HOUSTON, TX – Houston Mayor Annise Parker has made it official — she is running for a second term to continue her work of improving Houston’s economy and creating jobs.

The Mayor Thursday filed the official paperwork to get on the Nov. 8 municipal election ballot. She then made her first official re-election appearance before the new class of Parker Campaign Fellows. These Fellows are young people who volunteer for the campaign but who, in a unique program, will also receive actual training on how to run a campaign.

“This is the perfect way to celebrate the start of this phase of my campaign today,” Parker told the Fellows. “The Fellows will be the legacy of our campaign. You will change the future of Houston.

Parker is completing her first two-year term in office. She has focused on creating jobs and boosting the city’s economy. Since she has been mayor, Houston has added 125,000 new jobs and saved 74,000. Forbes Magazine recently ranked Houston as the 5th best boom town in the nation.

“I want to make Houston the city that works,” said Parker. “The best thing we can do is to give business a platform to succeed.”

Parker recently won City Council approval for her Hire Houston First program, which will keep jobs in Houston and tax dollars in the local economy by giving preferences to city and local businesses on taxpayer-funded projects. By hiring local companies, local residents get jobs and they then spend their salaries with local merchants, creating a powerful multiplier effect. For example, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that every $1.00 of infrastructure spending can boost the local economy by up to $2.50.

Among her biggest achievements of her first term, the Mayor lists tackling head-on the difficult financial issues facing the city (for example, making the hard choices to create a budget that protected the jobs of police and firefighters), engaging citizens in redistricting City Council districts with the end result that no lawsuit was filed protesting the new boundaries, and changing the culture of the city bureaucracy to one that is more customer-driven.

“The city of Houston is a service organization,” the Mayor explained. “We should focus on customer service and ensure that each tax dollar is spent well and wisely.”

But Parker says that the job isn’t done. In her next term, she will continue to focus on the economy and improving the infrastructure of the city. She wants to attract cleaner, green businesses and jobs. She sees tremendous potential for Houston.

Parker has received the endorsement of many Houstonians from all over the city, including her 2009 runoff opponent Gene Locke and Former First Lady Barbara Bush.

“I love this city,” said Mayor Parker. “I am excited going to work each and every day. It is an honor to serve the citizens of Houston and I look forward to doing so in the future.”