Parker Wins; Houston Largest U.S. City with Openly Gay Mayor

Houston voters make history and chose openly lesbian City Controller Annise Parker as their next mayor. The nation's fourth largest city is now the largest in the U.S. to elect an openly LGBT chief executive.

Parker was the favorite to win tonight's run-off election and lead in late polling. With 99 percent of precincts counted, Parker won with some 53% of the vote. Parker's election-day advantage reached nearly 11 points.

In recent weeks, tensions escalated between Parker and former City Attorney Gene Locke, who is black and "the ugliest attacks came from a group of black pastors who spoke out against Ms. Parker for what they called her gay agenda," notes The New York Times. Parker was targeted two vicious mailings sent to tens of thousands of Houstonians that targeted her sexuality. The mailings were linked to two of the largest donors to the Locke campaign. Locke denied having anything to do with the attacks and apparently suffered a backlash at the polls.

Parker's success comes in the conservative state that is home to former President George W. Bush and one of the nation's more restrictive marriage amendments. It also comes in the same city where a referendum on granting benefits to same-sex partners of city employees was soundly rejected. Molly Ivins, Ann Richards and Barbara Jordan are probably smiling.

This is the seventh city election in a row that Annise Parker has won. More at the Victory Fund, which supported her in this race and the past six races for city council and city controller.

Comments

[Dave in Houston]

YES!!!!!
Thank you Houston! Muah!

[TheRevKev]

WOW!

This is so weird and conflicting. While a city like HOUSTON, TEXAS (PEOPLE) votes for an openly Gay mayor, we have people fight with us marriage equality.

I really feel like it's about KNOWING PEOPLE. The people of Houston GOT TO KNOW THIS WOMAN!

I knowt hat people struggle day by day, family by family, church by church, situation by situation with the idea of coming to people around you, but I continue to find that where people know people like people like us, they are more open and supportive (HELLO ELLEN)!

BRAVO TO HOUSTON and BRAVO TO MAYOR-ELECTOR PARKER!

[Baltimore Femme]

this is wonderful news and I am so glad to see it is here. i agree with what rev kev said. who would have thought that texas, the state that gave us george bush, would now give us annise parker as the leader of one of the largest cities in the country and the world?

bravo and congratulations!

[Talarico]

Great news. Brava!

[Ramona]

It's been some years since I lived in Houston but I could never be more prouder of my hometown. Thank you to all my fellow Houstonians. We did the right thing tonight and elected the most qualified person to the mayor's office. We also said a big fat NO to Gene Locke's old skool politics and homophobia.

[Raheem]

You GO GIRL!

[History Major]

Liberal enclaves in conservative states sigh.

Atlanta in Georgia.

New York City in New York.

Los Angeles in California.

Houston in Texas.

Progress non the less.

Congrats Mrs. Parker.

[Faison]

@ History Major:

Umm, yea, this is progress. This is a great deal to be very proud of. I'm so proud that Houston elected a great candidate and a lesbian to its highest office.

FYI: LA isnt that progressive. Prop 8 didn't pass LA County.

NYC is not that liberal. Six of the 8 Democratic no votes on the NYS marriage amendment were from NYC. Thankfully only two were black tho.

But I hear where you are coming from.

[Faison]

And the bible thumpers are having a coronary. Such fun!

[Mel Smith]

This is excellent news.

[Ralph]

What Mel, Rev Kev, Talarico and the others said. This is fabulous news and I just wanted to share my thanks and appreciation. Congrats to all in Houston.

[Former COGIC]

Change is happening more ways than one. It's happening from coast to coast, across the south and in the midwest. A black president, gay marriage in Iowa and a lesbian mayor of Houston. Who would have imagined all of this only a year or two ago?

[Honut Sinti]

This news is like the house blend scent that has a strong base note of sweet success with top note of irony. No matter, I'd gladly wear it.

Congratulations to Mayor-elect Annise Parker!

[Gee Gee]

Awesome news!! However, how will this affect "black" gay issue's? Things that affect our community, which in parallel is totally different than the other's. Or gay issues in general? I have not a clue...Nevertheless its a step in the right direction.

