Annise Parker, former Houston city controller, became the first openly gay may of the nation’s fourth-largest city. Via NYTimesNot only did America’s fourth-largest city Houston, become the biggest city to elect its first openly gay mayor 53-year-old Anisse Parker last night, it indirectly elected a “new American family”.

“Tonight the voters of Houston have opened the door to history,” she said, standing by her partner of 19 years, Kathy Hubbard, and their three adopted children. “I acknowledge that. I embrace that. I know what this win means to many of us who never thought we could achieve high office.”

Houston’s Dave Wilson sent 35,000 fliers to voters. Wilson pushed the successful effort to ban benefits for the same-sex partners of Houston city employees in 2001. Wilson is opposed to homosexuals because the behavior leads to extinction, which is no longer true, based on new medical studies that convert female eggs into sperm. While not campaigning as an openly gay candidate, Parker’s alternative lifestyle and early days as a gay rights activist are well known to Houston voters. Providence, R.I., Portland, Ore., and Cambridge, Mass also have gay mayors.

Ms. Parker did very well in the black vote, inspite of the opposition of two black pstors who agressive condemned her lifestyle. We find no immediate information on the Catholic vote in Houston, which is the Chair of the Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

Earlier this week Democrats in California’s Assembly unanimously tapped John Perez of Los Angeles to be their speaker. He will be the first openly gay lawmaker to hold the powerful post. A

Read Houston Is Largest City to Elect Openly Gay Mayor NYTimes

Update on 2009-12-13 13:27 by Anne

via Houston Chronicle

Greg Wythe, a bright political analyst and blogger (www.gregsopinion.com) who has joined Mayor Bill White’s gubernatorial campaign, did a precinct-by-precinct analysis of the first-round of votes.

It showed Parker coming in first or second in such Republican areas as the West Side, Kingwood and Friendswood.

Locke came in a poor fourth in those areas.

I believe it was Locke’s performance in those areas that led his finance team members to take the desperate step of aligning the campaign with gay-bashing Steve Hotze — thereby pushing undecided white liberals and moderates into Parker’s well-run campaign without turning out enough anti-gay votes to win.

Update on 2009-12-15 17:06 by Anne

We have far stronger traffic around Parker’s election post than I expected. Our increasing scrutiny of the relationship between global religion and women’s rights, coupled with learnings about the Houston election and persistent traffic in our article about women’s rights in Uganda caused me to write this post this morning. Anne

The World Wakes Up to Evangelical Support for Uganda’s Draconian Law Against Homosexuals