It's Tough to convince anyone who's never lived in Houston (particularly someone in the GLBT community) that there's more to America's fourth largest city than oil companies, suburban strip malls, cowboy boots, and Republicans. Houston has, for ages, Fought an uphill public relations battle, showing off its thriving performing arts venues, lush parks, elegant museums, and bustling gay social scene, and still, most gays outside Houston city limits just Are not convinced. Perhaps the person best qualified Thurs persuade them is City Controller Annise Parker, Houston's second-highest elected official and an active member of the city's gay / lesbian community for nearly 30 years.
Parker ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 1991 and 1995, but in 1997, she prevailed in the run-off to become Houston's first openly gay or lesbian elected official. She was re-elected in 1999 and 2001 without being forced to a run-off. When term limits ended her tenure on the City Council in 2003, Parker, for decided to run for Controller. Much to the delight of Houston's GLBT community, Parker won the race with an impressive 62% of the vote. She ran unopposed in 2005 and 2007, and as of November 2007, she is headed into her final term. Do not be surprised if you hear a lot more about Parker in the coming year, however. She's considered by many as one of the top contenders for the Houston mayoral race in 2009.
Given that Parker has become one of the most visible faces of the Democratic Party in this city, many might be surprised to learn that she's a third-generation Houstonian Whose Family Values were rooted in the Pentecostal church and the Republican party. She says, "Everyone in my family is Republican except me. Yes, they were and still are conservative, and they were active in the church. But they were also very active in the community and politics, and keep in mind how much the Republican party has changed in recent decades. Back then it was not the God and the gays thing, like it is now. "
Parker goes on to describe her family's Work Ethic, saying, "These were hardworking people. My mom worked as a book keeper, and even my grandmothers worked. One was a secretary and the other was a school teacher. There were no housewives in our family. Mom's parents had a farm where I spent my weekends and summers. I like to say I'ma city girl, but I can still milk a cow and pluck a chicken! You know, Houston was a very different place 50 years ago. "
Beyond a strong Work Ethic, perhaps the greatest legacy passed on to Parker from her family was their deep belief in education and civic participation: "My parents and grandparents were religious about voting. I remember waiting with them to go into the voting booth. It felt very important, almost like going to church. My grandparents volunteered in political campaigns. A very Formative memory for me was watching the Aftermath of the Kennedy assassination and seeing my family's reaction to that, and then the Lyndon Johnson campaign against the Arizona Republican [Barry Goldwater]. My whole family was watching the conventions and supporting [Goldwater], but of course Johnson won by a land slide. I have no earthly idea how I became a Democrat! "When I Decided to get into politics, all my friends were Democrats. I started down that path and have not gone back. "
Parker's father was in the Red Cross, Which brought the family (she has one younger sister who lives in rural Georgia) to Mississippi, Germany, and Charleston, South Carolina, where Annise graduated from high school. When it came time to select a university, however, Parker knew she wanted to attend Houston's Rice University esteemed. She says, "I knew Houston was my home. It still is my home. I wanted to go to Rice, it was the only school I applied to. "
It was during her years at Rice that Parker began to make her way into politics and the burgeoning gay movement. She says, "Rice did not have the student protests in the 70s. People there are very focused academics have, but during my Sophomore year, the drinking age changed to 18, so I could go to bars, and I became close to a woman who was politically active. She was older, around 50, but she took me to a women's conference. Unfold I watched that, and I was a volunteer for the League of Women's Voters. I became sort of a Mascot for a lot of older people in the women's movement, as well as the 'baby-gay movement "in Houston."
After graduating from Rice, Parker, like so many other Houstonians in the late 70s, went to work in the oil business, where her involvement in the gay rights movement was surprisingly little of interest to her colleagues. She says, "I worked for Mosbacher Energy Company for 18 years. While I was there I became president of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus. I did not make an issue of it at work, but I was on the news on a fairly regular basis. People would sometimes say, 'I saw you on TV last night, you looked good, "but mostly they would go on about their business."
Parker says that when she turned 40, she realized it was time for a life change, "For the first ten years after college I really threw myself into gay politics. I was a board member and officer for so many gay organizations, I got burned out. So for the next ten years I got involved in civic clubs, Which are really close to city government. I was looking at getting people elected and thought I could do better. I Decided I was either going to get elected or go to law school. I was working so I could do something I was passionate about in the evenings. I wanted to take that passion and make my living at it. "
Now a seasoned veteran of the Houston political scene, Parker talks about her first successful City Council campaign in 1997, saying, "After being defeated in 1995, I realized I needed to start earlier and get a professional campaign manager in order to win, and I needed to reshape how I was introduced and referred to in the press. Up until then I'd always been the 'lesbian activist. "I needed people to look at all the other things I'd done. I had the early endorsement of all but two minority elected leaders, both of whom are no longer in office, thank you very much!, And I ended up in run-off with the white Republican businessman. At first I did not expect to win, but I gave it my all. "
After three successful terms as a Council member, by the time Parker ran for City Controller in 2003, she says, "It almost felt like I was the incumbent. I had all except the far right wing endorsements, and my strongest opponent was not as well known. At the last second another couple of others jumped in, but I nearly won without a run-off. It was a very different feeling than those other elections. I was in the driver's seat. "
The question now seems to be, Parker will be in the driver's seat when the Houston mayoral office becomes available in 2009? She answers: "I hope I'm on the ballot. I'm going to do my best to put together a group of supporters over the next year. It will have to be a very good, very expensive campaign. Being mayor is very different than council member or controller. The mayor is the face that is presented to the world. Houstonians have spent 12 years getting to know me, but will they let me be the public face of my city? "Parker recently hired Grant Martin, who has run several of her past campaigns (as well as San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's recent re - election campaign) to head up her efforts to become Houston's next mayor.
"When asked if her status as one of Houston's best known lesbians will be a factor in her campaign, she says," The fact that I am gay is always there, it's not a secret. Years ago I sat down with folks in the media to talk about them always referring to me as' lesbian activist. "Nowadays, I can not even remember the last time I was referred to in that way. This past Election Night, the fact that I'm gay was brought up by a reporter and it almost threw me, because I had not had to Deal with that in so long. "
Parker has been together with her partner, Kathy Hubbard, for 17 years. The couple have two adopted children, sisters Marquitta, 12, and Daniela, 17
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