Though he was elected to replace outgoing mayor Tom Potter back in May 2008, Portland, Ore.’s gay mayor Sam Adams was finally sworn in earlier this month.

 

Though Adams’s sexuality never became a factor in the race, before it officially began, he was the subject of a smear campaign from a would-be rival, gay real estate developer Bob Ball.

Ball attempted to link Adams to an encounter with an underage intern -- an attempt that failed.

Portland is now the largest city in the United States with an openly gay mayor.

However, this past week, the shit hit the fan.

Now, a public statement and a confession by Portland’s first openly gay mayor says that he lied about having sex with a teenager (Beau Breedlove) is dividing this famously progressive city, as well as its gay community.

 The 45-year-old Adams admitted to an alternative newspaper, Willamette Week, that he lied during his election campaign when he denied having sex in 2005 with a teenage male who was a legislative intern.

At a news conference this past week, Adams apologized for lying - and for asking the young man to lie - and left open the possibility that he could resign if doing so would be in the city’s best interests.

 

Since then, pressure has mounted on the Democrat to do just that.

Four newspapers have called for Adams to step down, including Just Out and the city’s major daily, The Oregonian. Willamette Week said Thursday that it has not taken a stand.



Read more about the relationship and the expose'