Word: houstonize
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...Houston voters made history in December, electing the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city. Annise Parker, 53, takes the oath of office on Jan. 1 to lead the nation's fourth largest metropolis, with some 2.2 million residents. Currently Houston's city controller, Parker has been open about her sexuality throughout her political career and has three adopted children with her longtime partner, Kathy Hubbard. "Tonight the voters of Houston have opened the doors to history," the Democrat said after winning the city's Dec. 12 runoff election. "But now, from this moment, let us join...
...Born May 17, 1956, in the Spring Branch community of Houston. Her mother was a bookkeeper, and her father worked for the Red Cross. His job took the family to the U.S. Army base in Manheim, Germany, for two years, beginning when Parker...
...seat on the Houston City Council in 1997 on her third try, becoming Houston's first openly gay elected official. Won her bid to be city controller - the No. 2 elected position - in 2003, and ran unopposed for re-election in 2005 and 2007. (Read "What's All That Secession Ruckus in Texas...
...mayoral election among four candidates. But it did prompt attacks before the runoff against Gene Locke, a former city attorney. A group of African-American pastors criticized her supposed "gay agenda," and a conservative activist distributed flyers featuring her and her partner and asking, "Is this the image Houston wants to portray?" But the attacks did not find traction; a Houston Chronicle/Zogby poll found that Parker's sexuality mattered to just 18% of likely voters...
...Campaigned on her experience and financial acumen, declining to stress her pioneering candidacy. After her election, she joked that she was "very proud to have been elected the first ... graduate of Rice University to be mayor of Houston...