Portland, Oregon has elected it's first
openly gay mayor – and the first to run one of the 30 largest
cities in the United States. City Commissioner Sam Adams won a
majority vote (59% with 97% of the votes counted) over several
opponents in a mail-only primary, The Oregonian newspaper
reported.
Adams, a Democrat, was endorsed in his
bid by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a group committed to
increasing the number of openly GLBT elected officials at all levels
of government.
A first-term city commissioner, Adams
said he was shocked by the results. In a morning press conference
where he discussed his victory call from former mayor Vera Katz,
under whom he served 11 years as Chief of Staff, he said, “I talked
to her at about 7:30, and she's like, 'WOW 58 percent. Can you
believe it?' I'm like, no I can't believe it. She's like,
'congratulations mayor elect'. And I said, that sounds so bizarre
coming from you, but thank you.”
Sexual orientation appeared to be a
non-issue in local media coverage.
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund
President & CEO Chuck Wolfe said, “In Oregon, fairness has won
the day. [The election of Sam Adams as mayor] means that people who
are openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender can also be seen as
capable, committed leaders whose sexual orientation or gender
identity is less important than what they plan to do for their
communities. That's a step towards full equality we want to
replicate across America.”
The Victory Fund has endorsed 60
candidates so far in 2008. Currently, over 400 openly GLBT elected
officials serve in the US Government, reports The Victory Fund.
Sam Adams will remain mayor-elect until
January 1, 2009.