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11/02/2009
Lesbian Annise Parker Hopes to Be Mayor of Houston
Note: Political director Corey Johnson and I will be live-blogging election results tomorrow evening here on the site. Please join us.
CNN's The Situation Room looks at the Houston mayoral race, where open lesbian Annise Parker is in such an extremely tight race that no candidate is expected to get a majority tomorrow, putting contenders in a run-off in December.
Parker would be the nation's first openly gay female mayor of a major city. Watch,
AFTER THE JUMP...
Posted 8:10 PM EST by Andy Towle in Houston, News, Texas | Permalink
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Um... that is if Portland is not considered a major city?
Posted by: Drewboo | Nov 2, 2009 8:20:44 PM
wasnt harvey milk the first openly gay mayor of a city?
Posted by: john | Nov 2, 2009 8:37:37 PM
No, John. Harvey was a city supervisor. He was, however, the first gay man to be elected into public office position.
Posted by: Joey | Nov 2, 2009 8:50:52 PM
Ditto on Portland, OR.
Not to mention Providence, RI.
(Sorry to John above: Milk was on the Board of Supervisors, but the mayor was assassinated the same night as Milk was.)
Posted by: Chuck | Nov 2, 2009 8:54:34 PM
Houston is a top 5 city (population), 4th largest city in the country and will soon leapfrog Chicago for 3rd place. Also, Houston is in TEXAS, a red state and not known as a beacon of openness for gay people.
Posted by: Brian | Nov 2, 2009 8:55:15 PM
Way to dis PDX
Posted by: Mike | Nov 2, 2009 8:56:11 PM
Providence, Portland and Tuscon have had gay MALE mayors. The article says she would be the first openly gay female mayor. And I can't think of another US city that has had one.
Posted by: GregV | Nov 2, 2009 9:33:11 PM
Good luck to her!
Posted by: KFLO | Nov 2, 2009 10:01:06 PM
I love Annise! I'm really hoping she will win, she has great credentials!
Posted by: Nathan | Nov 2, 2009 10:45:45 PM
I dont know why you all are just now paying attention. Yall should have been throwing support for Annise all summer. She is a great leader and truly the best candidate for the job. Her campaign has been professional and has a great shot.
Posted by: Travis | Nov 2, 2009 11:08:12 PM
I hope she wins too! I early voted for her!! GO TEAM Annise Parker!!!
Posted by: jlove | Nov 2, 2009 11:43:41 PM
Portland, Tucson and Providence are small- to medium-sized cities, yes, but major American cities? Not really. Houston really is. It's not a dis - it's in the statistics.
Posted by: Joseph | Nov 3, 2009 12:44:41 AM
Sorry, despite the best efforts of the film to rewrite history, Harvey Milk was NEITHER the first out gay man elected to office nor the first gay period elected to a "major office."
The latter was a woman, Elaine Noble, elected to the MA state legislature 3 years before Harvey was elected to a city office [in '77]. The first man was Allan Spear, reelected to the MN state senate in 1976 after having come out between his first election and then.
Here's hoping Parker wins, particularly because it's Texas where the reptilian Karl Rove honed his slimy fag-baiting skills [he started in college when his whisper campaign defeated his closet gay opponent for head of the College Young Republicans] to elect George Bush fils governor over incumbent Anne Richards by whispering that she was a lesbian.
Posted by: Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com | Nov 3, 2009 1:19:52 AM
Berlin and Paris have gay mayors, and to have Houston with a gay mayor could conceivably make America seem a little less backwards, especially Texas. And compared to other cities Houston isn't entirely homophobic. Even the city's largest church (Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church) never gets involved in anti-gay campaigns or even preaches based on anti-gay sentiment.
Posted by: Joshua | Nov 3, 2009 4:34:51 AM
God Forbid you even consider that Cambridge MA, home to some of the finest Colleges in America (Harvard and MIT seem to come to mind quickly), well their Mayor, Denise Simmons (who recently MARRIED her Lesbian Partner) happens to be an Openly Lesbian Mayor!
Posted by: alexinBoston | Nov 3, 2009 5:35:54 AM
No disrespect to Portland, Tuscon or any of the others mentioned but Houston is quite a bit larger and, as many commentors have mentioned, is in Texas. For all who have dissed Texas in past comments this should prove some goods things are happening in TX. BTW, the City of Austin last night extended benefits to same-sex partners.
Posted by: RBearSAT | Nov 3, 2009 6:21:55 AM
To the folks in Texas:
NOTHING you do, including electing a lesbian mayor for America's 4th largest city, will be enough for 'Radical' progressives. They will still mock and ridicule Texas.
These are the only places matter to them: NYC, S.F. Everybody else in America is a hick.
In the same breath they will praise the election of a lesbian mayor, then mock Houstonians(SP?) as rednecks and hicks compared to NYC, S.F., and super sophisticated Europe.
You could have the finest educational institutions (you do: UofT is 1st rate) operas, symphony, ballet, artists, a liberal capital city (you do: Austin) effective liberal politicians, IT DOESN'T MATTER. They will always consider anyone and anything outside of NYC, Europe, S.F. and to a lesser extent California in general, as 2nd rate.
And if she doesn't get elected God help you.
Posted by: John in Boston | Nov 3, 2009 8:13:20 AM
I've known Annise since 1988, and worked on her first (unsuccessful) campaign for city council. I no longer live in Houston, but it's been great to watch her development from a novice candidate to a sure-footed political pro. And while the county it's located in is incredibly Republican, the city itself is pretty Democratic.
(In addition to Annise, open lesbian Sue Lovell is likely to be reelected to her at-large seat on the City Council, where she's in line to be the Council's president, based on her seniority. And openly gay Lane Lewis is running for the Council from one of the districts.) (And don't forget Lupe Valdez, elected as Sheriff of Dallas County in 2004.)
(And John from Boston, in the 16 years I've lived in the northeast, I've met plenty of folks who don't know much about Houston, but very few who look down on it.)
Posted by: Jon | Nov 3, 2009 8:43:51 AM
I Worked the poll today for Annise. Turnout in my precinct was low (did everyone early vote?)
She is certainly the best qualified to be Mayor! Ya'll add her to your Facebook friends page or send her campaign $5 today. She is running against several good candidates, one whose wife is a gillionaire and they all are outspending her.
It will be an amazing win for us here in Texas if she wins the runoff, and she will replace an OUTSTANDING mayor Bill White, hopefully our next Senator. Bill White is gay friendly, has a gay sibling, and has been a great Mayor here.
Houston will soon be the THIRD largest city in the US. I've lived everywhere, and Houston is not nearly as reddneck as all you folks seem to think.
Go Annise Parker - we wish you the best.
Posted by: Christian | Nov 3, 2009 2:05:19 PM
I early voted!
Know-it-alls in the coastal cities will always look down on Houston. I know, I used to be one. It's okay; Houstonians know what a great city we've got, and GLBT Houstonians know how wonderful the community is here.
What's funny is that anyone is *surprised* that Annise could be a major candidate for mayor. It just shows that they don't really know a whole lot about Houston or the attitudes of people here.
Here's hoping for victory!
Posted by: John | Nov 3, 2009 4:30:14 PM
Jon - good list but don't forget Noel Freeman. My goodness, homos all over the ballot here in H-town...
Posted by: John | Nov 3, 2009 4:32:03 PM
Jon:
I WASN'T REFERRING TO THE AVERAGE PERSON. I was referring to homo 'progressives' and hipsters. Actually the left in America in general. If you don't know they hold Texas and the south in contempt you really have your head up your ass.
Posted by: John in Boston | Nov 3, 2009 6:11:08 PM