Leading a delegation of some 60 Houstonians to the city, Mayor Annise Parker today praised Shanghai, China as a welcoming and open to its LGBT citizens, a stance she said is good for business.

“Shanghainese and Houstonians are similar. They care about what you do, not who you are,” Parker said during  Houston Day at the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo, according to Xinhua.

“To boost development, a city needs to be open to a full range of people, especially the innovative ones who break barriers, like people of the gay community,” Parker said.

Parker, who was elected mayor in December, is on her first international trip promoting Houston’s business community.  She announced her team was working with air carriers to establish new direct routes between Houston and Shanghai.

Houston is the largest city in the U.S. to elect an openly LGBT mayor, and Paris, Berlin and Zurich, Switzerland are among major international cities with out mayors.

This year openly gay and lesbian candidates are serious contenders to be elected mayor in Oakland, Calif., and Lexington, Kentucky.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker has drawn the wrath of a group known as the Houston Area Pastors Council, the same one that fought to defeat her mayoral campaign on the grounds that she is openly lesbian.  Parker’s opponent, Gene Locke, condemned the group during the campaign.

The Council is angry about an executive order issued by Parker on March 25 that bans discrimination in city employment based on, among other things, sexual orientation and gender identity.  The mayor’s office responded in a statement, “We are simply codifying, putting in writing, what has been the city’s long standing practice; we do not discriminate.”

Like other anti-LGBT groups, the Council has specifically raised the specter of transgender individuals using public restrooms.  The issue is often used as an emotional wedge by opponents trying to roll back non-discrimination laws.  They of course want voters to imagine men menacing women in public restrooms.

Last year, when the Massachusetts state legislature was considering a transgender equality bill, openly gay State Rep. Carl Sciortino sought to explain the issue, saying, “What [the bill] allows for is that every person, including transgender people, can use facilities that are consistent with their gender identity in a safe and private manner.  Anyone that uses a facility to commit a crime or does something indecent can be prosecuted under current laws and this bill does nothing to change that.”

Houston Mayor Annise Parker spoke directly to the LGBT community during her inaugural address before thousands at a downtown performing arts center this morning.  Parker’s election December 13th made Houston the largest city in the U.S. to elect an openly LGBT mayor.  Parker spoke passionately about the diversity of Houston and its future, but her address turned personal when she told attendees she wanted to speak directly to the LGBT community:

“I understand what this day means to you.  I can feel your excitement and your joy, but I can also feel your apprehension and your longing for acceptance.  I will gladly carry you forward, but today is simply one day toward a tomorrow of greater justice.  And when the time comes I will gladly pass the torch to the next in waiting, and I will cheer for them as you do for me.  Your bravery in the face of threats, your bravery in the face of insults sustains me.  We will support each other.

Do not fear to dream big dreams.  Bring your whole self to everything you do.  Face the world with dignity and integrity.  I promise you, the pain is worth the reward.”

Politico published an analysis of what led to Annise Parker’s victory in Houston, a victory which may tie into a larger shift in identity politics as demonstrated by Barack Obama’s presidential victory in 2008.  While Parker’s sexuality did not hinder her as a candidate, and may have even helped, Politico finds the achievement important in a national context:

(T)he election of an out lesbian who made her name initially as a gay-rights activist, one who embraced her partner on stage on election night, nevertheless reveals a breakthrough in the country’s march toward what could be called either tolerance or just plain apathy toward homosexuality.

Indeed, save for an 11th-hour flurry of mailers paid for by allies of Parker’s opponent, Gene Locke, her sexual orientation mattered little in a race dominated by conventional municipal issues such as crime, jobs and education. What was remarkable about the contest was just how unremarkable the voters found it that Parker was a lesbian.

Longtime observers and participants in Houston politics agreed that, if anything, the attacks on Parker hurt her rival.

Stephen Klinerberg, a sociology professor at Rice University, summarized the election: “In the end, it was better to be a homosexual than a lobbyist.”

Annise Parker’s victory in Houston has been attracting a lot of media attention, including this political cartoon which does a pretty good job of explaining what the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund continuously tells the press about our candidates.

Here’s the cartoon that ran in the Houston Chronicle:

Artist: Nick Anderson