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The People Who Know Her Well

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2009: City Controller Parker, an accomplished horsewoman, waves from the Houston Rodeo Parade.
“Annise gets really excited about solving neighborhood problems. Like the neighborhood with the new noisy bar, the church with the high weeds in the fenced utility easement in back, or the Heights neighbor who built a garden in “his” alley behind his house. All these problems add up to life in Houston and what people expect of their elected representatives. She’s delighted and honored to help, and that’s why I consider her a real public servant, not a politician.”

—Cicely Wynne, aide to Annise Parker since 1998

“Annise is tenacious! Annise and I were building an arbor one afternoon. We were on the last board to put up. There we were, up on ladders trying to fasten a ten-foot-long 2 x 6 to its post. One of us got shaky (depends on who is telling the story) and then the other got wobbly, and we come crashing down to the ground, board and ladders with us. Bruised and sore, I picked myself up, hustled over to where she was and lifted the board off her. She got up, dusted herself off, looked at me and said “Get the ladder, this arbor won’t build itself.”

—Steve Kirkland, Harris County
Civil Court Judge and former Parker campaign manager

“During the first campaign I worked on for Annise, in 1997, lightning struck a large tree in the parking lot of Hubbard Financial Services, where our office was. A limb crashed down, along with a nest of baby squirrels. Annise was able to rescue two of them, and raised them until they were ready to be set free. The campaign staff nicknamed them Thunder and Lightning. Annise has a tender heart.”

—Grant Martin, Parker campaign consultant

“I can remember Annise’s victory party on Election Night in 2003. We were all at a sports bar across from the ballpark. Annise finally went to the stage. She was standing in front of the podium with Kathy, Daniela, and Marquitta, and as many supporters that could fit on the tiny stage. I looked at the stage and looked across the room, and everything I love about Houston was there, every kind of person—old, young, gay, straight, black, white, Latino, Asian, powerbrokers along with grassroots volunteers. This is what I love about Annise Parker—she has a special way of bringing all kinds of people together to make things better for Houston!”

—Terence O’Neil, executive assistant to Controller Parker

A Member of the Community Speaks in Support

“Annise Parker has been a friend of the Diana Foundation and more than that, a friend to her GLBT community for years. Speaking personally, I believe that many of the gains since the unfortunate loss of our Houston equality during the 1980s have been directly the result of Annise’s leadership, both before her entry into city politics and afterward. She has never forgotten those that helped her attain her present position. Now, she has taken on the challenge of becoming Mayor for all the people of Houston. Her work as a City Council member and the City Controller—and the expertise and experience that she has gained about our city over more than a decade of service—make her far more qualified than any of her competitors. She has shown herself to be a person who would bring new ideas and energy to this city. We could not ask for a more ethical and honest leader.”

–John Heinzerling, President, Diana Foundation (Houston’s oldest GLBT organization)

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