It’s that time of the week, when Queerty takes a break from the opinion-making and puts you, the readers, in charge. Each Friday, we invite you to be the pundit on a hot-button question facing the LGBT community and its allies. As always, we expect people to be respectful and considerate of others by refraining from personal attacks. We present the information, you make the decision.
It’s been a hard and fast fall for newly-elected Portland Mayor Sam Adams. After denying rumors that he had an affair with 18-year-old legislative intern Beau Breedlove throughout his mayoral run, even going so far as to call the rumors a “smear campaign,” it turns out that — whoops– it was all true. The water has been further muddled since Adams had hired the reporter who had been investigating his involvement with Breedlove. The mayor has now spent the week apologizing for the mistake and spinning it as an error in judgment, but that hasn’t stopped the parade of calls for his resignation.
The Portland Tribune, the Oregonian and gay Portland paper Just Out have all called for Adams to step down.
There are three separate issues to consider here: The first is the inappropriate sexual relationship; there’s nothing illegal about having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old, but to do so with someone who you were mentoring shows a poor judgment. Secondly, the mayor lied about the affair throughout the campaign. And third, Adams hired the reporter investigating the affair, which in light of this week’s news, can’t help but seem like a political favor.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
That said, politicians and sex scandals are like peanut butter and jelly and it’s an open question if Sam Adams has done anything illegal. He certainly has violated the public trust, but so did, oh– Bill Clinton.
We put it to you: Should Sam Adams resign?
Christian
Yes. But for lying and general bone-headedness, not because he slept with another adult.
damien
Yes.
because he lied.
He didn’t “twist the truth.”
He didn’t “dodge the question.”
He lied.
Also (and this is very selfish of me), but his actions aren’t exactly helping the reputation of the gay community.
JNunzio
If we didn’t hold our president to that standard, how can we hold a mayor to it? Sure, lying throughout his campaign was wrong and deceiptful, and he is going to have to do wonders for the city to get re-elected. But he should NOT step down.
Wolf
NO he shouldn’t.
There is REALLY so much more to this story other thna the three talking points thats hit upon in this posting. But to answer your points:
The first is the inappropriate sexual relationship; there’s nothing illegal about having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old, but to do so with someone who you were mentoring shows a poor lack of judgment.
IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IT WAS A LACK OF POOR JUDGEMENT AND HE SHOULDN;T BE JUDGED FOR IT. IT WAS A CONSENTING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 2 ADULTS. AND WE SHOULD NPOT BE JUDGING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE AND SHOULD HAVE REMAINED PRIVATE BETWEEN BREEDLOVE AND ADAMS. THE ONLY REASON IT EVER CAME TO LIGHT WAS BECAUSE BOB BALL STARTED A WHISPER CAMPAIGN TO DESTROY ADAMS WHEN BALL WAS CONSIDERING RUNNING FOR MAYOR AGAINST ADAMS. IF THERE WAS ANY BAD JUDGEMENT IT SHOULD FOCUSED ON THAT TACKY QUEEN BALL.
Secondly, the mayor lied about the affair throughout the campaign.
WHERE NOT THE BEST MOVE IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE. IF HE SAID YES THE SAME FALLOUT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED AND BALL WOULD HAVE HAD AN OPEN RUN AT MAYOR. (a POSITION THAT BALL WAS TOTALLY UNQUALIFIED FOR) AND IF ADAMS SAID “NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS” THE MEDIA WOULD HAVE JUMPED ON THAT AS A CONFESS OF “GUILT” WHEN THERE REALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN NONE. NO ONE KNOWS IF SAM LIED TO SAVE HIS OWN SKIN OR PERHAPS HE LEIED TO SHEILD BREEDLOVE. BUT REGARDLESS THE QUESTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ASKED AND ADAMS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN HOUNDED. HE MADE A MISTAKE AND LIED. ALL HUMANS BEINGS DO IT.
Adams hired the reporter investigating the affair, which in light of this week’s news, can’t help but seem like a political favor
ADAMS DIDN’T HIRE HER. SOMEONE IN THE MAYORS OFFICE DID. (TOM MILLER) PERHAPS HE THOUGHT THEY WERE DOING ADAMS A FAVOR. AND THE REPORTER IN QUESTION WAS HIRED 2 YEARS AFTER THE STORY DRIED UP AND DIED AND GHAD MOVED ON AND THERE WAS NO MEDIA INVESTIGATION GOING ON AT THE TIME.
So before the jump to judgement and call for Sam’s resignation get ALL the facts everybody
Wolf
http://www.back2stonewall.com
Christian
What happened to “All’s fair in love and war”?
Paul Raposo
Should Sam Adams Resign?
Of course.
If Breedlove wasn’t a teenager, then I’d give Adams the benefit of the doubt. But if he really expects us to believe he waited until the boy was legal before sleeping with him, then he must really think his voters are stupid. Plus, he ruined another politician’s–who is gay–career by denouncing his allegations as lies.
