CALIFORNIA: Openly Gay Long Beach Vice Mayor Announces Mayoral Campaign

From his press release:

Dr. Robert Garcia, the Vice Mayor of Long Beach, California, has announced that he is running for Mayor in a YouTube announcement released last week. Over 5500 people have already seen the video announcement. Dr. Garcia has served on the City Council for 4 years, and was elected Vice Mayor in 2012. He is 35, a Democrat, and a professor at the University of Southern California. Dr. Garcia has led locally on numerous progressive issues and is the author of the city's Equal Benefits Ordinance, to ensure domestic partner benefits for city vendors; he authored the city's first anti-bullying policy; and named the first park in America after civil rights leader Harvey Milk. Long Beach was recognized by the Human Rights Campaign in 2012 as one of the top ten cities in the country for pro-LGBT municipal law and policy.