Houston Elects Gay Mayor

International News, By Travis de Jonk, 17th December, 2009

Houston, Texas has just elected their first openly gay mayor, Annise Parker. Parker began her public life in the 1980s as a gay rights activist, before making a move into local government later on in the official elected positions on Houston’s City council and later, City Controller. In these roles where she was elected seven times, Parker is said to have never hidden her sexuality, though she did not promote it as part of her public identity.

It has been speculated that Parker’s success has been attributed to the perception that she was not seen as “the gay candidate” but a good strong leader who happen to be lesbian.

Grant Martin has been a campaign consultant running Annise Parker’s campaigns since the late 1990’s.

“In the early days, it was important that she define herself,” Martin told the San Francisco Chronicle, “We didn’t want her sexual orientation to be essentially announced to voters as a bad thing late in the game. So, in appropriate ways, we would announce it listing in her campaign literature that she was president of the GLBT Political Caucus, things like that.”

The Human Rights Campaign, Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and the Stonewall Democrats are just some of the US National gay and lesbian organizations that were her biggest morale and financial supporters, at a time when ‘business’ doubted the viability of a lesbian candidate being elected my a Texan public.

The city of Houston boasts a population of over 2 million people, of which there is an estimated gay community numbering 60,000. They shared the sense of history and pride in the fact that they played such a significant part in her election.

Parker has been inundated by local and international news outlets from the US broadsheet, the New York Times to the Guardian in London, to JOY 94.9 FM and the Age in Melbourne, reporting on the historical moment.

“To be honest, I’m quite surprised by all the international attention,” Parker said in her live interview on Australia’s queer radio broadcaster JOY 94.9.

“Houston is metropolitan and it has been for a long time. It is a very international vibrant city… one that I’m very proud to represent. There is a perception that Houston is a backward place but that simply isn’t the case at all. I feel very privileged that all the press about my election is bringing such positive attention to Houston.”

Houston joins the very select group of cities including Paris and Berlin, that have or ever had an openly gay mayor. Parker is in very good company. At least 20 public Texan officials say they are gay or lesbian, including the sheriff of Dallas County.