Todd gloria gay
Todd Gloria reflects on career, responsibility as San Diego's first openly gay mayor
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — When Todd Gloria was sworn in as San Diego mayor last year he made history, becoming not only the first person of color to hold the office but the first to be openly gay.
He says it's a big responsibility.
"And it's one I take extremely seriously and I acknowledge there's a lot of people paid a significant price and sacrificed a lot in instruction to open the door for me to be competent to serve," Mayor Gloria said.
And just as others opened doors for him, he wants to do the same.
"I may be the first but if I perform my job right I won't be the last," added Gloria.
Before he was mayor, Gloria served on the San Diego City Council and as a California state assembly member.
His political aspirations started at a young age. He says he remembers very clearly something a teacher said.
"The teacher said there are two things you can't ever be if you ever want to be an elected official, he said number one is gay and to this day I don't know what number two was cause I was so astounded even in the 90s that someone would say that," Gloria said.
What that lecturer didn't know was that Gloria
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is the first openly homosexual person to be elected mayor of San Diego and says that this Pride Week is a chance for him to mirror on that milestone.
"For me, it's really a humbling thing because I recognize that there are a lot of folks who sacrificed a lot to provide this opportunity for me," Mayor Gloria said. "I would express it’s a reflection of the decency of San Diegans. I’m a third-generation San Diegan, I’ve lived here my entire life, I believe deeply in how wonderful people we are as a city and the fact that they're willing to judge me on my merits and not my orientation it makes me proud to be a San Diegan."
Gloria says that making the decision to be public about his personal existence was deliberate.
"I think when talking about elected officials honesty is essential . I always told people that I’ll be honest with people, we can agree or differ, but I’ll always tell you the truth and that starts with who I am," he said.
He also said he hopes San Diegans who are members of the LGBTQ group feel heard and represented too.
"I recognize that for a lot of people seeing folks like them in government is also important. Growing up, I didn’t notice a lo
San Diego’s Tlingit Mayor Embraces His ‘Firsts’
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
San Diego’s new mayor, Todd Gloria, is Tlingit, Filipino and has Dutch and Puerto Rican roots. He often describes himself as the proud son of a hotel maid and a gardener.
Gloria is San Diego’s first non-white mayor, and also its first LGBTQ mayor.
“I’ve been the first of many things in my career,” Gloria said. “The goal is always not to be the last one.”
Gloria started volunteering on political campaigns as a tall school student. He received Sealaska and Goldbelt scholarships to help get him through his undergraduate dual major in history and political science from the University of San Diego, and went to work for former California Congresswoman Susan Davis as her district director in his early 20s. In 2008, he was elected to San Diego’s City Council, and served on the council until his prosperous candidacy for California State Assembly in 2016. Earlier this year, he became mayor of San Diego.
Although Gloria’s political destiny may possess seemed preordained from early childhood, when he was a
Todd Gloria makes history as 1st person of hue, LGBT person to turn into San Diego mayor
SAN DIEGO (CNS) -- Todd Gloria was sworn in as San Diego's 37th Mayor this week, alongside the 73rd San Diego Municipality Council, making him the first LGBT and person of color mayor in the city's history.
The former assemblyman for California's 78th State Assembly District, Metropolis Councilman and Interim Mayor in 2013, thanked the diverse San Diegan society for electing him to the position.
"A city where a Native American, Filipino, Puerto Rican gay guy just became your mayor," he said.
"As a kid growing up in San Diego, I didn't observe people who looked love me leading practically anything, let alone a major U.S. city," Gloria said. "Together, we will create San Diego into a place where your ZIP code doesn't determine your destiny, we embrace what makes us unique and our community provides pathways to success for all of us."
Former Mayor Kevin Faulconer offered his congratulations to his "friend and colleague" Gloria in a prerecorded message in which he touted his retain successes over his six-year term.
He pointed to failing homele