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 Gene Locke - 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 and is now the mayor of Houston.

2009 Houston mayoral election
November 3, 2009
 
Candidate Annise Parker Gene Locke Peter Brown
First round vote 54,193 45,954 39,904
First round percentage 31% 26% 22%
Runoff vote 81,743 70,770
Runoff percentage 53.60% 46.40%
 
Candidate Roy Morales
First round vote 35,925
First round percentage 20%
Elections in Texas
Government

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) Gene Locke, Roy Morales, Annise Parker, and Peter Brown at a May 2009 debate.
  • City Councilman Peter Brown
  • Amanda Ulman
  • Luis Ullrich
  • Dan Cupp
  • Education Trustee Roy Morales
  • City Controller Annise Parker
  • Former City Attorney Gene Locke

Results

General Election
Houston mayoral election, 2009
Party Candidate Votes % ±
None Annise Parker 54,193 31%
None Gene Locke 45,954 26%
None Peter Brown 39,904 22%
None Roy Morales 35,925 20%
None Amanda Ulman 992 1%

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

Endorsements




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]

See also

References
  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.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.