Javier Gonzalez was elected mayor of
Santa Fe on Tuesday.
The 47-year-old Gonzalez, a father of
two young daughters, came out gay over the summer in an op-ed posted
on the website of Familia es Familia, an organization which works to
“build support among Latino communities for acceptance of gay and
lesbian family members.”
“I stand before you humbled. I stand
before you standing on the shoulders of people like Mayor Coss and my
father and so many who have been before in this position to say that
I am ready to accept that responsibility and the honor of being your
mayor,” Gonzalez
told jubilant supporters, referring to outgoing Mayor David Coss
and Mayor George Gonzales, his father who served one term as mayor in
the early 70s.
Gonzalez, a former Santa Fe County
commissioner and state Democratic Party chairman, currently serves on
the Board of Regents for New Mexico State University and is a vice
president of a commercial property company.
Gonzalez will preside over a City
Council which includes two openly gay women.