Meet the Mayors for the Freedom to Marry
Welcome Message from the Chairs
In affirmation of the critical role that cities and their mayors have played in advancing civil rights and equal treatment for all Americans, we are proud to be chairs of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry. Mayors for the Freedom to Marry is a broad-based and nonpartisan group of mayors who believe that all people should be able to share in the love and commitment of marriage.
As mayors of five of America’s great cities, we understand that the strength and health of our cities are enhanced when all families are protected and supported. We know many people in loving and committed same-sex relationships who are active participants in improving our communities and we’ve seen how important marriage has been for them and their families.
We are honored to lead this bipartisan group of mayors who support ending marriage discrimination at all levels of government. While we will each have different strategies for pursuing that end, we all agree on the goal: securing the freedom to marry and upholding equal rights for all citizens.
We are a diverse group of mayors—from cities in Kansas, Indiana and West Virginia, to the four largest cities in America. Our cities are culturally, racially and geographically diverse, but we share one important value: a common commitment to fairness.
We invite our colleagues to join us in signing this statement as we advocate for the freedom to marry and build a nation where all loving couples who want to make the life-long commitment can share in the joy and respect of marriage.
Sincerely,
| Michael Bloomberg | Thomas M. Menino | Annise Parker | Jerry Sanders | Antonio Villaraigosa |
| Mayor of New York City | Mayor of Boston | Mayor of Houston | Mayor of San Diego | Mayor of Los Angeles |
Read the Mayors for the Freedom to Marry statement. If you have questions or would like more information about joining Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, please contact Jo Deutsch at jo@freedomtomarry.org.
Current Mayors for the Freedom to Marry:
| Michael Bloomberg - New York, NY (Chair) | Thomas Menino - Boston, MA (Chair) |
| Annise Parker - Houston, Texas (Chair) | Jerry Sanders - San Diego, CA (Chair) |
| Antonio Villaraigosa - Los Angeles, CA (Chair) | Samuel Adams - Portland, OR |
| Tom Barrett - Milwaukee, WI | Tom Bates - Berkeley, CA |
| William Bell - Durham, NC | David Berger - Lima, OH |
| Virg Bernero - Lansing, MI | Richard Bloom - Santa Monica, CA |
| Cory Booker - Newark, NJ | Matti Bower - Miami Beach, FL |
| Bruce Botelho - Juneau, AK | Noam Bramson - New Rochelle, NY |
| Ardell Brede - Rochester, MN | Stephen Buxbaum - Olympia, WA |
| Christopher Cabaldon - W. Sacramento, CA | Chuck Cahn - Cherry Hill, NJ |
| John Callahan - Bethlehem, PA | Stephen Cassidy - San Leandro, CA |
| Julian Castro - San Antonio, TX | Craig Cates - Key West, FL |
| Mark Chilton - Carrboro, NC | Joshua Cohen - Annapolis, MD |
| Chris Coleman - St. Paul, MN | Dennis Coombs - Longmont, CO |
| Joy Cooper - Hallandale Beach, FL | David Coss - Santa Fe, NM |
| David Coulter - Ferndale, MI | Frank Cownie - Des Moines, IA |
| Aron Cromwell - Lawrence, KS | Carolyn Cutler - Lafayette, CO |
| John DeStefano - New Haven, CT | Daniel T. Drew - Middletown, CT |
| Victor De Luca - Maplewood, NJ | Sara Drew - Stow, OH |
| John Duran - West Hollywood, CA | Paul Dyster - Niagara Falls, NY |