[Dave in Houston]

@ Gee Gee:

"However, how will this affect "black" gay issue's? Or gay issues in general?"

What a weird and very odd comment. This entire blog is not exclusively devoted to black gay issues. It's about everyday news, gay rights and pop culture with a black gay slant. Everything can't be about the down low and Oprah.

If after reading all the stories about Annise Parker and gay rights, you still can't see how her election 'affects" our community, that's your problem. As far as black gay men are concerned, 'we' don't even get involved in gay rights and politics enough to even start crowing about how something "affects" us. I'm thankful there were always plenty of black lesbians on stage around Parker, but I wouldnt be surprised if some black church queens in Houston supported the anti gay black candidate because the homohatin' black pastors supported him.

[dfs]

@Faison

Dont expect Houston to support gay marriage just because they elected a lesbian mayor.

[Faison]

@ DFS

I absolutely never said Houston would support same sex marriage. Re-read: I was responding to the previous comment on how "liberal" NYC and LA allegedly were.

smh

[Chitown Kev]

@Gee Gee

Gurl, please just....please.

Congratulations are in order for the new mayor of Houston, TX, Annise Parker

[Greg G]

@ Gee:

Surely you're joking?
Give it a rest, hon.

But fwiw, there are plenty of stories on here that directly "affect" black gay men ... HIV, gay bashings, antigay pastors, hate crimes, gay youth, etc ... and the comments are often bare. Stories focused on a black straight celebrity (Tiger Woods) usually get more comments, even though that really doesn't "affect" us. Go figure. But thanks for saying black gay men should be one-dimensional!

Moving on...
Brava Mayor Elect Parker!
May you have success, happiness and many more confetti nights in your future!

[mjolnir202]

I was so elated to see that Ms. Parker had won. The last minute homophobia and old school bigotry from the Locke campaign and the conservative operatives and black ministers was particularly ugly. If anyone had unleashed such a campaign of smear, lies and bigotry on someone of any other group than an LGBT community, this would have been front page and broadcast news way before election day. It still shows how acceptable it is to go after LGBT candidates this way. It also shows you much straight people hate us.

[VJ]

I grew up in a Houston suburb, lived in DC and Chicago and now live in Dallas. Texas gets a bad rap in regards to progressiveness. Houston, Dallas, and Austin are all very progressive. And Dallas had an openly gay man as frontrunner in the mayor's race a few years ago as well. Dallas also has an extremely visable gay scene and one of the most vibrant gay neighborhoods in the country (Oaklawn). Also, Dallas and Houston continually rank highly as two of the best cities for blacks economicaly. You go Houston!!

[Derrick from Philly]

I hope she received a good share of the black vote in HOuston. That would make me even happier.

Does anyone know the demographics?

[dt]

This is weird and I'm becoming confused. Voters vote "no" on gay marriage in California and Maine but there's now a OPENLY gay Mayor in Houston TEXAS?!?!? Non the less, congratulations Mayor Parker!

[Gee Gee]

@Dave in Houston
@Chitown Kev
@Greg G

Ladies..Pipe down(literally). It was "my" comment, "my" opinion and when you start a public forum such as this, regardless to how thoughtless you thought my opinion was, it was created for those of us who have and want to voice our "opinion". The "opinion's" of various people, some of which you may not agree with. So get off your soap box, high horse, and selective feed back's....

Moreover, just because a gay person was elected to public office does not necessarily mean betterment will come thereafter to benefit those who reflect the same like lifestyle. In particularly for African American gays. Thats my opinion, I said it, like it, love it, hate it. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming....

[Faison]

@ Gee:

If you say so, hon.
You can have whatever opinion you want. But if you put it out there, be prepared for feedback. You don't want feedback, don't say it.

That said, your comment about what this has to do with it black gays was off the wall. The implication was that we're only supposed to care about specific black gay topics (the DL, Noah's Arc etc). But if you think the black straight candidate who was backed by the Republicans and the antigay, BLACK homophobic preachers...and sent thousands of brochures to residents about her "homosexual lifestyle" would treat YOU "better"...you keep telling yourself that.

There's always one or two triffling brothaas in every gaay rights story. smh