1. Annise Danette Parker was born on May 17,1956 and is an American politician from the state of Texas.
20 Facts About Annise Parker
1. 2.
Annise Parker served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council from 1998 to 2003 and as city controller from 2004 to 2010.
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Annise Parker is one of the first openly gay mayors of a major US city, with Houston being the most populous US city to elect an openly gay mayor until Lori Lightfoot was elected mayor of Chicago in 2019.
4.
Annise Parker was born in the Spring Branch community of Houston on May 17,1956.
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Annise Parker was adopted by her mother's second husband, Ivy Leslie Annise Parker, who worked for the Red Cross.
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In 1971, when Annise Parker was 15, her family moved to a US Army post in Mannheim, Germany for two years.
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Annise Parker graduated from Stall High School in North Charleston, South Carolina in 1974 and was named a National Merit Scholar.
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Annise Parker began attending Rice University in 1974, working several jobs to pay for her room and board.
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In 2005, Parker completed Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a David Bohnett LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow.
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Annise Parker ran unsuccessfully for Houston City Council in District C in 1991.
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In 1997, Annise Parker prevailed in the runoff election for At-Large Position 1 to become Houston's first openly gay elected official.
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Annise Parker was re-elected twice to the same seat in 1999 and 2001 without being forced to a run-off.
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In 2009, Annise Parker announced her candidacy for the office of Mayor of Houston in a video posted online to her campaign website.
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Annise Parker was endorsed by several organizations and campaigned on a platform of better city security and financial efficiency.
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The city's primary newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, endorsed Annise Parker, citing her experience.
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Annise Parker was elected mayor on December 12,2009, and assumed office on January 2,2010.
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Annise Parker was Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for community development nonprofit BakerRipley.
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From December 2017 to March 2025, Annise Parker served as CEO and President of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and Leadership Institute.
19.
Annise Parker is a professor at the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University.
20.
Media reports in May 2024 indicated that Annise Parker was considering a candidacy for Harris County judge in 2026.