On top of that–for all we know Breedlove was a pretty together kid. Adams and his crew have probably turned him into yet another jaded queen, by making him lie about who he is and what he did.
Every life Adams has touched has turned to shit.
Cole
He should resign.
Stevious
No. Give me a break, keep out of his bedroom.
daniel k
He should not resign. He should take steps from here on to regain to trust of his constituents with full transparency though. He used poor judgement but did nothing illegal. (Unless it is proved the kid was underage during the trist)
Michael W.
Cat shouldn’t have lied. These politicians need some balls.
Me, I would’ve just been like, “Yeah, I fucked him. I mean have you seen him? He’s a hot piece of ass and he wouldn’t stop sweating my distinguished older man swagger; of course I gave him the cock. But he was 17 when I first peeped that so I spent about a year pretending the back of my boyfriend’s head was his til he turned 18, then I smashed. How do you like it?”
And then Michael W. is elected by a landslide as the new brutally honest gay mayor of Portland who got some young butt. From there it’s governor of Oregon and eventually the White House.
That’s how it’s done. Sam Adams didn’t get the memo.
rsquared
It’s up to his constituents to decide whether they want him to continue governing or not.
Bill in PDX
Yes, I am sorry but we have many qualified people in this city and his credibility is shot. This is for the voters of PDX to decide not a queerty forum. I only know of one person here who really wants him to stay. The hiring of the reporter is still highly suspect and manipulating the young man to lie was spiritual abuse. I am more in line with Sam than Robt Ball politically but the the rumor that underage sex did happen was rife and a concern to others. Sam was in office not even a year before he chased young tail and fed into the right wing nuttery about GLBT folks being predators. Ball is a successful developer and a philanthropist not just some tacky bitter queen–jeebus people. I hit Wolfe’s link–Ohio based blog–this is our mayor– not the worlds–we decide–and our gay community is mostly sad, angry and disgusted. I repeat–it is really not about the sex–if Sam was truthful and the kid was Proven 18 –he would have won anyway. Ball is not progressive enough for us and never really had a shot at elected office but Sam slandered him; made the kid lie and ran ads decrying the homophobia that he would have sex with a teenager though he did and then hired an unqualified reporter for a job that at minimum required a masters in urban planning because she had discovered the truth possibly–just YUCK!
Jheryn
I think he should resign. After having read all I can find on the matter, I have three reasons.
First. He lied about the affair instead of owning up. Maybe the question was not appropriate, but it was posed none-the-less. Someone above said that if we don’t hold our own president to it why should we do so here? Well, I believe that congress impeached President Clinton for lying. He was not impeached for sleeping with an intern. Another poster said that all human beings lie. That may be true, but it doesn’t make it right. I detest justifications like that. Just because humans lie doesn’t mean that we should just look the other way when it happens. I don’t want to be lied to and I am sure the poster that tried to make a justification for lying wouldn’t want people lying to him either. For no other reason than this, I personally believe he should step down.
Second. I wholeheartedly agree with the poster above that his action does not exactly help the gay communities’ reputation. I live in the Midwest and most of the backward conservatives that live here think all gay men are pedophiles anyway. Breedlove may be an adult, but just barely. I don’t believe for a second that Adams waited to have sex with him until after he was 18. What did Sam mark it on the calendar so he knew when he could do the kid? Please.
Third. The relationship is inappropriate in my opinion. There was a superior/subordinate relationship. It was also a relationship exposed to the public eye. It wasn’t like a boss having an affair with his secretary in a small company that no one would ever know or care about. This was a high profile, public personality engaging in sexual activity with a MUCH younger person whom he was supposed to be teaching and mentoring. I don’t care if they are both adults or not, the public relationship between the two made the private relationship look scandalous and inappropriate in everyone’s eyes. Gay or straight.
Sean
First, I want to state that this was not an affair it was a friend with benefits situation if you really think about it. Neither one was in a committed relationship at the time and no grieving partner was hurt in this scenario except the one guy who found out inadvertently that Adams was seeing other people besides him. But Adams has said he was single at the time. I therefore want to say that this should not be called an “affair” but a mutual sexual relationship. However, it does look funny given the timeline as to when they got “together” just days after the 18th birthday.
Second, the true question Adams needs to ask himself is whether or not he can be effective as mayor given the controversy. If he feels he cannot then he needs to stand aside. Mayor Gavin Newsom had a much more serious situation in his office where he was having an affair with not only his chief of staff’s wife but also an employee of his administration. Breedlove did not work for Adams and therefore was not subject to this scrutiny. Mayor Newsom is still in office and recently got reelected after seeking alcoholism treatment and getting remarried. If Newsom can whether a storm closer to his effectiveness as mayor, then Adams should be given the same chance with something that occurred consensually 3 years before he even got into the office.
Chitown Kev
Adams should only resign if he did anything other than lie about this relationship. For example, if there was a quid pro quo with the reporter who was investigating the story. Or if Breedlove was under 18, that would be against the law (Although I do believe the age of consent should be lowered, personally.)
