Portland Mayor Sam Adams on Friday told
the Associated
Press that he won't seek a second term.
Adams, 47, made history in 2008 when he
became the first openly gay mayor elected to run one of the 30
largest cities in the United States. Two years later, openly lesbian
Annise Parker was elected to run Houston, the nation's fourth largest
city.
But Adam's jubilation was fleeting.
Less than 2 weeks after his inauguration, the mayor was forced to
admit that he lied about a sexual relationship with a teenage boy –
Beau Breedlove, a legislative aide – during his mayoral campaign.
Adams confessed to the affair under the threat of exposure from
alternative weekly Willamette Week. Calls for his resignation
immediately followed.
Breedlove was 17 when he met Adams in
2005. Both deny a sexual relationship before Breedlove turned 18,
Oregon's age of consent.
Adams said he did not want to devote
his remaining tenure to full time fundraising.
“To run for mayor would be a tough
race,” Adams told the AP. “It would require that I spend a lot
less time on the issues and challenges Portland is facing, and I'm
not just willing to phone it in as mayor.”
Adams said legal bills stemming from
the scandal had created a financial hardship.