UTAH: Openly Gay State Sen. Jim Dabakis To Run For Mayor Of Salt Lake City

“I believe a great mayor needs a big heart! The mayor is the leader of the City. It is the mayor’s job to bring people together. Find common ground. Unite the community! A mayor needs to be out of his office. Out in the community – every day. Checking the pulse. Out in the neighborhoods. At the festivals. At the neighborhood barbecues. Sitting down with the Hispanic Community. Invading the west side with attention, jobs, and clean development. The mayor should be equally comfortable at the Utah Pride Festival or sitting at the LDS Conference! The mayor needs to be an active, uniting force, bringing our communities together! I pledge to do that.” – Openly gay Utah state Sen. Jim Dabakis, in a press release announcing his bid for mayor of Salt Lake City.

RELATED: Dabakis, who is the co-founder of Equality Utah and the Utah Pride Center, married his husband in 2013 on the day that same-sex marriage became legal there. The ceremony was officiated by current Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, a Democrat, who has already announced his plan to run for a third term.