Portland: Largest US city with openly gay mayor

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Portland, Oregon became the largest city in the United States with an openly gay mayor Thursday as a longtime City Hall insider took the oath of office. Sam Adams, 45, was sworn into office at 12:01 a.m. New Year's Day at City Hall during a ceremony attended by a crowd of about 40 that included his mother and his partner. Adams won the job to lead the liberal northwestern city of about 575,000 people seven months ago in a primary race by capturing 58 percent of the vote, making a runoff election unnecessary. None of Adams' opponents raised the issue of his sexuality in the race. Neither did he. "This is a testament to how fair-minded Portlanders are that it wasn't an issue," Adams said. "I spend my time on the basic issues of life. A part of that includes equal rights, but that's not even close to a majority of the time."