Way down south in a little town called Houston, TX, which is actually the fourth largest city in the nation, history was made over the weekend as Houston became the largest city to elect an openly gay mayor.  Annise Parker’s run-off win over former City Attorney Gene Locke.
Ray Hill, the dean of Houston’s gay activists, saw victory in more ways than one.
“For me, it means 43 years of hard work has finally paid off,” Hill said. “For Houston, it means we have finally reached the point where being gay cannot be used as a wedge issue to divide the community and prevent us from reaching our aspirations. Annise Parker is not our mayor — she is the city’s mayor.”
Although the national attention is being brought to Houston for being the largest city with an openly gay mayor, the issue of Ms. Parker’s sexuality did not come to light until a run-off election was imminent.  A small conservative campaign against her blasted out emails and flyers proclaiming the election was about gay rights.  Texas currently has a ban on same sex marriage.  Most voters did not have concern over Ms. Parker’s sexual orientation, but instead were swayed by her blunt statements and plans to make Houston a better city.