From reading all of these opinions about Adams, it almost has the impression of a parent that slaps a misbehaving child on the back of the head in the grocery store: it’s less about what the kid did and more about the fact that the parent is embarrassed in public.
Get a grip!
Marky Mark
Yes because he lied about it. Very simple.
ajax
Yes, he should resign and he should sit in a corner with John Edwards. Two useless morons.
And, Japhy, a littl editorial note: Mr. Adams showed a lack of judgement, or he showed poor judgement. He didn’t show a lack of poor judgement. He showed very poor judgement. You’ve constructed a double negative and obscured your sentence’s intent.
James
If the mayors of San Francisco and Los Angeles didn’t have to resign after their own recent affairs became public, why should Sam Adams? Is it because he asked Breedlove to lie? Didn’t the LA and SF mayors lie to cover their tracks at the time as well? Didn’t the LA mayor’s cheating partner also run favorable stories on the mayor she was sleeping with? She lost her job, but he didn’t. If no laws were broken, then the public has the right to vote out Adams when they have the chance or if they are able to recall him; otherwise, leave him alone for getting laid.
Dunkman
He lied specifically because he was afraid that he would lose the election if he told the truth, which means he defrauded the voters. He lied repeatedly in the meeting with the Willamette newspaper until they showed him the ample evidence that he was not telling the truth. Of course he should resign. BTW, if he had admitted it, said consensual sex was nobody’s business, Adam would probably have won the election.
PearlsBeforeSwine
I am not a Portland resident, so this is largely not my concern. But it puts me in mind of the scandal the mayor of my own city faced. He used to go on booty calls and drug runs taking along his security detail. He was pretty much flipping off the authorities (or was it a cry for help?) and was eventually brought down by an FBI sting operation in which he was caught on tape buying drugs.
He was an enormous corrupting influence on the city, since in his administration, advancement was not due to competence, but rather willingness stay loyal to the administration and to further his coverup. This is particularly true of the police department and the city had a very high crime rate at this time.
When arrested, he claimed he was being brought down because of his race, and that he was being prosecuted for things that white politicians did all of the time and yet were not punished for.
When I read about many affairs Sam Adams has had, his hiring the reporters who were investigating him (and if it was his staff doing the hiring that seems more corrupt to me), and his ignoring the warnings of impropriety in dating a 17 year old (going on 18), there seems to be a whiff of Marion Barry about the situation. Of course, Marion Barry was our mayor for many years, Sam Adams has been there just a few weeks.
Erick
No.
Allegedly, the young man in question was 18 so there is no crime and whatever relationship they entered was entirely their business and nobody elses. On that grounds, Adams has the right to say whether the relationship happened or not because it is his private life, even if he had to lie about it. Unless there are specific rules about relationships with staffers, in other places of the world this would have been dropped. Again, this to me is about hypocritical puritanical “moral” standards that have absolutely nothing to do with his ability to do his job.
If the residents of Portland elected him inspite of the evident rumours, then maybe they really dont care. If this was between a man a woman, they would not be calling for his resignation.
Honesly, I would have more of a problem if he actually gave a job to an unqualified reporter just to kill a story about it than about the affair itself, for public official that is really unacceptable.
As long as there is nothing illegal and is doing a competent job, a public official can do whatever it wants with his or her life.
Nick11
No. Who the fuck cares what he does with his dick? Yeah he didn’t deal with it well, but really please isn’t there something else more important to be talking about?
BrianZ
I loooooove reading all the posts saying he should resign. They crack me up.
Oh yea, he lied: So many of ya’ll are quick to excuse the lies of other politicians when it suits you … why not Sam? I don’t condone the behavior, but let’s keep some perspective, shall we?
There (to my knowledge) has been no criminal charges filed against him. Hell, he wasn’t even cheating on a spouse. He sure isn’t the first politician to lie, won’t be the last. And if you happen to be the rare bird that hasn’t played the field, fine, speak up. The rest of you tricksters really should pipe down a bit.
I’d think the queer community would be some of the first to remind others to stay the hell out of what goes on in another person’s bedroom! Yet here we are, getting the snatch in a twist over something that, at the root of it, is none of our damned business.
#17 – You would do well to spend as much time proofing your own posts. When have you ever witnessed a sentence with intent to anything?
Tara-In PDX
No, he should not resign.Several reasons I do not want to go into but as this is a queer bored I want to touch on two that were brought up here. People say “Yes he should because it was inappropriate.” to that I say get out of my bedroom.
The question should never have been asked. We need to send a message that legal sex is not something that needs to be aired out, especially not in an attempt by Ball to start rumors. This leads to number 2. He lied.
He should never have been asked. I think he should have said no comment. I would tell him as much if I ever spoke to him about it. In the end though it was none of my business. It has NOTHING to do with his job as mayor.
