Week in Review - Saturday: David Loftus

Houston's Mayoral Election

Parts of the United States are quite ready for gay politicians, and have been for some time. Barney Frank was elected by Massachusetts voters decades ago. My city of Portland, Oregon elected a lesbian state legislator (Gail Shibley) back in the 1990s and has a gay mayor now (Sam Adams). But Houston’s a different kettle of fish. It’s a modern American city, certainly, but still deep in the heart of Texas: football, oil, and anti-big government and liberal-values country. But it’s the biggest in the country (at 2.2 million, the fourth largest) to elect an openly gay mayor.

Sexual preference aside, it looks as if Parker won the office with good old-fashioned experience (in the public and private sectors) and a solid campaign. She’s a native of west Houston, worked in the oil and gas industry for 20 years, co-owned a bookstore for a decade, was elected to the City Council three times, and then became City Controller -- again winning three consecutive elections for the position. In her run for mayor she managed to land endorsements from labor, police, women’s, gay rights and other groups, as well as the city’s primary newspaper, the Houston Post. Her campaign also worked hard to get out the liberal and gay vote. I’d be curious to know how much anti-gay conservative campaigning against her came from outside the city, and especially outside the state, and whether Parker’s team was able to make political capital out of that.

A candidate’s sexual preference should not be a campaign issue, any more than his or her marital status. But it’s going to remain one, openly or sub rosa, for some time to come. As for an openly gay presidential candidate, that isn’t as unimaginable as it seemed when I first became a voter several decades ago. I could see such a candidate, but probably not a solid one who actually has a shot at being elected; more likely someone running to make a point and draw more attention to the gay rights cause. But an openly atheistic candidate, now. . . .