[1] Commentators drew attention to the perceived sexism of McPhillips who questioned whether Parker was fit to consider family issues because she had no children of her own.
In 2003, Parker campaigned for Amendment 1 to the Alabama Constitution, a referendum which proposed, inter alia, new sources of funding for public education, a measure that was defeated at the polls.
[3][6] In 2006, Parker defeated former state Representative Perry Hooper Jr., of Montgomery for the Place 2 position on the Alabama Public Service Commission.
Though Hooper had defeated former state Senator John Amari of Trussville in the Republican primary, he lost to Parker in the general election.
[1] She had been mentioned as a possible candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Alabama in the 2010 election, but declined and instead lost her reelection bid for the Public Service Commission to Republican Terry L.