STAY OUT OF OUR BEDROOMS!
flightoftheseabird
This is the most absurd story I have read in a while. AS far as I can tell nothing illegal happened here. A guy had sex with another adult male, nothing illegal there. He lied about it, and lying is not illegal unless one is under oath. He probably did this because of the stigma attached to an “older” guy sleeping with someone younger. If he were straight and Beau was Belle, this would not even be a story. The only even questionable (though still not illegal) is the hiring of the reporter, but if Wolf above is correct, then it wasn’t like this story was even active. So again, who cares. The bottom line is HE ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT RESIGN! If Portland wants to recall him, they can. Otherwise there is an election in 4 years. Move along Betty, nothing to see here.
Tara-In PDX
@Bill in PDX: Bitter queen hu? I have a feeling I have seen you posting elsewhere as Mature Bill? If so then I have seen the kind of things you have been posting. You keep using rhetoric and repeating bullet points incorrectly in a very Faux News way.
Seriously, you seem to have hated Adams before all of this.
Andre from pdx
No he shouldn’t. This has caused so much attention because there are those who never wanted him in power at all because of his sexuality, and secondly this is just another jab at the gays in general.
Tara-In PDX
There will be a rally in front of City Hall in Portland today at 5:30 in support of Mayor Adams.
This country is founded on Innocent Until Proven Guilty. If Adams committed a crime, then fine, but until it is proven he is still my Mayor!
The media is not our judge!
Honest
NO! NO! NO!
Sam Adams should STAY in office. He did nothing wrong. Adams and Breedlove should have never been asked in the first place about their adult relationship. They mislead because of anti-gay reaction just like this.
boho
Sam needs to go.
Honest
SUPPORT SAM ADAMS NOW!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50322061015
Rally in Sam Adams support at City Hall today at 5:30pm
tavdy79
It doesn’t matter what he lied about – the fact that he lied is the problem. He needs to go.
Tara-In PDX
@tavdy79: Ok So if your boss asks you about your sex life and you lie then you deserve to be fired?
You I am sure have lied at some point, then you should never run for office?
Inappropriate questions should not have to be answered. At worst it was bad judgment from a man who knows how hard it is to be an out politician.
So lest crucify him for one mistake a few years back after only 3 weeks on the job.
Yeah,
That makes total sense.
flightoftheseabird
@tavdy79: Lying is not a crime. Unless it is under oath. He has never lied under oath. He has no way defrauded the voters, he lied about having sex with an 18 year old adult. Can we get over ourselves here?
Bill
I volunteer with youths. Even if he did not have sex with the youth until the youth was 18, Adams’ relationship with the 17 year old was still highly inappropriate and unprofessional. If I had done what the now mayor did I would be asked immediately to leave the programs and for good reason – especially if I had met a youth during a work function (like Adams did). Sam Adams should resign immediately.
Bob
He needs to go. He’s entirely dishonest, and is going to taint all other gay politicians by staying in office.
Lyndon Evans
Gay or straight, these are exactly the kind of people that give politics it’s dirty name and why (cost aside) most honest and reputable citizens what nothing to do with politics. Whether it’s the local school board or higher office. Years ago some folks wanted me to get involved in my local politics. I said thanks, but no thanks. And yes, if he has any concern for his City, let alone self-respect, he should leave office.
Tara-In PDX
@Bill: Supposition Much?
You have an opinion, great, the reality if the law.
Deal with it.
@Bob: How exactly will he “taint” them
@Lyndon Evans: No, what gives politics its dirty name is that salacious bits of gossip are somehow relevant to his job.
Bill Perdue
No. Their relationship would have been perfectly legal in many states.
We should push for a uniform and probably lower age of consent across the US. I’m not talking lower as in NAMBLA or the archdiocese of Boston’s versions of lower, but a reasonable law that acknowledges puberty. We want to insist that any discussion take into account the views of GLBT teens and youth.
Harsh penalties should be established for forced polygamous marriages and to deter the predations of cult priests, rabbis and ministers.
In Europe the countries that have most recently changed their laws are setting it at 14 with one at 13 and a couple adopting 15. Most are former soviet bloc states or members of the Warsaw Pact. Vatican City’s is the lowest at 12, and it’s law is known to some as the altar boy special.
flightoftheseabird
@Bill Perdue: This is true, if they had sex in Vancouver, WA it would have been legal if Beau was 16. But as soon as they cross the river into Portland, than 18.
Jersey
No he shouldn’t resign. I really don’t have a problem with him lying about this subject to a reporter, it wasn’t under oath during some investigation, and the relationship wasn’t illegal or with a subordinate.
Bill in PDX
@Tara-In PDX:
I am a happy well adjusted guy acually with a very good life– bitter not. No I do not like Sam but agree politically on a lot of issues and this whole thing is just tacky and sad and a lot of people I know agree. I am not a faux news watcher so can’t critique that=–it is my right to ask him to resign name calling is not helpful to your cause and I am not this mature Bill either– you are the one with issues, my dear because you are making this personal.
Swellster
@Tara-In PDX:
Of course he shouldn’t resign. So what if he lied.
