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. Annise Parker won the run -off. With the election, Houston became the largest city to elect an openly gay mayor. Candidates. Candidates listed in order of how they appear on the official ballot. Endorsements. Brown's endorsers include: Locke's endorsers include: Morales's endorsers include: Parker's endorsers include: 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.