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 Ohio, including some of the 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.  

If your mayor has not joined Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, please download the statement and ask your mayor to sign it.  

Current Mayors

Samuel Adams - Portland, OR
Matthew Appelbaum - Boulder, CO
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
Michael Bloomberg - New York, NY (Chair)
Cory Booker - Newark, NJ
Bruce Botelho - Juneau, AK
Matti Bower of Miami Beach, FL
Noam Bramson - New Rochelle, NY
Ardell Brede - Rochester, MN
Michael Brennan - Portland, ME
Stephen Buxbaum - Olympia, WA
Christopher Cabaldon - W. Sacramento, CA
Chuck Cahn - Cherry Hill, NJ
John Callahan - Bethlehem, PA
Mike Callahan - Cheverly, MD
Stephen Cassidy - San Leandro, CA
Julian Castro - San Antonio, TX
Craig Cates - Key West, FL
Mark Chilton - Carrboro, NC
Gary Christenson - Malden, MA
Joshua Cohen - Annapolis, MD
Chris Coleman - St. Paul, MN
Michael Coleman - Columbus, OH
Letitia Colombi - Haddonfield, NJ
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
Joseph Curtatone - Somerville, MA
Carolyn Cutler - Lafayette, CO
Henrietta Davis - Cambridge, MA
Victor De Luca - Maplewood, NJ
Kathie deNobriga - Pine Lake, GA
John DeStefano - New Haven, CT
Daniel T. Drew - Middletown, CT
Sara Drew - Stow, OH
John Duran - West Hollywood, CA
Paul Dyster - Niagara Falls, NY
Jennifer Eckstrom - S. Tucson, AZ
Jane Egly - Laguna Beach, CA
Jim Ellison -Royal Oak, MI
Rahm Emanuel - Chicago, IL
John Engen - Missoula, MT
William Euille - Alexandria, VA
Paul Feiner - Greenburgh, NY
John Fetterman - Braddock, PA
Bill Finch - Bridgeport, CT
Daryl Justin Finizio - New London, CT
Larry Forester - Signal Hill, CA
Adam Forgie - Turtle Creek, PA
Claire Fortier - South Lake Tahoe, CA
Peter Fosselman - Kensington, MD
Bob Foster - Long Beach, CA
Jerry Fried - Montclair, NJ
Laura Friedman - Glendale, CA
Ava Frisinger - Issaquah, WA
Debora Fudge - Windsor, CA
Margot Garant - Jefferson Village, NY
James Gaughan - Altamont, NY
Joe Gierlach - Nederland, CO
Marie Gilmore - Alameda, CA
Mike Gin - Redondo Beach, CA
David Glass - Petaluma, CA
Diane Goddeeris - East Lansing, MI
Chad Goerner - Princeton, NJ
Jeffrey Goldsmith - Woodcliff Lake, NJ
Vincent Gray - Washington, D.C.
Michael Hancock - Denver, CO
William Healy - Canton, OH
George Heartwell - Grand Rapids, MI
John Hieftje - Ann Arbor, MI
Colleen Hilton - Westbrook, ME
Jack Hoffman - Lake Oswego, OR
Rick Hoffman - Macungie, PA
John Hollar - Montpelier, VT
Bobby Hopewell - Kalamazoo, MI
Jennifer Hosterman - Pleasanton, CA
Satyendra Singh Huja - Charlottesville, VA
Frank Jackson - Cleveland, OH
Scott Jackson - Hamden, CT
Sylvester James, Jr. - Kansas City, MO
Joe Jaworski - Galveston TX
Gerald Jennings - Albany, NY
Kevin Johnson - Sacramento, CA
Lucy Johnson - Kyle, TX
Dave Kaplan - Des Moines, WA
Mike Kasperzak - Mountain View, CA
Edward Kelley - Cleveland Heights, OH
Judy Kennedy, City of Newburgh, NY
Bob Kiss - Burlington, VT
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
