Gay-friendly Dayton Mayor Defeated

Some members of the political community in Dayton, Ohio, suggest that the electoral defeat suffered by incumbent mayor Rhine McLin on Tuesday can be attributed to her support for the city's gay rights ordinance.

As a result of her support for the ordinance, McLin, a Democrat in her second term, lost the backing of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, a group of predominantly African-American ministers, according to the Dayton Daily News.

"Mayor Rhine McLin lost the endorsement of a group of predominantly black ministers in large part because of her support for the city's gay-rights ordinance," the Dayton Daily News reported. "She was chastised for taking a stand for human rights, in other words, by a group of ministers who spent much of their lives fighting for it."

The IMA endorsed newcomer Gary Leitzell instead. Leitzell defeated McLin in a close race on Tuesday.

The president of the alliance, the Reverend Wilburt Shanklin, indicated that the gay rights ordinance was a factor in their endorsement. "'We thought we had an agreement' that she wouldn't support a gay rights ordinance," said Shanklin, according to the Dayton Daily News.