I’ll take it a step further. He earned the right to lie. What he really should have said is “It’s none of your business who I am sleeping with.” Given that answer would not have been accepted, then he earned the right to lie. Why do we have to answer a question truthfully that should have never been asked in the first place?
Tara-In PDX
@Bill in PDX: I am not sure where you get the idea I was calling you names. I misunderstood part of you OP and was raising a question about it.
Your bias is showing, and hey that’s fine you can have your opinion, however you need to learn not to state your opinion as fact. You share a similar writing style and name with another commenter, so I asked, notice I did not assume, I asked.
I never said you have issues.
What is tacky and sad is that this was ever brought up in the first place. Unless there is evidence of a crime these kinds of questions and rumors are disgusting.
Please defend that one.
Tara-In PDX
@Swellster: Uh, I agree with you 1000%?
heh.
D.B.
Yes, he should probably go. Not for the sex, but for what his lies say about his character.
(Everybody lies sometimes, but this was a big public lie — a lie that didn’t need to happen, and one that will reflect badly on the whole LGBT community. )
LarryPDX
Sam should definitely NOT resign.
I challenge any gay man to say they have never lied about sex.
Portland doesn’t need to know if Sam ever had sex with an 18 year old as it isn’t relevant to his job. Saying he should be fired for not telling the truth about everyone he’s ever had sex with is ridiculous!
There will be an investigation to see if the two men had a sexual relationship when Beau was underage. If it turns out they did, then Sam committed an illegal act and he will be prosecuted. In the absence of anything illegal he should not resign.
Sam has been a long time gay rights supporter and does all of us proud by being an out politician.
It is extremely reactionary of Just Out to call for his resignation so quickly. Clearly they want to appear unbiased and not blindly supporting a gay politician. Well, he’s supported Just Out and the community for years. Now he needs our support! Again, no illegal act was committed. Does Just Out feel we should all resign from our jobs if we don’t answer every embarassing question we’ve ever been asked about who we had sex with?
Apple in PDX
@rsquared:
We don’t want him to resign. See:
http://samisstillmymayor.blogspot.com/
I actually don’t blame him for lying about the relationship. For one, he didn’t do anything wrong so he shouldn’t have been questioned about the relationship in the first place, and for two, the young man he slept with was an up-and-coming politician. Adams obviously didn’t want people to think that Breedlove got to where he was because he slept with the mayor.
I’ll be at his support rally. See you on the news; I’ll be in the back waving at you guys! 😉
Apple in PDX
Funny story:
My housemate is buying a camera and just got a phone call from the seller. She asked him if they could meet at the pro-Adams rally. XD
Everybody watch the news tonight. You’re about to see how much Portland loves its mayor.
Miley Crisis
When are politicians gonna wake up and smell the Joan Allen and emulate her in The Contender.
When asked if you had sex with someone you say…
“It is none of your business.”
end of story.
alan brickman
He shouldn’t resign haven’t staright politicians committed the same error..and does resigning play into the hands of the haters?..harvey Milk hads lots of “indiscretions” too…he wouldn’t resign…
alan brickman
sex scandals are so tired…
Seth
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Who the fuck cares who he sleeps with? Stay out of his bedroom! Would you want him to resign if he lied about how he ties his shoes?
He didn’t break ANY laws- PERIOD
U all that want him to resign are just jealous that Beau wouldnt sleep with you- Cause he’s hot:
http://gawker.com/5136726/portland-mayors-lover-might-as-well-be-porn-star
=)
Bill in PDX
@Seth:
I don’t do teenagers— not since I was one–explain to me in a way that I will believe how amy ruiz got a 55k job she had NO qualifications for after dogging him on that story and then the rag she wrote for says nothing to see here yet the WW got an earful.
This is all not OK and it just stinks and I think this is not going to play out well
I do not care about other cities or mayors or scandals or whether the boy was an adult etc Sam handled this badly and I am unhappy and that is that…….
I want to be proud of my city and this is tainted.
Mister C
I’ll say this. Let Sam Adams stay in office if the people of Portland wants him to stay then so be it.
But keep in mind my people of the LGBTQ Community we want our share of the rights that are ours to have in total equality. Well guess what The RELIGIOUS Right is going to have a field day with this. We can scream “stay out of my bedroom” all you want.
But you can bet your bottom dollar defeating marriage equality just got a big boost from Mayor Sam Adams of Portland because this will be one of the biggest ads all around this country to use AGAINST US!
Mark my words kids. This will come back to haunt us!
Now from a Gay snarky perspective. Damn Queen was stupid for trying to play TOP with a 18 yr old. She should have been slapped for that. I believe it was a simple case of Pay to play with a touch of domination involved.
BAD GIRL MISS ADAMS!
Mister C
Remember Portland can protect him and they should if they feel so. But his indiscretions will cause the Gays alot of harm outside of his beloved Portland!
