subject: Houston's First Gay Mayor Announced By Houston Translation Service [print this page] The past 12-months have been proof that America is ready to embrace diversity at the ballot box. First, we elected the first afro-american president and now the city of Houston has elected its first ever openly gay mayor.
On Saturday night, Annise Parker made Texas history by becoming the citys first gay mayor in a narrow win that was won with 53.6-percent of the vote. According to Houston Translation, the election is proof that Texans view gay, lesbian and bisexual people of this state as wholly capable of leading our state into the next decade and beyond.
Prior to Saturdays election, there was heavy campaigning marked by fiery anti-homosexual rhetoric. However, gay and lesbian political organizations nationwide donated huge sums to rally the 53-year-old Parker to victory. In the end, 152,000 Houston residents voted in an election where the winner received approximately 11,000 votes more than her opponent.
Although Locke dismissed the anti-gay rhetoric as being unproductive and divisive, a number of supporters contributed money to anti-homosexual political action committees that sent distributed politically oriented campaign mailers and fliers that pleaded with the public to vote against Parker who had been endorsed by the homosexual political groups.
Houston, the country's fourth largest city, is predominantly Democratic and about 25 percent black and one-third Hispanic. About 60,000 of its 2.2 million residents identify as gay or lesbian. On Saturday evening, a Houston Translator reported that Locke congratulated Parker and in a speech and then urged the city to come together, heal like it has never healed before and to move forward. "Here's what our city needs now: It needs unity. It needs us to," Locke said.
