Bertrand Delanoë
My very own Sam Adams
Portland has an out of the closet gay mayor- Sam Adams, who lives in my neighborhood & with whom I enjoy an acquinatence. I get a thrill when he calls me by name at city meetings or just around town. My friends & co-workers are impressed & they should be. I once had my eye on a chance to be the first lady of Portland. I served on a committee- Keep Portland Moving, regarding transpotation issues, & I would always arrive early enough to be seated besides hiz honor. I would later learn that I was born in decade much too early to catch the mayor’s interest. He is a fine man & a good mayor.
Adams is not the only gay mayor of a major city: Klause Wowereit of Berlin, Ole von Beust of Hamburg, Glen Murray of Winnipeg, & the recently elected mayor of Houston- Annise Parker. Progress.
Bertrand Delanoë has been mayor of Paris since 18 March 2001, when control of the city council was won by a left-wing alliance for the first time since the Paris Commune of 1871.
Delanoë won the election for mayor of Paris, with a coilition of Greens & Socialists over Conservitives. This success in a city which has traditionally been a stronghold of the right wing was striking since setbacks to the Left across France since 2001 elections have been attributed with the weariness of the Parisian public of corruption, graft & a series of scandals of the previous administrations.
Delanoë was virtually unknown before the election of 2001, but soon gained fame for organising new & unusual events in Paris: the Paris Plages, a manufactured beach on the banks of the Sein. Built every summer to give Parisians who could not take a regular vacation a chance to relax, tan & enjoy the beach in the center of Paris. The popular program program has been in place since 2002, & has been copied by other international cities.
He also gave birth to Nuit Blanche (Sleepless Night), a dawn to dusk festival of parties around the city, with museums, galleries, & public spaces open all night.
During a Nuit Blanche in October 2002, Delanoë was stabbed, while mingling with the public, by a Muslim immigrant,-Azedine Berkane, who told police: "I hated politicians, the Socialist Party, & homosexuals." A real fun party guest. Before being taken to a hospital, Delanoë asked that the festivities continue. Delanoë's wound was thought to be minor, but he was in the hospital for 2 weeks.
Berkane was permitted to leave treatment in a psychiatric hospital after his doctors no longer considered him a threat. He has not been seen since.
As Mayor, Delanoë has worked to improve the quality of life for Parisians: reduce pollution, cut down on vehicles in the city center, a plan to build a non-polluting tram, & closing streets to become pedestrian malls. He introduced a program of giving citizens cheap rental bicycles available in stations all around Paris. The program has been enormously successful. He has outlined a plan for Autolib, where small cars would be shared. He was reelected in 2008 with 57.7% of the vote. His term is up in 2014.
Delanoë strongly criticized Benedict XVI for a statement that condom use was unhelpful & even counter-productive in the fight against HIV. Delanoë is known to be on the Al Qaeda hit list. His name is often mentioned as possible candiate for President of France in the next election.
Adams is not the only gay mayor of a major city: Klause Wowereit of Berlin, Ole von Beust of Hamburg, Glen Murray of Winnipeg, & the recently elected mayor of Houston- Annise Parker. Progress.
Bertrand Delanoë has been mayor of Paris since 18 March 2001, when control of the city council was won by a left-wing alliance for the first time since the Paris Commune of 1871.
Delanoë won the election for mayor of Paris, with a coilition of Greens & Socialists over Conservitives. This success in a city which has traditionally been a stronghold of the right wing was striking since setbacks to the Left across France since 2001 elections have been attributed with the weariness of the Parisian public of corruption, graft & a series of scandals of the previous administrations.
Delanoë was virtually unknown before the election of 2001, but soon gained fame for organising new & unusual events in Paris: the Paris Plages, a manufactured beach on the banks of the Sein. Built every summer to give Parisians who could not take a regular vacation a chance to relax, tan & enjoy the beach in the center of Paris. The popular program program has been in place since 2002, & has been copied by other international cities.
He also gave birth to Nuit Blanche (Sleepless Night), a dawn to dusk festival of parties around the city, with museums, galleries, & public spaces open all night.
During a Nuit Blanche in October 2002, Delanoë was stabbed, while mingling with the public, by a Muslim immigrant,-Azedine Berkane, who told police: "I hated politicians, the Socialist Party, & homosexuals." A real fun party guest. Before being taken to a hospital, Delanoë asked that the festivities continue. Delanoë's wound was thought to be minor, but he was in the hospital for 2 weeks.
Berkane was permitted to leave treatment in a psychiatric hospital after his doctors no longer considered him a threat. He has not been seen since.
As Mayor, Delanoë has worked to improve the quality of life for Parisians: reduce pollution, cut down on vehicles in the city center, a plan to build a non-polluting tram, & closing streets to become pedestrian malls. He introduced a program of giving citizens cheap rental bicycles available in stations all around Paris. The program has been enormously successful. He has outlined a plan for Autolib, where small cars would be shared. He was reelected in 2008 with 57.7% of the vote. His term is up in 2014.
Delanoë strongly criticized Benedict XVI for a statement that condom use was unhelpful & even counter-productive in the fight against HIV. Delanoë is known to be on the Al Qaeda hit list. His name is often mentioned as possible candiate for President of France in the next election.