| Jennifer Eckstrom - S. Tucson, AZ | Jim Ellison -Royal Oak, MI |
| Rahm Emanuel - Chicago, IL | Bill Finch - Bridgeport, CT |
| Daryl Justin Finizio - New London, CT | Larry Forester - Signal Hill, CA |
| Claire Fortier - South Lake Tahoe, CA | Peter Fosselman - Kensington, MD |
| Bob Foster - Long Beach, CA | Laura Friedman - Glendale, CA |
| Ava Frisinger - Issaquah, WA | Debora Fudge - Windsor, CA |
| Joe Gierlach - Nederland, CO | Marie Gilmore - Alameda, CA |
| Mike Gin - Redondo Beach, CA | David Glass - Petaluma, CA |
| Chad Goerner - Princeton, NJ | Vincent Gray - Washington, D.C. |
| Michael Hancock - Denver, CO | George Heartwell - Grand Rapids, MI |
| John Hieftje - Ann Arbor, MI | Rick Hoffman - Macungie, PA |
| Bobby Hopewell - Kalamazoo, MI | Frank Jackson - Cleveland, OH |
| Sylvester James, Jr. - Kansas City, MO | Joe Jaworski - Galveston TX |
| Gerald Jennings - Albany, NY | Edward Kelley - Cleveland Heights, OH |
| Mark Kleinschmidt - Chapel Hill, NC | Joe Krovoza - Davis, CA |
| Mark Kruzan - Bloomington, IN | Don Lane - Santa Cruz, CA |
| Timothy Leavitt - Vancouver, WA | Edwin Lee - San Francisco, CA |
| Lee Leffingwell - Austin, TX | Peter Lindstrom - Falcon Heights MN |
| Charles Lombardi - North Providence, RI | Craig Lowe - Gainesville, FL |
| David Lublin - Town of Chevy Chase, MD | Karen Majewski - Hamtramck, MI |
| Jim Maley - Collingswood, NJ | Mark Mallory - Cincinnati, OH |
| A. David Marne - Shavano Park, TX | Jan Marx - San Luis Obispo, CA |
| John Marks - Tallahassee, FL | Mike McGinn - Seattle, WA |
| Gayle McLaughlin - Richmond, CA | Michael R. Mignogna - Voorhees, NJ |
| William Moehle - Town of Brighton, NY | Alex Morse - Holyoke, MA |
| Lori Moseley - Miramar, FL | Jeri Muoio - West Palm Beach, FL |
| Svante Myrick - Ithaca, NY | David Narkewicz - Northampton, MA |
| Patrick Murphy - Lowell, MA | Don Ness - Duluth, MN |
| Gary Norton - East Cleveland, OH | Michael Nutter - Philadelphia, PA |
| Timothy O'Brien - New Britain, CT | Dennis O’Brien - Newtown, PA |
| Frank Ortis - Pembroke Pines, FL | Salvatore Panto - Easton, PA |
| Kitty Piercy - Eugene, OR | Don Plusquellic - Akron OH |
| Steve Pougnet - Palm Springs, CA | Jean Quan - Oakland, CA |
| Stephanie Rawlings-Blake - Baltimore, MD | Thomas Richards - Rochester, NY |
| Clarissa Rowe - Arlington, MA | Matthew Ryan - Binghamton, NY |
| RT Rybak - Minneapolis, MN | Robert Sabonjian - Waukegan, IL |
| Helene Schneider - Santa Barbara, CA | Paul Schreiber - Ypsilanti, MI |
| Ann Schwab - Chico, CA | Pedro Segarra - Hartford, CT |
| Elic Senter - Franklinton, NC | Satyendra Singh Huja - Charlottesville, VA |
| Jeffrey Slavin - Town of Somerset, MD | Francis G. Slay - St. Louis, MO |
| Bruce Smiley-Kalff - Castle Hills, TX | Paul Soglin - Madison, WI |
| Michael Spano - Yonkers, NY | Domenick Stampone - Haledon, NJ |
| Greg Stanton - Phoenix, AZ | Marilyn Strickland - Tacoma, WA |
| Mike Summers - Lakewood, OH | Michael Sweeney - Hayward, CA |
| Peter Swiderski - Hastings-on-Hudson, NY | Michael Tautznik - Easthampton, MA |
| Angel Taveras - Providence, RI | Nick Tell - Manhattan Beach, CA |
| Elizabeth Tisdahl - Evanston, IL | Alex Torpey - South Orange, NJ |
| Charlotte Warren - Hallowell, ME | Setti Warren - Newton, MA |
| Jennifer West - Emeryville, CA | Libby White - Doylestown, PA |
| Bruce Williams - Takoma Park, MD | Dana Williams - Park City Park, UT |
| Yiaway Yeh - Palo Alto, CA | Jayne Young - Landsdowne, PA |
| Dawn Zimmer - Hoboken, NJ |
