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Lesbian Candidate for Houston Mayor Faces Anti-Gay Oppositionby Kilian MelloyMonday Nov 16, 2009 Annise Parker, Houston’s openly lesbian city controller, did well enough in her bid to become mayor that she’ll be facing off against opponent Gene Locke in a runoff election next month--which gives time to the city’s anti-gay contingent to try to derail her chances.
A Nov. 13 Houston Chronicle article reports that Parker’s sexuality is the main focus of a drive by anti-gay religious and social conservatives to convince voters not to support Parker at the ballot box.
The campaign against Parker is founded in part on fears that if she becomes mayor she will oversee a repeal of a city charter provision that denies family benefits to gay and lesbian municipal employees. Anti-gay activists also warn of a "gay takeover" of the city’s government, noting the candidacy of two openly gay individuals running for city council.
Anti-gay activists posited that the aggression in the situation emanated from Parker herself: "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," the Houston Area Pastor Council’s executive director, David Welch, told the Chronicle.
"National gay and lesbian activists see this as a historic opportunity," Welch added. "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 characterized her candidacy as that of a qualified and experienced city politician, rather than that of a sexual minority. She has said that she doesn’t have a plan for redressing the city charter’s denial of family benefits to gays, though she also has said that "at some point" that policy will need correction.
Locke has also said that although he would have no immediate plans to repeal the anti-gay provision, doing away with it would make the city competitive with the private sector as far ass attractive and retaining top-flight talent. However, with the emergence of the anti-gay push against Parker, Locke has seized the chance to portray himself as the candidate of choice, putting in an appearance at a Pastor Council’s event and meeting with local conservative leader Dr. Steven Hotze, who, the article noted, had created the so-called "Straight Slate," a group of city politicians who sought to unseat incumbents behind anti-discrimination policies in 1985. (The gay-friendly provisions were overturned by voter referendum; the incumbents, however, kept their seats.)
Adam Harris, who manages Parker’s campaign, told the Chronicle that Locke’s association with anti-gay city groups is a "desperate and extreme act," and added, "Houston deserves real leadership, not someone who will cut a deal with anyone and go to any extreme" in his pursuit of the mayor’s office.
Countered Kim Devlin, a spokesperson for Locke, "Annise Parker is letting Houstonians in on her true character by leveling these highly incendiary, baseless and ridiculous attacks."
A later statement from Locke repudiated "the style of campaigning that was the subject of an article in the Houston Chronicle," a follow-up op-ed article in the paper noted on Nov. 14.
"While Parker has never made a secret of her sexuality, the campaign debate and agenda to date have been wholly defined by the issues facing the city and the comparative qualifications and experience of the candidates," noted the paper’s op-ed."
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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