Houston Mayoral Candidate Funded Antigay Mailer

An antigay mailer attacking Houston mayoral candidate Annise Parker was funded in part by her opponent's campaign, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Texas Ethics Commission documents show candidate Gene Locke's finance chairman and another campaign staffer recently paid a total of $40,000 to Conservative Republicans of Harris County, the political action committee that sent out the mailings that blast Parker for her endorsement from the city's GLBT Political Caucus.

Parker's campaign has accused Locke's campaign of running afoul of state and local campaign laws, which forbid coordinating campaign expenditures through third-party groups.

A separate mailer distributed last month reads "Is this image Houston wants to portray?" and features a photo of the Houston city controller in a swearing-in ceremony with her partner by her side.