 years before Caperton defeated him in the Democratic primary that year. After running Caperton's November campaign, Maxey went to Austin in 1981 as one of Caperton's legislative aides. Maxey returned to Bryan the next year to run against House Appropriations Chairman Bill Presnal in the Democratic primary; he lost that race. State Senator Oscar Mauzy hired Maxey for his Austin office.

Maxey left Mauzy in 1987 to work as the first executive director of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas. In 1991, Maxey was elected to the Texas House from the Austin seat held by Lena Guerrero, who had been appointed by Governor Ann Richards to the Texas Railroad Commission.

Serving from 1991 to 2003, Maxey passed hundreds of bills and substantive amendments and played a leading role in passing the Children's Health Insurance Program. Since retiring from office, he has worked as a lobbyist and public affairs adviser, running the Travis County Democratic Party's highly successful 2004 and 2006 coordinated campaign, among others.

Glen lives with Rick Coffer in Austin and they have two dogs. Glen has filed for bankruptcy in the past.

In the summer of 2007, Glen Maxey announced his candidacy for Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector.