Gay Mayor Vies for Congress Seat

Mike Gin, a gay Republican who has served as mayor of Redondo Beach, Calif., since 2005, hopes to become the first person in a same-sex marriage elected to Congress.

In an upcoming special election, Gin is vying to represent California’s 36th congressional district in the U.S. House seat vacated by Jane Harman. If elected, he would become Congress’s fifth openly gay member, along with representatives Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis, and David Cicilline.

While he says his priorities if elected would be economic and education issues, Gin is well aware that his status as a gay politician in a same-sex marriage would have added benefits in terms of visibility.

"Certainly, we all need role models, and being gay and being married is just a part of who I am," he said. "If somehow my election would provide some inspiration or maybe help a young person that's very conflicted about being gay, then I think that's a wonderful thing."

The politician, 48, and his husband, animator Christopher Kreidel, 50, have been together for 16 years and were legally married just days before Proposition 8 eliminated same-sex marriage in California.

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