Annise Parker served on the Houston City Council for six years. Then, for another six years, she served as the city controller. Following that, for the same amount of time, she served as mayor of the city (2010–2016). She was the first openly lesbian mayor of a major American city and the city’s second female mayor. Read more about her life and professional path at houston-yes.com.
Childhood and education
The future politician was born on May 17, 1956, in Houston in the family of an accountant and a Red Cross worker. When she was 12 years old, Annise’s family relocated to Mississippi, South Carolina, and when she was 15, the girl’s family moved to Mannheim, in southwest Germany. There, Annise’s father worked with the Red Cross at the US Army post. Little Parker assisted the organization as a volunteer in the youth service organization while also working at the postal library.
In a short amount of time, Annise was destined to live in various communities, which allowed her to become more aware of the differences between people living in different parts of the world. The family then traveled back to their home country the United States. Parker was extremely shy and anxious as a teenager. So, as a result, her family gave the girl the nickname “turtle”.
After graduating from high school, Annise entered Jones College at Rice University in Houston, where she studied anthropology, sociology and psychology. To pay for rent and food, Annise worked several jobs at the same time. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Parker attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
It’s interesting to note that Annise drew inspiration from her maternal grandmother. She began teaching at the age of sixteen. Her teacher’s salary enabled her to attend college and pay for the education of several of her siblings. Annise’s grandmother and mother both graduated from college at a period when women’s education was extremely problematic. Furthermore, her grandmother defied the societal standards of the time by marrying at the age of 30 in order to travel abroad on her own. It was the grandmother who taught her granddaughter to always rely on her own strength and to be independent.
Beginning of the career
Parker worked in the oil and gas industry for 20 years, notably as a software analyst for the Houston-based energy distribution company Mosbacher Energy. Furthermore, from the late 1980s until 1997, she co-owned the Inklings Bookshop. In 1986-1987, she headed the Houston LGBT Political Caucus. Then, from 1995-1997, she served as president of the Neartown Civic Association.
Member of the City Council and Controller
In 1997, Parker was elected to the Houston City Council on her third attempt. She became Houston’s first openly lesbian official. Parker was re-elected twice, in 1999 and 2001. For six years, as a member of the council, she worked on the comprehensive development of the city and the increase in funding for the arts.
In 2003, Annise was appointed City Controller. As the city’s chief financial officer, the city controller ensures that the city’s assets are correctly documented and used in line with relevant laws, policies, plans and procedures. Parker was re-elected to the position in 2005 and 2007.
Mayor of Houston
In 2009, Parker launched her candidacy for mayor on behalf of the Democratic Party. Her campaign was centered on increasing the city’s security and financial efficiency.
Parker’s opponents included Houston City Council Member Peter Hoyt Brown and Harris County School Board Trustee Roy Morales. Annise received the most votes and advanced to the second round of the election, where she faced former Houston City Attorney Gene Locke. As a result of the votes cast, Annise prevailed against Locke.
Parker formally accepted the position of Mayor on January 2, 2010. Houston has become the United States’ largest city with an openly lesbian mayor. Priorities of the Parker administration included improving transportation, balancing the city budget and selecting a new police chief. Parker won a second term in the 2011 election and a third in the 2013 election. In January 2016, she was replaced by Texas attorney Sylvester Turner.
As mayor, Parker oversaw the Rebuild Houston initiative, which improved streets and drainage. As a result of this program, it was possible to increase the number of pedestrian and bicycle lanes in Houston, establish a sobering station, establish an independent organization to oversee the work of the city’s crime lab, create a long-term financial plan to ensure the stability of the city’s water management and reorganize city departments to save money.
In addition, the mayor established a new city department focusing on district needs, as well as the Office of Business Opportunity to assist small businesses. Her efforts to minimize homelessness in Houston have resulted in Houston becoming the largest metropolis with almost no homeless veterans remaining. During her tenure, the overall rate of homelessness fell by 60%.
Post-political career
After leaving politics in 2016, she has been working for nonprofit organizations in Houston, notably as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for community development nonprofit BakerRipley.
She also worked as a professor at the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University. She has sat on the boards of FirstNet, a First Responder Network established by Congress and Airbnb’s Advisory Board.
Annise has also served on the boards of various public institutions, including the Houston Zoo and the Holocaust Museum in Houston. She has frequently helped to preserve Houston’s historic sites.
Representative of non-traditional orientation
Parker spoke openly about her homosexuality in the political arena, which made her a target for homophobes. In 1975, she organized her first LGBTQ+ organizing event, the Texas Gay Conference. In 1979, Annise formed a lesbian student group at Rice University.
She has served as an official or board member of dozens of LGBTQ+ organizations. She held the position of the president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, co-chair of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas, Lesbian and Gay Democrats of Texas and the Houston Treasurer of the Names Project.
Parker also represented the LGBTQ+ community for many years in the Houston Police Department and taught an LGBTQ+ human relations module to cadets. In December 2017, she was named CEO and President of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute.
In 1990, Parker found her love, Kathy Hubbard, who became her wife in 2014. The couple adopted three daughters and one son.
Recognition
In 2010, Time magazine named Parker one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2014, the City Mayors Foundation ranked her the greatest mayor in the United States and one of the top seven in the world.
Throughout her career, she has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Scenic Visionary Award from Scenic Houston, The Guardian of the Human Spirit Award from the Holocaust Museum Houston, The Guardian of the Bay Award from the Galveston Bay Foundation and others.