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• Houston’s mayor Annise Parker

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This December, Houston elected Annise Parker as mayor. This would seem like any other election, but the election holds significance, as Parker identifies herself as a lesbian. Houston will not immediately feel the significance of the election, and may, in fact, face opposition on a national impact, but it is a start in the nation’s fourth largest city, even with more welcoming gay, lesbian bisexual and transgender (LGBT) friendly states, like New York or Maine, out there. The results also mark Houston as the largest city to elect a gay mayor.

Throughout the course of the election, Parker didn’t make her personal life part of her platform and focused more on the issues of Houston’s economy, spending and increasing the police presence in Houston. I found it ironic that while the election of Parker marks a step for the LGBT community, press headlines paid more attention to the landmark win and the fact that she is a lesbian mayor in Houston than on her platform and political goals. But denying either fact (that she is a lesbian and it was a landmark win) would still be detrimental to what it has done and may do for the future of LGBT politicians in the future.

After a number of anti-gay and religious groups condemned Parker’s sexual orientation, the focus turned towards that fact. However, her opponent, Gene Locke, deserves some credit: he distanced himself from that issue of his opponent Parker.

Backed by the support of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, Parker's election was the Victory Fund's top political priority in 2009, a year that saw 54 of its 79 endorsed openly LGBT candidates elected to public office, according to The Huffington Post.

Even so, though this trend seems to be a slow transition into politics, in time, hopefully states will allow politicians to meet the people’s demands on a more personal level as opposed to a particular stigma or stereotype.