Elton John gifts gay mayor

Daniel Stewart, the mayor of Plattsburgh, N.Y., and the first openly gay mayor elected in that state, received a surprise gift from Elton John. When Stewart went to attend the Billy Joel–Elton John concert in Montreal, one of John’s representatives handed him free passes for front row seats to the show. Stewart said, “I didn’t know what was going on, and I don’t know how they knew I was even going to be there.” Apparently somebody had caught Stewart’s radio interview earlier in which he’d mentioned he was going. Stewart had met Elton John in 1996 at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center during a ceremony honoring the musician. Stewart remarked, “Elton is a great guy, and I really admire the work he’s done for causes, especially for AIDS.”