No Gay Mayor For Dallas

Openly gay Dallas mayoral candidate Ed Oakley lost today in that city's runoff election, defeated by retired businessman Tom Leppert. Surprising poll workers, today's runoff seems to have had higher turnout than last month's general election. Oakley, who is CFO of a company that owns several Dallas gay bars, called Leppert late today to concede and congratulate him on his win.

Despite Oakley's loss, the election was a notable landmark in LGBT politics because neither candidate made Oakley's sexuality a major issue. However, early in the month Oakley did say that he suspected that Leppert's campaign had prior awareness of an anti-gay phone campaign launched by the right-wing Heritage Alliance. Leppert denied knowing of the phone campaign and publicly called for its end. This was the most expensive mayoral campaign in Dallas history with over $5 million spent by all candidates. Oakley's campaign was supported in part by the Victory Fund, who issued a statement congratulating him on his historic campaign.

The First Gay Mayor Of A Major U.S. City?

Dallas' openly gay mayoral candidate Ed Oakley is in the final stretch of his campaign as the city prepares for next week's runoff election. Will Oakley become the first openly gay mayor of a major American city? Current polls show the candidates in a dead heat.

The Victory Fund, which supports LGBT candidates nationwide, has issued a letter thanking Oakley supporters in advance and saying that his campaign is an "amazing statement about our progress, and we should take a moment to reflect on and appreciate where we are. We don’t do that often enough."