BAD GIRL MISS ADAMS!
sparkle obama
some of you gays make me laugh.
substitute “obama” for “adams” in this story and…
you trash are too narcissistic!
sparkle obama
ps
i guess some of you didn’t get the memo:
we are supposed to step up our game this year and do better!
gay is good, but some fags need to quit!
between this story & the DC pig party & all the DC ritual drug s&m murders…
oh honey –
let’s try to be like the obamas & be positive role models for our communities.
think of the children & show a little class, girls!
Bill Perdue
It’s interesting that some of the most odius Obamadolators are leading the lynch mob to punish gay people for having gay sex.
Just like they lined up to excuse Obamas bigotry regarding same sex marraige. It’s just another confirmation of their rightwing ideology.
Gail Peebles
I don’t think that Mayor Adams should have to resign. You show me a man, gay or straight that doesn’t lie about sex. Okay? Show me just one. It doesn’t mean that he can’t be a good mayor and that he is dishonest and will lie about other things. Bill Clinton was a great president and he lied about sex … but it was no one’s business … just as this is no one’s business. The people of Portland, Oregon have spoken, they voted, and Sam Adams was made our Mayor … now just hush up and grow up and let him do his job.
Scott
No. I wouldn’t want my job endangered for doing something that wasn’t illegal so if he has to resign then others in America should. I might lie too about something that’s none of my employer’s business. I’m more concerned about the many people who are victims of incest/rape. I’m sure that there are plenty of politicians who’ve lied about their personal lives and made “immoral” decisions. Statistically speaking the straight community is rife with it. I consider the “shock and awe” campagin in Iraq to be immoral, possibly illegal, and now the previous admin won’t even be investigated. Bush/Cheney lied so Sam Adams deserves the same pass.
Homo Politico
Adams having sex with an 18 year old intern is a lapse of judgment. Lying about it during the campaign is a lapse of ethics. We elect people, in part, based on the quality of their judgment and ethics.
Holding elected people to higher standards is aspirational, if unrealistic. As Americans we continually set ourselves up for this kind of disappointment
Had Adams revealed the truth about this relationship during the campaign would he have been elected? Probably not. Would that have been better for the LGBT community in the long run? Time will tell.
Don’t resign Mayor Adams if you broke no laws. Acknowledge and learn from your errors, apologize, and move on.
Leslie
No way. When did lying disqualify a politician from office? His problem? He did not handle lying as well as we expect from our politicians. He should not and cannot be barred from office for lying about a sexual relationship. Straight or gay, Americans are so immature about anything having to do with sex. A violation of public trust?! Someone making a big deal out of a politician’s sex life should be the target of a public outcry.
Ed
he’s an idiot, but no, he should not resign.
Ali
Why was it anyone’s business to start with? Who cares? That should have been his response. And second, he should have known better – he’s a politician, first of all, and a gay politician, second of all. America loves nothing better than gleeful details of gay sex scandals from supposedly straight politicians – why would an openly gay politician expect anything different?
Sam Adams should move on but going forward, find a better way of deflecting prurient hysteria than lying.
todd
Just go to rehab and come out shiny and new!
Stephen Weiss
When he decides to bomb some other city and lie to his town’s residents about it, maybe then he should resign. When he embezzles money from the town coffers to hire a bunch of prostitutes, then he should resign. He had sex with an 18 year old? God bless him, I wish *I* could catch some barely legal thing in a fling. That almost makes him seem like he must have *some* good qualities about him – that’s not easy to do. He lied about sex? Oh geez, a score of Republicans and Democrats from all over the country at all levels of government haven’t done *that* before. For christ’s sake America, let’s focus on the problems we’re actually having.
Andrew
No, the Mayor should not reason. Fuck, I wish I got to hook up with my silver-fox mayor when I was a college freshman! How dare people portray this 18 year old as a MAN incapable of making his own decisions. Newsom cheated on his wife with his best-friend’s girlfriend, and no one called for his resignation on that note! And who are we to question another man’s bedroom habits? I don’t care if he’s the neighbor, the mayor, or my surgeon, that’s his bedroom and those are his choices. We don’t elected people because we expect their cocks to make “normal” decisions. Sam Adams violated some cultural norms and now people are raising hell. I guess he must have the founders rolling over in their graves on this one. God forbid someone do something that’s “taboo,” as a politician and think they can get away with it.
I only wish they made a video – these two look hot.
fatty cupcake
Resign. He has lost the public’s trust. Once, that’s gone…it’s all down here; (ex: Illinois governor).
ceazer
YES He should absolutely resign. He is a pedophile !