Cindy Lerner - Pinecrest, FL
David Levy - Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Peter Lindstrom - Falcon Heights MN
Charles Lombardi - North Providence, RI
Christopher Louras - Rutland, VT
Craig Lowe - Gainesville, FL
David Lublin - Town of Chevy Chase, MD
Karen Majewski - Hamtramck, MI
Jim Maley - Collingswood, NJ
Mark Mallory - Cincinnati, OH
John Marchione - Redmond, WA
John Marks - Tallahassee, FL
A. David Marne - Shavano Park, TX
Jan Marx - San Luis Obispo, CA
Jamie Matthews - Santa Clara, CA
Joan McBride - Kirkland, WA
Ronald McDaniel - Montville, CT
Mike McGinn - Seattle, WA
Keith McGlashan - Shoreline, WA
Tim McGuire - Homewood Borough, PA
Gayle McLaughlin - Richmond, CA
Thomas Menino - Boston, MA (Chair)
Robert Mezzo - Naugatuck, CT
Michael R. Mignogna - Voorhees, NJ
Stephanie Miner - Syracuse, NY
William Moehle - Town of Brighton, NY
Eduardo Montesino - Watsonville, CA
Gus Morrison - Fremont, CA
Alex Morse - Holyoke, MA
Lori Moseley - Miramar, FL
Jeri Muoio - West Palm Beach, FL
Patrick Murphy - Lowell, MA
Svante Myrick - Ithaca, NY
David Narkewicz - Northampton, 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
Annise Parker - Houston, Texas (Chair)
Kitty Piercy - Eugene, OR
Don Plusquellic - Akron OH
Peter Porcino - Ardsley, NY
Steve Pougnet - Palm Springs, CA
Jean Quan - Oakland, CA
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake - Baltimore, MD
Gary Resnick - Wilton Manors, FL
Thomas Richards - Rochester, NY
Daniel Rizzo - Revere, MA
Jonathan Rothschild - Tucson, AZ
Clarissa Rowe - Arlington, MA
Matthew Ryan - Binghamton, NY
RT Rybak - Minneapolis, MN
Robert Sabonjian - Waukegan, IL
Anne Sallee - Oakland Park, FL
Charles P. Sammarone Youngstown, OH
Jerry Sanders - San Diego, CA (Chair)
James Sasser - Pahokee, FL
Helene Schneider - Santa Barbara, CA
Paul Schreiber - Ypsilanti, MI
Ann Schwab - Chico, CA
Jeffrey Schwartzberg - Roslyn Estates, NY
Pedro Segarra - Hartford, CT
Nancy Seligson - Mamaroneck, NY
Elic Senter - Franklinton, NC
Jeffrey Slavin - Town of Somerset, MD
Francis G. Slay - St. Louis, MO
Bruce Smiley-Kalff - Castle Hills, TX
Brian Smith - Irvington, NY
Paul Soglin - Madison, WI
Michael Spano - Yonkers, NY
Domenick Stampone - Haledon, NJ
Greg Stanton - Phoenix, AZ
Philip K. Stoddard - South Miami, FL
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
Jill Techel - Napa, CA
Nick Tell - Manhattan Beach, CA
Elizabeth Tisdahl - Evanston, IL
Alex Torpey - South Orange, NJ
Julie Van Domelen - Lyons, CO
Antonio Villaraigosa - Los Angeles, CA (Chair)
Ileene S. Wallace - Bay Harbor Islands, FL
Dayne Walling - Flint, MI
Charlotte Warren - Hallowell, ME
Setti Warren - Newton, MA
Shelley Welsch - University City, MO
Jennifer West - Emeryville, CA
Jen Laird White - Nyack, NY
Libby White -  Doylestown, PA
Bruce Williams - Takoma Park, MD
Dana Williams - Park City Park, UT
Guy Wilson - Sebastopol, CA
Pete Worthington - Marathon, FL
Yiaway Yeh - Palo Alto, CA
Jayne Young - Landsdowne, PA
Dawn Zimmer - Hoboken, NJ

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