Gay woman tops Houston mayoral field

HOUSTON, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The openly gay city controller and a former city attorney backed by business interests were the top vote getters in Tuesday's mayoral race in Houston.

Annise Parker, who first entered politics as a gay activist at Rice University, and Gene Locke, a veteran lawyer, will face each other in a runoff, the Houston Chronicle reported.

They topped City Council President Peter Brown and Roy Morales, the only Republican in the field.

With all districts reporting, Parker had 30 percent of the vote to 26 percent for Locke, 22 percent for Brown and 20 percent for Morales.

Parker ran for mayor after six years as an at-large councilwoman and six years as controller, giving her the highest name recognition among the candidates. She had a smaller war chest than Brown or Locke but more individual contributions.

Locke, who has also been a lawyer for government agencies like the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, had support and funding from the business and real estate communities.