Lynda
Yes, He should resign. He has let down everyone who supported him (gay and straight)and should honorable resign. What is this business about not reporting to work and staying home to “think about it”? Beyond obnoxious and demonstrates little stamina for enduring public pressure.
jababe
Should he resign? Shit…they have Blago on TAPE and he STILL refuses to resign. I thought this was supposed to be the new era of Dems with balls who never say die. Adams needs to take a page out of Clinton, Obama, Burris, and yes even Blago’s book that Dems will NOT be shrinking violets anymore. Yes, Blago may be a stretch, but honestly we need to start realizing there will always be attempts to derail true progressives, and we need to start supporting our candidates even during the tough times. No one is perfect, and as long as he didn’t force himself on the young man, HE DID NOTHING WRONG. Larry Craig didn’t resign so why the HELL should he? So what if it is embarrasing and uncomfortable for awhile? He should stay and prove his worth to his constituents by staying and doing a fabulous job. It’s just SEX people!
ceazer
@jababe: “So what if it is uncomfortable for a while?” Are you kidding me? The guy is a pedophile. Why is it that we in the gay community always excuse pedophilia? Thats just sick!
Alfredo Munoz
Check out the dude’s photo.All his corners sharply pressed square to center and him eliciting that insecure narcissism that states I’m special and not guilty of anything.You can see the tangential flash of his pupils surreptitiously monitoring the perimeter discerning for the slightest signs of reproof to his postured images.This twit begs accountability.It is up to the gay community to have the courage to take him to task for his foibles.
DrViper2006
ЗдеÑÑŒ вы найдете много вÑего оÑекÑе
Много девушек и полезной информации о доÑуге, Ñаунах и других развлечениÑÑ…
Duke
If a 42 year old (at the time) male public official has an affair with an 18 year old female intern he should resign. Why would it be any different if they’re both men?
flightoftheseabird
@ceazer: So now having sex with a legal adult makes you pedophile? Why not ban sex altogether? We can all “save ourselves” for god. The age of consent in this country is ridiculously high. If you are old enough to operate a deadly weapon on four-wheels, then you are old enough to get your dick sucked. (Ironically, the AOC is 16 in WA…so just over the river there would not even be an issue of “did he have sex when Beau was still a “minor”?)
ceazer
@flightoftheseabird: Keep excusing pedophilia and they’ll keep comparing us to pedophiles.
flightoftheseabird
@ceazer: Do you even know what pedophilia is? In borrowing from Princess Bride, I do not think that means what you think it means. Pedophila is an act or desire of wanting to have sex with pre-pubescent children, not adults. Mr. Breedlove was 18, an adult. Mr. Adams was 42, an adult. When two consenting adults have sex, that is called sex, and last I checked, there are a lot of adults worldwide who engage in it with each other from time to time.
Alfredo Munoz
You know damn well what ceazer is alluding to and he is right.You need to review your self righteous sophmoric arguments and attitude.What you as an individual feels is correct is not necessarily good for the many.No matter how you want to slice it this guy robbed the cradle or in this case the bunk bed to satify his own selfish impulses.What makes this situation more heinous is that he did while holding public office. @flightoftheseabird:
ceazer
@flightoftheseabird: Yes I know what pedophilia is. Adults who have sex with underage kids. The boy was not yet 18 when they had sex the first time. Why are you dead on defending it. Are you one of them.Sam Adams is more that twice his age. He needs to be in prison.
flightoftheseabird
@Alfredo Munoz: Actually I don’t know what he is alluding to because Ceazer is just wrong. Pedophillia is not even what happened EVEN if Beau was 17 which he wasn’t, that would be statutory rape.
@ceazer: I am defending it because there is nothing here. I would never defend a pedophile (an adult who has sex with a pre-pubescent child). Adults should be allowed to have consensual sex with other adults without repercussions. That is all that has happened here. Beau was 18 when they had sex, a legal adult. They both are very consistent in their stories about this and there is no proof to the contrary. Using your argument that he is twice his age, in this case 24 years. So fast forward, say Beau was 30 and Sam is 54, same age difference both legal adults and they had sex should Sam be in prison then? No of course not. Why now? We have age of consent laws (whether you agree with them or not, they exist) and once a person reaches that age (in the case of Oregon, 18) then anything goes as long as it is consensual. This was consensuel, and according to the new reports, it was Beau who persued Sam not vice versa (but that is not really the point). This whole thing is just absurd.
@Alfredo Munoz: And what I feel is correct has basis in THE LAW! It is not just an opinion.
@Alfredo Munoz: “What makes this situation more heinous is that he did while holding public office.”
So now public office holders are not allowed to have consensual sexual relationships with another adult? Good grief.
Tim in SF
No, he should NOT resign.
Poking the intern is not illegal. Lying about sex is not illegal (and really, I haven’t met a man yet who is completely honest about his sex life). If anything, I applaud him – powerful gay men should have lots of hot twinkies floating around.
The possible quid-pro-quo on the reporter is another issue and should be discussed separately, apart from the sex scandal.
Tim in SF
@ceazer: YES He should absolutely resign. He is a pedophile !
Someone should take your computer away from you because you are clearly too stupid to use one.
Pedophile. N. An adult who is sexually attracted to a child or children.
Teenagers are not children. Beau was not a child at the time he had sex with the Mayor. He wasn’t even a minor, he was 18.
Throwing the P word around is irresponsible, wrong, and low. Shame on you.
@Alfredo Munoz: You know damn well what ceazer is alluding to and he is right.You need to review your self righteous sophmoric arguments and attitude. What you as an individual feels is correct is not necessarily good for the many.
