Could it be true?! Of course it is. After the November 3rd Houston mayoral election was forced into a runoff, the candidates have only until December 12th to rally votes. Top vote-getters for the nation’s fourth largest city were former city attorney Gene Locke, and openly gay city controller Anisse Parker.

A group of conservative ministers in Houston have announced they will lead a campaign against Parker because she is a lesbian. From the Houston Chronicle:

The group says they’re alarmed by the possibility of a “gay takeover” of City Hall – two openly gay candidates are also vying for seats on the Houston City Council – which could lead to the reversal of a 2001 amendment that prohibits the city from providing benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian employees.

“The bottom line is that we didn’t pick the battle, she did, when she made her agenda and sexual preference a central part of her campaign,” Dave Welch, executive director of the conservative group Houston Area Pastor Council, told the paper.

“National gay and lesbian activists see this as a historic opportunity. The reality is that’s because they’re promoting an agenda which we believe to be contrary to the concerns of the community and destructive to the family,” he added.

Zinger award goes to Dallas Voice columnist David Taffet.

“While Parker is clear about who she is (she has a partner of 20 years [Kathy Hubbard] and two children), she does not make an issue of her sexual orientation.”

“What bothers these ministers is that she doesn’t lie,” Taffet added. “She doesn’t hide. She’s open and honest about who she is. Interesting that these qualities bother ministers.”