HOUSTON — Houston Mayor Annise Parker was elected on Tuesday to a third and final term as the leader of the nation’s fourth largest city.
In a crowded field, Parker got more than 50 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a runoff in December.
She had faced eight challengers, with the strongest being former Houston city attorney Ben Hall, who had largely bankrolled his own campaign.
Parker was first elected in 2009. She won her second term in 2011 in a close election in which she held off five challengers. Term limits prevent Parker from running for a fourth term.
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During Parker’s administration, Houston weathered the recent recession better than most major cities and in various surveys Houston has been named as one of the best cities to live in.
With Parker’s re-election, Houston, which has about 2.1 million residents, continues to be the largest city in the United States led by an openly gay person.
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Hall had charged that Houston has become less safe and less economically sound under Parker’s administration.
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