Carole Keeton Strayhorn (born September 13, 1939; Carole McClellan and Carole Rylander in earlier marriages) is the former Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Elected to the comptroller's post in 1998 as a Republican, Strayhorn ran as an independent candidate for Texas governor against Republican incumbent James Richard "Rick" Perry in 2006. She lost the November general election to Perry and placed third in a six-way race, with 18 percent.
Strayhorn is notable for several "firsts" in Austin and Texas politics. She is the first woman elected as mayor of Austin and the first Austin mayor elected to three consecutive terms. She was the first woman elected to the Texas Railroad Commission and the first woman elected as comptroller. She also was the first woman to serve as president of the Austin school board and as president of the Austin Community College board.
In May 2009, Strayhorn lost her campaign for Mayor of Austin.
Read more about Carole Keeton Strayhorn: Family, Early Political Career, Comptroller, Gubernatorial Campaign, Partisan Affiliations