Police To Investigate Portland Mayor Sam Adams Over Relationship With Staffer

The situation for Portland's openly gay mayor Sam Adams has gotten more dire, as the state attorney general has begun a police investigation into his relationship with his then teenage staffer.

Oregon's attorney general has agreed to investigate Portland Mayor Sam Adams, who has admitted he lied to cover up an affair with a teenager in 2005. Adams took office this month, making Portland the largest U.S. city with an openly gay mayor. On Tuesday, he admitted he lied when he denied having sex with Beau Breedlove. Adams says the relationship began after Breedlove turned 18, Oregon's legal age of consent. Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer and Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk asked Attorney General John Kroger for an investigation. Kroger issued a statement Wednesday agreeing to look into "matters pertaining to Portland Mayor Sam Adams that have recently come to public attention."

Support for Adams has withered even in the gay community, with the local gay paper calling for his resignation.

Headed by publisher Marty Davis, Just Out newsmagazine is asking that Portland mayor Sam Adams resign from office. By his own admission, by committing the act of lying to the citizens of Portland, Adams has failed to show the principled character that this publication feels is a basic requirement for an elected official. Just Out acknowledges that over his two decades as a public servant Adams has risen to become one of Oregon’s most revered openly gay leaders. This publication has long admired Adams’ vision, his intelligence and his tenacity. Ultimately we have concluded that these qualities cannot overcome the weakness revealed in Adams’ recent admission.

Adams’ apology of yesterday, including specific reference to the gay community, while sincere, is not enough. The bond of trust and confidence has been broken. Adams has previously stated his hope that gay and lesbian youth might one day look to him as a role model and example. His own actions have now rendered this implausible. Adams must resign his seat as Portland’s mayor.

And just to ramp up the prurient interest in the case, gay porn site Unzipped (NSFW) has published a series of beefcake photos it harvested from the MySpace page of the staffer in question, Beau Breedlove.On Tuesday, Breedlove issued this statement:

The past day of news coverage regarding my brief 2005 relationship with Mayor Sam Adams has been stressful, to say the least. I would like to publicly apologize to those who were negatively affected by my mishandling of the situation during the 2007 mayoral campaign. Reflecting back, I regret misleading anyone about the nature of the relationship. When the subject first surfaced during the campaign, I was living out of state and I did not anticipate the impact it might have on Portland’s mayoral campaign. While my first instinct was to tell the truth, I also wanted to protect Sam Adams' reputation, considering our valuable friendship.

Sam Adams has always been a positive influence and a friend to me. He has many outstanding qualities to bring to his position as mayor of the city of Portland, and I wish nothing but the best for him. I hope this subject can ultimately be put to rest, and I sincerely believe in Sam Adams and what he can do for the city of Portland as mayor. Again, I truly apologize to those were affected by my mishandling of the situation in 2007.

Sincerely,
Beau Breedlove