2009 Houston mayoral election

The Houston mayoral election of 2009 took place on November 3, 2009, to elect the successor to incumbent Mayor Bill White. White was ineligible for re-election, having served three terms. The race is officially nonpartisan. After no candidate received a majority of the votes, the top two candidates – City Controller Annise Parker and former City Attorney – faced each other in a runoff election on December 12, 2009. On November 11, councilman Peter Brown (who finished third in the first round) publicly endorsed Parker in the Mayor's race.^[1] Annise Parker won the run-off.

With the election, Houston became the largest city to elect an openly gay mayor.^[2]^[3]

Candidates[]

Candidates listed in order of how they appear on the official ballot.^[4]

Houston mayoral candidates (from left to right) , , Annise Parker, and Peter Brown at a May 2009 debate.

City Councilman Peter Brown
Amanda Ulman
Luis Ullrich
Dan Cupp
Education Trustee
City Controller Annise Parker
Former City Attorney

Results[]

General election[]

2009 Houston mayoral election
	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Annise Parker	54,193	31%
None		45,954	26%
None	Peter Brown	39,904	22%
None		35,925	20%
None	Amanda Ulman	992	1%

Runoff results[]

2009 Houston mayoral election runoff
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	None	Annise Parker	81,743	53.60%	+22.60%
	None		70,770	46.40%	+20.20%

Endorsements[]

List of people who endorsed Peter Brown

Brown's endorsers include:

State Representative Alma Allen
Former Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford
Former Ambassador Edward Djerejian
Former City Councilman Jim Greenwood
Houston Councilman Jarvis Johnson
Former Congressman Nick Lampson
Congressman Solomon Ortiz
Harris County Attorney

List of people who endorsed Gene Locke

Locke's endorsers include:

Activist Quanell X
Former Mayor Lee Brown
State Senator Rodney Ellis
Congressman Al Green
Former City Attorney
Former Mayor Bob Lanier

List of people who endorsed Roy Morales

Morales's endorsers include:

Mayor of Katy Don Elder
Former Mayoral Candidate
Former City Councilman
Former State Representative Martha Wong

List of people who endorsed Annise Parker

Parker's endorsers include:

Former Congressman Chris Bell
City Councilman and Former Mayoral Candidate Peter Brown
Former City Councilman John Castillo
Former City Controller Leonel Castillo
State Representative Ellen Cohen
State Representative Garnet Coleman
State Representative Jessica Farrar
State Representative Scott Hochberg
City Councilwoman Toni Lawrence
City Councilwoman Sue Lovell
City Councilwoman Melissa Noriega
State Representative Rick Noriega
Former Ambassador
Former Mayor Kathy Whitmire
Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane

Polling[]

Pre-election polling[]

Source	Error margin	Date	Peter Brown (D)	Gene Locke (D)	Roy Morales (R)	Annise Parker (D)
Houston Chronicle and Zogby International^[5]	+/- 4.1%	October 18, 2009	23.8%	13.1%	6.7%	19.0%
11 News/ KUHF Houston Public Radio poll^[6]^[7]	+/- 4.2%	October 27, 2009	24%	14%	5%	16%

Aftermath[]

Parker was re-elected in 2011 and 2013. Locke served as Harris County interim commissioner in 2016, finishing the term of El Franco Lee, who had died unexpectedly in January of that year.^[8]

References[]

^ "Peter Brown endorses Annise Parker for mayor". Retrieved 2009-11-01.
^ McKinley Jr., James C. (December 12, 2009). "Houston Is Largest City to Elect Openly Gay Mayor". New York Times.
^ Ortez, David (December 16, 2009). "Why Annise Parker Won And Gene Locke Lost". Houston Press. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
^ "Harris County Official Sample Ballot - 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
^ "Poll: Brown leads Houston Mayor's race". Retrieved 2009-10-21.
^ "Brown commands big lead in 11 News mayoral poll". Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
^ "Houston Mayor's Race". Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
^ Banks, Gabrielle (January 22, 2016). "Gene Locke named to fill Commissioner Lee's seat". Houston Chronicle.

External links[]

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[1] "Peter Brown endorses Annise Parker for mayor". Retrieved 2009-11-01.

[2] McKinley Jr., James C. (December 12, 2009). "Houston Is Largest City to Elect Openly Gay Mayor". New York Times.

[3] Ortez, David (December 16, 2009). "Why Annise Parker Won And Gene Locke Lost". Houston Press. Retrieved 2018-06-03.

[4] "Harris County Official Sample Ballot - 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2009-11-02.

[5] "Poll: Brown leads Houston Mayor's race". Retrieved 2009-10-21.

[6] "Brown commands big lead in 11 News mayoral poll". Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2009-10-26.

[7] "Houston Mayor's Race". Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-10-26.

[8] Banks, Gabrielle (January 22, 2016). "Gene Locke named to fill Commissioner Lee's seat". Houston Chronicle.

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