"Somehow in the United States, we're almost an afterthought," said Annise Parker, the Houston city controller, the night before the city's mayoral election. "I don't care. I think our future is international." That kind of blunt talk is central to Ms Parker's appeal, and the next day, on December 12th, Houston elected her as its next mayor in a run-off.rnHouston, America's fourth-biggest city, is now its largest ever to have elected an openly gay mayor. And Ms Parker is one of the two most prominent gay elected officials in the country alongside Barney Frank, an influential congressman from Massachusetts. But her victory is not that surprising.
展开▼
