Annise Parker, an out lesbian and solid progressive, is running for Mayor of Houston, and the runoff election is tomorrow. She has a slim lead in the polls. I posted an interview earlier this week with Annise, in which I explored her roots as a lesbian activist in Houston and her long-term views on marriage equality. You can check it out here.
What makes me so pumped about this election is that Annise self-identifies as an activist first and a candidate second. She made no bones about her commitment to using the office of Mayor to help advance civil rights for the LGBT community as much as possible, including overturning the city charter ban on benefits for domestic partners of city employees. The other thing that has me pumped is that her opponent- Gene Locke, a Democrat- (a) refused to decline endorsement from Steven Hotze, a local majordomo bigot (b) significant funders of his campaign also helped fund anti-LGBT ads against Annise. Not the way a Democrat should act. Need to stick it home to the haters. And after the LGBT community has lost a couple of tough ones recently, it sure would be nice to take this one home.
1. If you live in Houston, polls are open 7 AM to 7 PM CST. You can find your polling place by clicking here.
2. GOTV, as usual, is critical. Here's the volunteer page if you live in the area so you can sign up to help. If you're reading this on Saturday, best thing to do is call 713-861-6464 to find out where they need the most help.
3. If you don't live in the area (or even if you do), post a reminder to Facebook and Twitter for folks to vote. Even if don't know anyone, it helps it spread virally to friends who may. You can use this polling place finder link if you like. Here, I'll even throw in the election night party info on Facebook!
STATE BLOGS