Your ramblings are incoherent. Do you have a point?
No matter how you want to slice it this guy robbed the cradle or in this case the bunk bed to satify his own selfish impulses.
Fucking 18 year olds is a worthy hobby. It’s not selfish or wrong on any level. It’s completely legal. And many 18 year olds prefer someone older and find powerful men quite sexy.
Win-win.
If they Mayor wants a husband, he can find someone a little older.
What makes this situation more heinous is that he did while holding public office.
The reason the country is so fucked up in the first place is precisely because we put sexless prudes and closeted perverts in charge of writing legislation. Barney Frank is out and has lots of young men around him (and, Bravo! for that) and he writes GREAT legislation not only for the gay community but for his district in Massachusetts.
Your point fails.
Dora Ratquila
David Vitter was a regular john until he got caught. Last time I checked, he’s still in the US Senate trying score political points with his right wing base during the confirmation hearings of SOS Sec. Hillary Rodham-Clinton. Adams has made his mea culpa; let his constituents decide whether they want to keep him or not!
Bill in PDX
I do not care what other politicians have done; this is my mayor and I knew this
story was going to break before the election and did not vote for him–though I wish we could have won with a gay mayor worthy of trust. The gay community in PDX is like a small town and there is a lot of six degrees of separation and I know many people who know Sam and he knows many people who know me. So I had heard the details early on…. IT does not make me happy and it plays into the worst stereotypes about gay men and that is not cool. I dated older men as a young man but was never manipulated the way Breedlove was compelled to lie for him. That is simply spiritual abuse. Sam has a personality that I believe borders on narcissism and I did not even vote for him for city council in 2004. He met this high school student on duty in official capacity and then necks with him in our city hall bathroom. Just way bad borderline publicity for PDX. We are already the butt of a thousand homophobic jokes and he should go away into sex addiction rehab and re-emerge all shiny and better. This is going to be a weight on the city because the majority of citizens here are up in arms and want blood. I am livid because he really did not consider anyone else not his loyal staff– who are beginning to talk and resign and his fellow council members who are done with him at this point. Most of our elected officials want him out and I do think he can be effective. These people I have worked with; they are not homophobic, they would be more upset if it were a girl actually. He set himself up as a role model and he screwed up badly. I will forgive him only if he steps aside. The council member who would be interim is intelligent, progressive and forthright and will do a great job for this city. This needs to be over, sorry.
Austin A
As someone who voted Sam Adams into office, I still strongly support my mayor. To understand why you have to appreciate the political context in which Adams was voted into office. Our previous mayor, Tom Potter, disillusioned many voters with his rosy campaign rhetoric and subsequent inability to effectually run a city. The only candidate who had any hope of beating Adams, Sho Dozono, was little more than a spokesperson for Portland’s business community and decisively rejected by the local media and voters alike. Adams was elected because he was clearly the most qualified candidate for the job.
Portland is called “The City That Works” for a reason. Over the years we’ve been blessed with strong, intelligent local leadership backed by a committed, progressive and well-informed constituency that has resulted in celebrated policies from mass transportation to environmental sustainability. One must remember there is more at stake in this debacle than a politician’s credibility and moral fiber. These next four years will be especially critical for the well-being and future of Portland as the national economy continues to falter and local budget cuts become more severe. If, come next election, Portlanders want Sam Adams out of office, they will certainly have the power to make that wish a reality.
Alfredo Munoz
You make rationalizations and excuses for this lecher.The man is obviously devoid of any morality or impulse control and hardly material for a pedestal.As a public official he should be setting the pace and showing an example.Those of you who choose to laud this man’s behavior under the auspices of “he’s gay so it’s okay” need to address their own integrity.This kind of attitude explains the Proposal 8 debacle as well as the underlying cause of the rapid deterioration of this country.
letitbitsa
??? ???????? ?? ??????? ????????. ??????? ???????? ?? ?????, ?? ?????????? ??? ????????? ?????? ?????.
?????? ??? ??????? ????? ??????????!
Alida
I just got an ipod touch, and my girlfriend loves the games on them, so she wants an iphone. What are some good girly games that she might like. She has a cooking game and Sally’s Salon, but they stress her out because they are too strategic. What are some good easy-going girly games she might like?
________________
unlock iphone 3gs
Alida
other than an iphone having a phone in it. of course. but which one has more features. do they have all the same applications and features and music storage, etc.? which one is better to get? also if anyone knows if itouch has a stylus to it?
________________
buy unlock iphone 3g
wpkredyt
Hi! I’m new here and i want to explain you my late-model website kredyt studencki . I was wondering if you guys could scale it, make some suggestions or suggest what i should difference in it. I was working surely incomprehensible doing it so i would cherish your better a lot. Cheers!
RayMeds
Valuable post! A good writing style and information is certainly useful. For all readers continue to write such excellent articles. Thank you.Thanks for sharing this information.
sharon baker