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Parker Wins Houston Mayorality
Posted by PATRICK EDABURN, Assistant Editor in Breaking News, Politics, Society.
Dec 13th, 2009 | 17 responses
Dec 13th, 2009 | 17 responses
Annise Parker will be the next Mayor of Houston.
She will be the first lesbian to serve as mayor of a major American city.
She previously served on the City Council and is currently City Controller.
17 Responses to “Parker Wins Houston Mayorality”
That's awesome news. I like her name today, apropos of nothing. It's pretty.
I look forward to the day when this is *not* news.
Someday, someday…
I dont think she's the first lesbian mayor of a large US city. I can think of more than one I think. But, out? Sorta, but no. Annise? Yes.
Next time one of you folks want to make a crack about “the South” think of this. Fact is that she is the City Controller and convinced people of her fiscal responsibility was so much more important to everybody than who she sleeps with. I am concerned about her seemingly negative relationship with the police dept but think she is much more fiscally rational than Locke, her main competition, who it is to be noted is a former city attorney and black.
This strange obsession with people's private sex lives will only end as more people are able to transition from adolescence to adulthood. I am not optimistic.
Its awesome news if she was better for the job than her competition. Just like her sexual preference doesn't mean she can't do a great job, her sexual preference alone doesn't mean she is the best person for the job. I understand how folks will celebrate or be depressed by her victory based on her being gay, but thats not really the main issue, which is, will she do a good job or not.
My guess is that the Hispanic voters in Houston voted for the competent Lesbian rather than the race hustling black lawyer. In the pecking order of Democratic politics. homosexual > African-American. When you look at the reaction in the blgo world, it is easy to see this.
What the hell? Jesus Christ SD if you have no clue then maybe you should keep your mouth shut. Locke isn't considered a race hustler either, just in the present economy his vague answers didn't cut it.
Truly I'm starting to get pissed at the coverage.It's almost condescending to Parker as if that more important than why she was elected.She was straightforward and direct. Told people that the budget would have to be cut and tough choices made. That and the belief in her ability got her elected not who she slept with. It doesn't matter to us but to the papers there seems to be nothing so important as her sex life.
EEllis,
The real headline is that a lesiban white woman beat a black man. All of the headlines about the Mayorial election leave out who Ms. Parker beat in the election. Why would conservative vote for a black attorney from the black power structure in Houston instead of a white lesbian who is fiscally sane?
Once again, the headlines from the election really mean that for white progressives, homosexual < blacks. Homosexuals are hip and cool. Blacks are tolerated even though they go to church and believe in creationism.
What Houston really shows is what elections will look like in the future as the U.S. becomes a one party state.
It's very obvious you know nothing of Houston politics SD, which is fine why should you, the thing is that you pretend to have a clue.
EEllis,
Are you really going to claim that the Third Ward in Houston has more political clout than the Montrose neighborhood?
Locke worked for Mickey Leland, who was a race hustler and was responsbile for the affirmative action program during the Lanier Administration. He is your typical black race hustling clout person who would be more at home in Chicago than in Houston.
The real quesiton is who would the blue collar whites vote for in Houston: The white lesbian or the black man.
“Just like her sexual preference doesn't mean she can't do a great job, her sexual preference alone doesn't mean she is the best person for the job.”
It shouldn't be an issue at all. Not an excuse for bigotry, not an excuse for PC “identity” neurosis.
It's not surprising it is happening in the Southeastern USA, which doesn't merit the hateful stereotype.
(What has been neglected here is to what extent this is a representative example of the bluing of Red Nation — as well as another illustration of the poor showing, even in a Red state, of the GOP currently. I discount the latter and give more weight to the former insofar as what should merit more attention.)
“(What has been neglected here is to what extent this is a representative example of the bluing of Red Nation — as well as another illustration of the poor showing, even in a Red state, of the GOP currently. I discount the latter and give more weight to the former insofar as what should merit more attention.)”
Lets face it people like fiscally responsible democrats locally, they always have even in “Red” areas. Mind you Houston is a non party election. You do not campaign as a dem or rep just on your own platform. Generally the Dems do well locally and they should. It's where govt should reach out to the people and play a role in their lives. Also Houston is a Huge city and not particular red. Take that and the fact that Parker won on fiscal responsibility and city cut backs(when has that ever been blue) and the whole idea that this mean something besides Houston felt Parker would do a better job is a stretch.
Since when is Houston culturally in the Southeast? I don't know that Houstonians see it that way, not to mention Southeasterners… Just saying…
Eastern (humid) Texas is effectively in the Southeast, if one of the four traditional regions must be selected. Most people who haven't been there or otherwise don't understand tend to assume mistakenly that Texas is necessarily a Western state, rather than a Southern state. It isn't — or rather, it's both. The core of the state, in the humid eastern section, is Southeastern. (Culturally, somewhat distinct; “the South on Steroids is okay as a descriptor,” but many will say this still doesn't do the state justice, and obviously it's simplistic, as is any assignment of Texas to a single region, inherently.) The western (dry) part of the state is the Western part. In the core area itself, there's even something of a distinction. Houston is in the eastern part, no doubt; but San Antonio flirts with being western (or Southwestern). Dallas-Ft. Worth might even be said also to have a split personality and even be a site where both Texases
are present and where the dividing line might be at hand. It's also near the 98th meridian, which is of note if you recall Webb's Great Plains work and similar distinctions between the prairie and forest to the humid east and the grasslands receding to scrub and desert to the west of that meridian and associated rainfall boundary. In fact, review of Webb's work remains a good introductory lesson for interested readers.
http://artsci.wustl.edu/~landc/html/webb/
And that's concerning the boundary of humid and arid parts of the USA and the Great Plains (which many to this day mistakenly include in “the Midwest”!). While there are exceptions (an interesting work by one author springs to mind, who refers to the “Near Southwest,” a great alternative use of what normally is used in place of the Rockies [or rarely, the Pacific Crest] to define the term “Far West,” the Continental Divide), a number of authors even discount Texas (and to some extent, California) when referring to the “Southwest,” which is a typical alternative “assignment” where Texas is often placed.
“Since when is Houston culturally in the Southeast? I don't know that Houstonians see it that way, not to mention Southeasterners… Just saying…”
Incidentally, Gegenschattenbild, despite what your ears may often tell you, the same has been said now for a number of years about Atlanta.
As far as Texas: the humid eastern part is southern in its origin, climate, vegetation, and yes, culture.
(though note the following source of the maps! I couldn't resist)
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/pcpn/us_precip.gif
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/pcpn/tx.gif
“Since when is Houston culturally in the Southeast? I don't know that Houstonians see it that way, not to mention Southeasterners.”
I suspect many Saudis wouldn't see it that way, either.
Just a postscript that the Southern culture is there, especially outside the major metros (which also counts, after all), and it is not limited to something I deliberately avoided mentioning earlier because it's grossly hyped, but is something that's obviously there in eastern Texas — the Bible Belt religious righties. And they (as well as those in eastern Oklahoma, which is humid and eastern or Southeastern just like eastern Texas is) are like others in the South, rather than (Western) like those on the Front Range of Colorado. (culturally and religiously)