Back in February, the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund announced President and CEO Annise Parker would retire as of December 1. On that date, the lesbian former mayor of Houston also was to step down from her dual role of overseeing the national political group's educational arm known as the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute.
Turns out, Parker's time with the organization that works to elect LGBTQ people to political office across the U.S. will be a bit longer. She continues to serve as its president and CEO.
When she will officially depart from the political action committee she has led since December 2017 remains to be seen. A spokesperson for the Victory Fund told the Bay Area Reporter this month it is determinate on the hiring of her replacement.
"Mayor Parker will remain in her place as president and CEO of LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and LGBTQ+ Victory Institute until the right candidate has been selected and named as her successor, and through a transition page with the new CEO," spokesperson Orie Givens, the organization's vice president of communications, told the B.A.R. in an emailed reply December 10. "The Board of Directors is working to find the best candidate with the right mix of skills to lead this next chapter and will announce this important news as soon as possible once a decision is made."
At the time of the announcement of Parker's retirement plans, the Victory Fund had noted its boards of directors wanted Parker to have a two-month overlap with her successor once the person was brought onboard. Their aim was for a "smooth transition" with the change in leadership for the remaining staff.
"Mayor Parker is the steady, experienced leader we needed during a consequential time in American politics — and the dramatic growth in our endorsed candidates and Election Day victories are clear evidence of her undeniable success," Wade Rakes II and Lynn Greer, chairs of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and LGBTQ+ Victory Institute boards of directors, respectively, had stated earlier this year. "At a time when democracy is under attack in the U.S. and around the world, our mission to build more inclusive and representative governments is the antidote, because democracies flourish when people see themselves as part of it. Mayor Parker's leadership made Victory a consequential player in our elections and democracy and we look forward to her continued leadership in this critical year ahead."
Her election in 2009 to lead Texas' largest municipality — and the fourth largest city in the U.S. — marked the first time an out LGBTQ+ candidate had been elected mayor of a major American city. Parker had previously served as Houston's city comptroller and on its City Council.
Her taking over leadership of the Victory Fund marked the first time a former elected official had done so since the founding of the nonpartisan political action committee in 1991. Her tenure has coincided with a remarkable growth in the number of LGBTQ people seeking public office and those winning election, as mapped on the organization's Out for America website.
While not an exhaustive list, it currently includes 1,276 LGBTQ+ elected officials, from judges and school board members to city, state, and federal lawmakers, hailing from all 50 states. The total represents 0.25% of elected officials that are LGBTQ+ nationwide.
In 2024, the Victory Fund endorsed 510 LGBTQ+ candidates across the country, including in Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. Of those, 70% won their races, even in states that have seen Republican elected leaders rolling back LGBTQ rights.
Among them were three people elected to the Florida Legislature, seven to Georgia's Statehouse, four to Missouri's state House of Representatives, and two to Iowa's state House of Representatives. Out candidates for state legislative seats also notched wins in Kentucky, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
In California, a number of LGBTQ candidates endorsed by the Victory Fund broke through pink political glass ceilings, such as gay state Senator Christopher Cabaldon (D-West Sacramento) becoming the first Filipino American in the state Senate, first out AAPI legislator in the upper chamber, and the first LGBTQ person to represent several northern Bay Area counties in the Legislature. The organization also helped District 3 San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, a Democrat who is nonbinary and pansexual, fend off a tough challenge from Republican former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer for her board seat.
"2024 is coming to a close, and what a year it has been!" noted Parker in a December 11 email seeking end-of-the-year donations from supporters of the Victory Fund. "Together, we have experienced incredible milestones and worked toward growing the LGBTQ+ leadership pipeline so that our voices, and our community, will always be represented by out LGBTQ+ leaders who are ready to respond to new challenges and shifting conversations."
She also noted a few other milestones the Victory Fund marked this year, including a record 800+ people registering for its International Leadership Conference that took place earlier this month in Washington, D.C. The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute's global programming saw participants from 10 countries, with 168 people taking part in its leadership training program.
Come 2025, the Victory Fund plans to nearly double its trainings for LGBTQ people interested in seeking public office to 11 held around the country. It already launched its new LGTBQ+ Excellence Project, a temporary database for LGBTQ+ political appointees with the outgoing Biden administration who now need to pursue new employment opportunities that various organizations, associations, and governments with positions to fill can tap into.
"As my tenure as President & CEO of LGBTQ+ Victory Institute winds down (don't worry — I'm not going anywhere until the next President & CEO is named), and our programs continue to grow and thrive under the excellent leadership of our Executive Director, Elliot Imse, I want to say THANK YOU. For your friendship. Your partnership. And your leadership in this movement," wrote Parker. "I count the past seven years of my journey with you among the most worthwhile efforts of my life and career. And rest assured, I am not going far."
Keep abreast of the latest LGBTQ political news by following the Political Notebook on Threads @ https://www.threads.net/@matthewbajko and on Bluesky @ https://bsky.app/profile/politicalnotes.bsky.social.
Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected]
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