November 25, 2013 2:01 PM

WOODFILL: MAYOR PARKER ABUSES HER OFFICE

Harris County GOP chair takes Mayor to task on same sex marriage benefits rule by fiat

On Wednesday, Houston Mayor Annise Parker continued to show her true self as an extreme liberal that does not share the values of Texans and Houstonians. Without a vote from the Houston City Council, Mayor Parker dictated that the city will now pay the benefits for spouses of employees in same-sex marriages performed in other states. Never mind that a same-sex couple cannot even get a divorce in Texas for a same-sex marriage performed in another state.
Mayor Parker and City Attorney David Feldman wrongly have interpreted the Supreme Court case this summer to apply to the city. Never mind that the voters of Texas worded the Texas Constitution to ban such unions. Never mind that the voters of Houston worded the Houston City Charter to ban such benefits. Mayor Parker unilaterally disposed of the Houston City Charter and the Texas Constitution without anything even resembling democratic process. For case law to be applied at the local level, test cases are often necessary, but these should come from citizens petitioning for a lack of constitutional protection or for perceived inequality, not the Mayor of the third largest city in the US blatantly and brazenly violating the laws passed by the people's duly elected representatives in Texas and at the federal level.
The rest of Jared Woodfill's column can be found in today's R&D Department.

By Jared Woodfill