Houston Mayoral Race Election Results
Openly lesbian City Controller Annise Parker is expected to be elected Mayor of Houston today. She would make history as the first openly gay person to lead a major American city (Houston, the nation's 4th largest with 2.245 million residents and just under a million registered voters). To follow election results throughout the night, you can look at Harris County Elections site or follow #HouMayor on Twitter.In early returns, Parker leads by 2,000 votes out of 80,000 cast (51.7% to 48.3%).
Polls this week had Parker lead former City Attorney Gene Locke by as many as 13 points. Locke is African American and both candidates are Democrats in this non-partisan race.
UPDATE 8:20PM PST
With 733 of 734 precincts reporting, Annise Parker has been elected Mayor of Houston 81,662 to 70,631--a margin of over 10,000 votes--53.6% to 46.4%.
Open Lesbian Parker Leads Houston Mayor's Race
If Parker wins, she will make history as the first openly gay head of a major American city, Houston, which with an estimated population of 2.2 million is the United States' fourth largest, behind New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.Previous polls had shown the race to be close, but Stein said Parker opened up a double-digit lead because her message of fiscal responsibility has helped her gain support among a variety of voting groups: white Republicans, African-Americans, Hispanics and independents.
Both Locke and Parker are Democrats in the nonpartisan race. Houston is a predominantly Democratic city and is about 25 percent black and one-third Hispanic. It has about 60,000 residents who identify as gay or lesbian.
The poll, commissioned by television station KHOU and radio station KUHF, is based on telephone interviews earlier this week with 442 registered voters in Houston. It has an error rate of plus or minus 4.7 percent.
Kasim Reed Wins Atlanta Mayors's Race by 714 Votes
Tami Chappell/ReutersMadProfessah was following the race because it featured a hard-fought tussle over the votes of LGBT voters, and on Tuesday December 1st Atlanta made history electing the first openly gay people of color to the City Council and the State Legislature.
714 votes! Let's hope that Annise Parker wins her race to become the first lesbian chief executive of a major American city (Houston, the 4th largest in the Country!) on Saturday December 12th. This race also pits the LGBT community "against" the Black community, since Parker's opponent is African-American.
Parker Gets Houston Chronicle Endorsement for Mayor
Annise Parker, who is trying to become the first openly LGBT person elected mayor of a major American city, has garnered the endorsement of her hometown's largest newspaper, the Houston Chronicle.However, this week came word that local homophobes are distributing 35,000 copies of an anti-gay flier to Houston residents with a picture of Parker and her female partner under the large caption "Is This The Image Houston Wants To Portray?"In both her public and personal life, Parker has maintained high ethical standards and decorum in her years as an elected official. No scandals have occurred on her watch. As mayor she will present the city’s best face to the world, one of tolerance, diversity and compassion for all our citizens.
The Chronicle urges voters to allow Parker to take her high standards and solid record of accomplishment to the city’s highest office.
The main person behind the flyer gave interviews where he said such charming nonsense as "homosexual behavior leads to extinction." This is always one of the craziest arguments in the raving homophobes arsenal. Do they really think heterosexual will stop having straight sex if gay people become more prominent and liberated? The answer is obviously no, and if it were yes, what does that say about the allure of heterosexuality? Not much!
To support Annise Parker for Mayor, go to www.victoryfund.org/anniseparker
Homophobes Worried Next Mayor Of Houston May Be Lesbian
"The group is motivated by concerns about a 'gay takeover' of City Hall, given that two other candidates in the five remaining City Council races are also openly gay, as well as national interest driven by the possibility that Houston could become the first major U.S. city to elect an openly gay woman. Another primary concern is that Parker or other elected officials would seek to overturn a 2001 city charter amendment that prohibits the city from providing benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian employees. 'The bottom line is that we didn't pick the battle, she did, when she made her agenda and sexual preference a central part of her campaign,' said Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, numbering more than 200 senior pastors in the Greater Houston area. 'National gay and lesbian activists see this as a historic opportunity. The reality is that's because they're promoting an agenda which we believe to be contrary to the concerns of the community and destructive to the family.'"Parker, however, has not made these issues a central part of her campaign: "Parker has tread carefully in her candidacy for mayor, stressing frequently that she is running not as a gay candidate but as a qualified city official who's won election six times. In a televised debate last month, she voiced 'no current plans' to revisit the city charter amendment if elected, although she said the city will need to offer benefits to the same-sex partners of its employees 'at some point.'"
So, here we go again: Black versus Gays! This race will almost definitely get more coverage as the end of the year approaches. See the CNN profile on Annise Parker from earlier this year.
