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Houston Elects New Mayor

The woman who has held the purse strings at Houston City Hall for six years was been elected Mayor of the city on 12 December 2009.

After being elected three times to the city’s second highest office, City Controller (Chief Financial Officer) Annise D. Parker (52) is now stepping into the top job.  

She will be installed in January 2010 to succeed Mayor Bill White who was in charge at City Hall from 2003-09.

In the run-off mayoral election Ms Parker gained just under 82,000 votes – 11,000 more than the runner-up lawyer Gene Locke, a former city attorney.  The turnout was a disappointing 16.5%.

A second generation native Houstonian and a B.A. graduate of Rice University, Ms Parker worked for 20 years in the oil and gas industry and then ran a book-keeping and income tax company for 15 years.  She first came to public notice as a gay rights activist in the 1980s and won a seat on Houston City Council in 1997.  She was twice re-elected before running for City Controller.

Her election as Mayor attracted greater than normal international media attention as she became the first openly gay candidate to be elected Mayor of a major U.S. city.

She and her partner Kathy Hubbard have been together since 1990 and have two adopted children.   

In an editorial the Houston Chronicle commented, “Parker won not because she’s gay but because people believe she can do the job.”

The composition of Houston City Council following the elections reflects the diversity of the city. The Council comprises eight Anglos, 2 Hispanics, five African Americans and one Asian American.

December 2009