Early voting begins today for the runoff election to decide Houston’s next mayor.
The two candidates, Annise Parker and Gene Locke – who won 30.5 and 25.9 percent of the vote, respectively, in the seven-way race earlier this month – will be going head-to-head in the winner-take-all testament of voter apathy.
Despite holding a clear lead among the 175,000 people who voted earlier this month, Parker’s campaign has seen more hurdles than most. If elected, she would become the first openly lesbian mayor of a major U.S. city – a city that’s in the heart of conservative America.
During her 20-year career in the energy sector and her 11 years serving the City of Houston, this intelligent and committed mother of two has proven that she fits the job of mayor like one fits into a pair of pants.
Gene Locke, her democratic opponent, has a similar history of hard work and is a UH graduate. His platform contains a mixture of conservative and liberal ideals that don’t stray far from what you’d expect a moderate left-wing political candidate to support: fighting crime and saving money.
Locke even one-ups Parker in one aspect of gay relations, pledging that he would actively pursue partner benefits for civil employees. Parker supports those benefits, but doesn’t believe the battle is worth the expenditure of resources.
But while Locke extends one hand to the LGBT community, he offers the other to conservative personalities such as David Wilson. For those who are unfamiliar, Wilson crusaded to refuse benefits to partners of City of Houston LGBT employees.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Wilson sent 35,000 fliers to Houston residents depicting Parker and her partner of 19 years alongside the message, ‘Is this the image Houston wants to portray?’ The Chronicle also reported that Wilson said he was concerned that Parker’s election could pave the way for future LGBT officials.
Wilson’s comments about Parker, as reported by KHOU.com, were even more troubling.
‘It’s a picture of her and her mate being sworn in, in public, and that’s the image I have a problem with,’ Wilson said.
In Locke’s defense, the Chronicle reported that he told citizens to ignore Wilson’s rhetoric. However, a search on HoustonTX.gov’s Campaign Finance Reports Electronic Filing System revealed that Wilson donated $1,000 to Locke’s campaign on Sept. 22.
If Parker fits like a great pair of pants, Locke fits like an irregular vest from a Macy’s outlet. He looks OK at a glance, but the buttons will always appear to be slightly crooked.
