2009 Houston mayoral election
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The 2009 Houston mayoral election 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.
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November 3, 2009 (first round)
December 12, 2009 (runoff) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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]
- 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
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Annise Parker | 54,193 | 30.62 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gene Locke | 45,954 | 25.97 | |
| Nonpartisan | Peter Brown | 39,904 | 22.55 | |
| Nonpartisan | Roy Morales | 35,925 | 20.30 | |
| Nonpartisan | Amanda Ulman | 992 | 0.56 | |
| Total votes | 176,968 | 100.00 | ||
Runoff results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Annise Parker | 81,743 | 53.60% | |
| Nonpartisan | Gene Locke | 70,770 | 46.40% | |
| Total votes | 152,513 | 100.00 | ||
Endorsements
- 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 Vince Ryan
- Activist Quanell X
- Former Mayor Lee Brown
- State Senator Rodney Ellis
- Congressman Al Green
- Former City Attorney Ben Hall
- Former Mayor Bob Lanier
- Mayor of Katy Don Elder
- Former Mayoral Candidate TJ Huntley
- Former City Councilman Larry McKaskle
- Former State Representative Martha Wong
- 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 Arthur Schechter
- 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]
