HOUSTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Houston Mayor Annise Parker says she has married her longtime partner, Kathy Hubbard, in a ceremony at a private home in Palm Springs, Calif.
"This is a very happy day for us," Parker said in a statement released Thursday.
"We have had to wait a very long time to formalize our commitment to each other," the mayor said. "Kathy has been by my side for more than two decades, helping to raise a family, nurture my political career and all of the other ups and down and life events that come with a committed relationship. She is the love of my life and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life married to her."
The ceremony was presided over by the Rev. Paul Fromberg, a family friend from San Francisco.
The mayor's mother and Hubbard's sister were in attendance. Two close friends from Houston, Judge Steve Kirkland and Mark Parthie, served as attendants and witnesses.
Parker, 57, became the first openly gay person elected mayor of a major U.S. city in 2009. She was re-elected in 2011 and 2013.
