December 13, 2009 -- Updated 1120 GMT (1920 HKT)
Houston, Texas (CNN) -- Annise Parker made history Saturday as Houston's first openly gay mayor.
Parker, who served five years as city controller, beat former city attorney Gene Locke with 53.6 percent of the vote in a runoff election.
Both are Democrats who faced off for the second time because neither emerged with more than 50 percent of the vote in the November 3 election.
Parker's election also makes her the second woman to become mayor of Houston. Other cities such as Providence, Rhode Island, and Portland, Oregon, have picked openly gay mayors. Houston is the fourth-largest U.S. city.
Parker's victory is also remarkable because a few years ago, Houston rejected a referendum to offer benefits to same-sex partners of city workers. Also, the city sits in a state where gay marriage is against the law.....
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