About Annise

Mayor Annise Parker is bringing Houstonians together to move our city forward through one of the toughest economies in decades.

“I understand the impulse of politicians to kick the can down the road,” says Annise. “But it’s just not in my DNA. The best instinct of Houstonians is to face our problems head-on and solve them with integrity and determination.”

Decisive, Responsible Leadership

Annise hit the ground running as Houston’s mayor. She worked quickly with a bi-partisan coalition to save 5,000 jobs at the Johnson Space Center, put a new reform team in place at METRO that acted aggressively to preserve millions of dollars in threatened federal funds, and led the rescue of our financially troubled water system to ensure a safe and stable supply of drinking water for generations.

And with the help of local contractors, Annise ordered “Demolition Day,” the destruction of 185 abandoned, dangerous buildings and crack houses around Houston, the most structures ever removed in one day.

“I am proud of our progress, but I know there is much more work to be done if we want to make sure Houston lives up to our full promise and potential,” says Annise.

Annise, who pioneered the regular use of performance audits as city controller, knows that a business approach to managing our tax dollars will help us afford vital priorities like public safety, after-school programs and senior centers, a cleaner environment and economic growth that sustains our quality of life.

Long-Term Reforms to Secure Houston’s Future

Annise is fighting to put an end to wasteful government borrowing – supporting reforms that put our infrastructure spending on a pay-as-you-go basis and refusing to borrow money to fund the city’s pension payments – saving millions of dollars for taxpayers.

She’s implementing her Hire Houston First reforms to make sure that more of our tax dollars stay here at home to support local jobs. In Annise’s first year as mayor, her economic development initiatives helped spur private investment that will create thousands of new jobs in Houston.

Annise is also reorganizing and consolidating city departments – nine so far – to streamline the way Houston delivers essential services. Her top-to-bottom reforms in our police department, for example, are moving more police officers out from behind desks and onto the beat.

A Mayor Who Gets It – and Gets the Job Done

Like many Houstonians, Annise understands what it feels like to suddenly not know how you’re going to make ends meet:

“When I was growing up, my father invested all his savings to start a fishing camp on the Gulf Coast," Annise says. "It was his dream, and it was a success – until one day a barge knocked down the only bridge to the peninsula where we were located. It wasn’t his fault, but my dad went broke.  I can still see the worry in his eyes. It took a long time for our family to get back on its feet.  And I know there are a lot of families like that in Houston today.”

That’s why Annise is working so hard – especially in these tough times – to make sure that economic opportunity and a high quality of life are available to every Houston family.

A Record of Service

A businesswoman and neighborhood leader, Annise spent 20 years in Houston’s oil and gas industry after graduating from Rice University. She has served the people of Houston for six years as a city councilmember and six years as city controller. She is completing her first term as mayor.

Annise’s advocacy for quality of life issues earned her Scenic Houston’s 2010 Scenic Visionary Award and the Distinguished Local Elected Official Award from the Texas Recreation and Park Society. The Holocaust Museum of Houston honored Annise with its 2010 Guardian of the Human Spirit Award for her lifetime of working to enhance the lives of others and to better humankind. Time Magazine named Annise in 2010 one of the 100 people who most affect our world.

Parker and her life partner, Kathy Hubbard, are advocates for adoption. Their family includes two adopted daughters and a son.

“A culture of community and public service is one of the greatest assets of our city. I see my job as mayor as a call to civic engagement,” Annise said. “If you hear me on the stump, what I usually end with is not to have the expectation that you've sent me to City Hall to solve all your problems. You’ve sent me to open the doors to City Hall so we'll work on the problems together.”