The 61st Mayor of Houston Annise Parker visits the LBJ School in recognition of Austin Pride. Parker was Houston’s second woman mayor and one of the first openly gay mayors of a major US city. As Mayor she fought to cover sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing discrimination and services in one of the most comprehensive non discrimination orders in the nation. Parker is currently the President and CEO of Victory Institute, a national organization dedicated to building a pipeline of LGBTQ public leaders.
This event is hosted by the LBJ Urban Lab and the LBJ School Office of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.
Speaker
Mayor Parker is the former 61st mayor of Houston and one of only two women to hold the City’s highest elected office. As the City's chief executive officer, she was responsible for all aspects of the general management of the City and for enforcement of all laws and ordinances.
Parker has spent many years in service to the people of Houston, with six years as a City Council member and six years as City Controller. She is the only person in Houston history to hold the offices of council member, controller and mayor.
The Parker’s tenure includes passage and implementation of Rebuild Houston, a pay-as-you-go comprehensive street and drainage improvement program that will provide jobs for Houstonians for years to come; voter approval of a $410 million public improvement bond program; creation of an independent organization to oversee the City’s crime lab operations; a unique sobering center for public intoxication cases; adoption of a long-term financial plan that ensures the stability of the City’s water department and reorganization of City departments to achieve cost savings and more efficient operations. She created a new City department focused on the needs of neighborhoods and the Office of Business Opportunity to help minority and women-owned small business enterprises compete for City contracts. Additionally, she won City Council approval of a Historic Preservation Ordinance that, for the first time, provides real protection for historic properties in City-designated historic districts and she issued one of the most comprehensive non-discrimination orders in the nation.