Sam Adams

Samuel Francis Adams (born September 3, 1963) is an American politician who is the former mayor of Portland, Oregon. He grew up in Newport, Oregon, attended the University of Oregon and worked on a number of campaigns before taking office as a Portland commissioner. Among them was Vera Katz's run for mayor of Portland. After she won, he served as her chief of staff for eleven years and then went back to school, earning a degree in Political Science.

In 2004, Adams was elected to the Portland City Council, serving four years on the council earning a reputation as a "policy-driven advocate for sustainability, the arts, and gay rights". He was elected to a four-year term as mayor of Portland in the May 2008 primary, with 58% of the vote and a dozen other candidates on the ballot. He was the first openly gay mayor of a top-30 U.S. city. In July 2011, Adams announced that he would not seek a second term as mayor. He had an approval rating of 56% eight months before he left office. In 2020 he announced his candidacy for Portland City Commission, challenging incumbent Chloe Eudaly. He came in third in that race after Eudaly and newcomer Mingus Mapps.

Personal Life
From 1992 until 2004, Adams was in a long-term relationship with Greg Eddie. During that time, in 1993, he was outed as gay by the alternative newspaper Willamette Week. In 2007, the former couple, in a challenge to the state constitution, filed suit against the State of Oregon to dissolve their domestic partnership and divide Adams' future pension. After his break-up with Eddie, Adams was, for the first time, both openly gay and single. Adams lamented his lack of "gaydar". He said this made him decide to date only men who asked him out first.