Why Annise Parker won... and why Locke shouldn't be surprised.

In case you missed it, Houston made history Saturday night.  Not a big deal by our city’s standards, but a big deal around the country.

We became the first major U.S. city to elect an openly gay Mayor.  I know some people are just relieved that Houston is considered a top tier U.S. city.  But still, the election of Annise Parker just catapulted her to the national political stage.

This of course, wasn’t how the story was supposed to end, if you are a Gene Locke supporter.  The former City Attorney had everything going for him.  A year ago, many political insiders said it was his campaign to lose.  After all, he had the backing of former Mayor Bob Lanier, a cadre of influential attorneys, and dealmakers ready to make sure he got elected.  Locke promptly gathered the endorsements of various business and political organizations.  The local business community, realtors, developers, the police and fire unions, all fell into line.

It was all going so well.

Sure there was the wealthy Peter Brown, the conservative Roy Morales, and the veteran Controller Annise Parker.  But, the city’s elite figured, we’ll get our man elected.

The Parker campaign though, had a different plan.  They would not get the big bucks donors, they couldn’t self finance, and even their campaign headquarters was sort of a disaster:  It was a creaky old house just north of I-10.  But they had volunteers, they were disciplined, and their opponents would make some major mistakes.

The Locke campaign began their marathon toward the November election with pricey consultants, and lots of paid staff.  But from the beginning, you could feel something was not quite right.  For veteran reporters like me, the campaign just didn’t look like it gelled, even from the outside.  By summer, a big staff shake up brought in well regarded campaign professionals Christian Archer and Kim Devlin, but the momentum felt sluggish.

In the meantime, the Parker campaign was tight and disciplined.  Campaign manager Adam Harris kept his troops in line, focusing on Parker’s experience, and ignoring all the social significance of her campaign.  In the meantime, they quietly tuned up her look by updating her wardrobe, toting along a makeup person, and softening her hair. 

By the time November rolled around, Parker’s campaign was outraised and outspent, but she still came out with the most votes.  Gene Locke squeezed into second place, but the momentum was on Parker’s side.  The six weeks that followed were intense, negative, and pretty expensive.  However, despite hard hitting attacks by the Police Union calling her “soft on crime,” Parker just kept on going.  Then, as Locke aligned himself with the people who attacked Parker on her sexual orientation, you could literally feel the city give a big shrug. The collective electorate seemed to be saying, “Who cares? Who’s going to be our best Mayor?”

Two days before the election, Locke’s major backers, including several elected officials, the Police & Fire unions, and a group of local business people held a last minute rally.  By then, the atmosphere felt desperate.  Everyone except the diehard supporters knew in their guts that Locke was losing.

Then, it was election night.  Sure, it was tight in the beginning, but Parker would soon pull ahead and stay that way.  By then, the national newspapers, websites, and television networks were all clamoring with the headline that “Houston elected its first Gay Mayor.”  But in Houston, people knew better. 

They didn’t choose Parker because they wanted to make a statement.  They chose her because they thought she would be a better Mayor.  And, she ran a much better campaign.  Time will tell if she can run the city in the same disciplined manner.

Comments

[John Cobarruvias]

Well said. Her campaign was in a rickedy old house, but they JELLED! It was fun volunteering with them.

[pixiegirl]

This is absolutely the best recap of the campaign anywhere.

[Alyssa Burgin]

Thank you, Miya, for a superb wrap-up on this hard-fought campaign. I'd like to think that some veteran politicos learned a thing or two, but I know better. Parker will be a terrific mayor for Houston, and that remains the bottom line.

[Charlotte]

The new mayor has her work cut out for her. HPD needs to have their priorities in order. Instead of sending out two police officers to take car theft reports; they should be protecting life. I had an HPD officer call me out of my home to tell me "not to call the police over a dog (a Pit Bull, the dog was over halfway out of his patio and children were coming home from school), unless, the dog was biting someone". Haven't HPD been informed of the Lillian Act by the State of Texas? These dogs maim and kill! I am a neighborhood advocate and a senior disable citizen and I do not appreciate this officer's comments. What happend to the motto "Protect and Serve". This officer would have wasted less time by talking to the dog owners (they were home when the officer arrived) and advising them of the Lillian Act and the law on dangerous dog and how upsetting this was to our community.

Houston needs to prohibit deemed "dangerous dogs", under the Lillian Act, from multi-family properties in the City of Houston. It is not fair to the dog and certainly not fair to the innocent victims of these dogs.

By the way, what happened to my civil rights? Does a dog, like an alleged criminal, have more civil rights than law-abiding citizens? Since when does HPD harass neighborhood advocates?

[Brandon]

If her sexual orientation isn't a big deal, why can't we find a headline that doesn't make it an issue? Why do we insist on placing people in categories? Can't we just all be Americans?

[Rhino76]

Charlotte,

I have solved that pit bull problem twice by implementing the Glock 9MM solution. It is a very effective solution.