Parker first ran for a seat in the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the
1993 Alberta general election. He ran in the electoral district of
Edmonton-Gold Bar. He was defeated finishing second last in a field of six candidates. Liberal incumbent
Bettie Hewes won the electoral district with a landslide majority. Parker became leader of the
Alberta Greens in 1996. As leader of the party he ran for office in the
1997 Alberta general election in Gold Bar for the second time. He was easily defeated by
Hugh MacDonald losing some of his previous votes and finishing second last with 97 votes. He finished just ahead of
Natural Law leader Maury Shapka. Parker stepped down as leader in 2001. ==Electoral history==