Picture Via: Chron.com
Story Via: DefenderNetwork.com
City Controller Annise Parker is expected to face former City Attorney Gene Locke in a runoff to be the next mayor of Houston December 12th.
Political pundits had long predicted that Parker, with her strong base of inside-the-loop support, was all but a shoo-in for the runoff. Parker herself had felt just as confident, and with more than 90 percent of the precincts reporting, her confidence appeared justified.
City Councilman Peter Brown was in third place and Harris County Board of Education Trustee Roy Morales, who claimed to be the only conservative and Republican in the race, in fourth. Morales appeared certain to fall short of the runoff but was polling a respectable double-digit total that will have an effect on who makes it.
Parker came into her campaign party to a cheering crowd, telling a pack of reporters she was confident she would win tonight.
“I expect to be in the lead all evening,” Parker said. “It’s been said all along that the three of us have a legitimate chance of being the mayor of Houston. I intend to be the next mayor of Houston. I’m going to be in the runoff. I’m not going to speculate any other way.”
Locke took a slight lead when early votes were counted, prompting subdued high-fives among campaign workers. Knowing that the race would be tight as the evening wore on, a full-on celebration was held in check.
“There’s 60 percent of the vote left to go,” said Christian Archer, Locke’s campaign manager, pacing among orange balloons in a ballroom of the Hyatt Regency hotel. “We’re not celebrating yet.”
Staffers said they were not surprised by Locke’s showing, and took it as evidence that big spending and attack ads were not successful in turning voters away from the former city attorney during early voting.
“I think what you’re seeing now is evidence that they did not,” said Kim Devlin, spokeswoman for the campaign. “We knew Gene had support across the city.”
