Portland Elects Openly Gay Mayor

On May 20, Commissioner Sam Adams won the mayoral election in Portland with 58% of the vote, beating 12 other candidates. During his campaign, Adams’ platform centered on improving the economy, reducing the dropout rate in public schools and preparing for population increases in the Portland area.

While blogs and news outlets have acknowledged that Adams is openly gay, and have even discussed his break-up with eleven-year partner Greg Eddie, most stories surrounding the mayoral race focused on key policy issues and debates, and not on the candidates’ orientations. The media fairly reflected the expectations of Adams, who ran "not to be a gay mayor, but a great mayor."

Earlier this month The Oregonian, which has a history of fairly representing Sam Adams, officially endorsed the candidate. In April, when Adams engaged in debates with opponent Sho Dozono, the paper discussed the two candidates' ideas for making the city bike-friendly, and contrasted the candidates’ financial histories. On May 13, the paper published an opinions piece that presented Adams as “Sam, the Garden Man.” The author discussed Adams’ nurturing commitment to both his garden and to Portland, highlighting another aspect of his identity as both as a private citizen and as a potential mayor.

In the coming months, we hope to see media outlets continue to recognize the accomplishments, policy standpoints and personal lives of openly gay candidates.  As more and more openly gay leaders are elected on the local, state and federal level, there will be increased opportunities to talk about the milestones made by openly gay politicians, but also the leadership they bring and the contributions they make to their communities.

Paul Karr is Director of Media Field Strategy