Vallejo elects Bay Area's first openly gay mayor (Oakland, Davis: middle-class, city hall)

[18Montclair]

Gary Cloutier, Mayor-Elect of Vallejo.

He won by only 4 votes!

Gay councilman appears to win once-tied Vallejo mayor's race

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7524345?nclick_check=1 (broken link)

[ImRandy]

Al Kohol stated during an exit poll, "We need a mayor who knows how to party."

[gizmo980]

I'm actually surprised he's the first... good for him, though!

Strangely, I used to date a guy with that last name, but I doubt there's any relation.

[horsey diva]

Good on em I reckon

[MPerez707]

I suppose as a Vallejo citizen I should give some imput on this issue. I do not think that Mr. Cloutier is a right fit for the city of Vallejo. He wants to represent the gay population and the middle class population in Vallejo but what people who vote for him do not understand is that the people he represents is a very small percentage of Vallejo. A few months back Vallejos black pop. has surpassed the white pop. by over 1%. Hispanics in Vallejo now account for 21% of the pop. of the city. (Blacks are 31%) And Asians (Chinese, Filipinos, and Koreans) account for 18% of the pop. There is also a 14% poverty rate in Vallejo (the poorest of the poor) and the rest of Vallejo is and has always been known to be a working mans city or blue collar city. Cloutier would not be representing the city well because he has stated that he wanted to bring in high scale shopping and high scale homes to vallejo and also bring more gay culture to Vallejo (which has always been a conservative city). The new Mayor Osby Davis is the right choice and since in office he has deterred tensions between races and social class. I have seen it first hand. Vallejo, a city with over 135,000 and growing, needs to break the cycle of having an all white city council and mayor. Vallejo, the northern most city of the East Bay will some day grow into a great city and hopefully be known throughout the nation and maybe the world. We will keep on dreaming.

[gizmo980]

Is he truly running on a "gay & middle-class platform," or just being pigeonholed into that? I don't know anything about this guy, and little about Vallejo (aside from driving through it daily), so I'm definitely not calling you wrong - just trying to learn more! One thing I agree with for sure, if all of what you say is accurate, is that Vallejo could use a more diverse city council.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by MPerez707

I suppose as a Vallejo citizen I should give some imput on this issue. I do not think that Mr. Cloutier is a right fit for the city of Vallejo. He wants to represent the gay population and the middle class population in Vallejo but what people who vote for him do not understand is that the people he represents is a very small percentage of Vallejo. A few months back Vallejos black pop. has surpassed the white pop. by over 1%. Hispanics in Vallejo now account for 21% of the pop. of the city. (Blacks are 31%) And Asians (Chinese, Filipinos, and Koreans) account for 18% of the pop. There is also a 14% poverty rate in Vallejo (the poorest of the poor) and the rest of Vallejo is and has always been known to be a working mans city or blue collar city. Cloutier would not be representing the city well because he has stated that he wanted to bring in high scale shopping and high scale homes to vallejo and also bring more gay culture to Vallejo (which has always been a conservative city). The new Mayor Osby Davis is the right choice and since in office he has deterred tensions between races and social class. I have seen it first hand. Vallejo, a city with over 135,000 and growing, needs to break the cycle of having an all white city council and mayor. Vallejo, the northern most city of the East Bay will some day grow into a great city and hopefully be known throughout the nation and maybe the world. We will keep on dreaming.

Sounds like you need business development and retail taxes there. Retail taxes your city gets to keep, I think.

We have a problem in Oakland with poverty, too. And in order to serve the poor, Vallejo HAS to find a way to bring in money. Jerry Brown was right to spark the development he did.

Now we just have to find a way to keep the businesses growing...

[MPerez707]

Vallejo city leaders (which before the latest elections had only one non white member who was asian and lived in a very affluent part of vallejo, away from the more urban areas) have always turned new businesses away because they have said Vallejo need high-end shopping that would be found in places like Bel Air. They, for some reason, blindfolded themselves from the fact that Vallejo has A LOT of poor people. They have for decades denied services and entertainment for the poor in Vallejo such as proper upkeep of infrastructure in the poor areas and denying poor youths any outdoor basketball courts that is very popular here and also they denied a developer who wanted to create a recreation center that looked like an arcade center and roller rink in a poor area of Vallejo because they said it would cause more crime. the following 3 years the area has been plagued by violence committed by teens who have nothing else to do. Now that Vallejo has 2 non-white council members out of 8-10 maybe we'll see something for the poor community instead of just calling us "lowlifes" as so many who work at city hall have called the poor and homeless. I wont be surprised if one day there was a protest or riot in Vallejo by the poor. being poor myself i have been offended by many peoples articles in the Vallejo newspaper who have called poor people scum, lowlifes, rats, undisirables, and the unwanteds. As for gary cloutier , he does as stated before the election said that he hopes to bring more gays to Vallejo so that Vallejo would become a better city. on his supporters website they say that bringing more "progressive" and wealthier people to Vallejo would move out the lowlofes and "scum" which they have said they are referring to the poor. All of this actually is why I became interested in Vallejo politics. I cant say i'm not angry by what the richer people who move to vallejo say, I have written in the newspaper telling these richer "Vallejoans" that they should watch their mouth but they insist on insulting the poorer population of this city.

[SueBInVallejo]

Elections are coming up again in a couple of years, and I plan to run for mayor. This city needs someone in charge who can make its citizens rise to the challenge by working harder, instead of resorting to crime. Crime in your own city is like pooping in your nest, because you have to sleep in it. Rise above it Vallejo, because your community is down the wrong road with no action with your current mayor.
Please note, Osby is not taking care of the state of Vallejo. He is just collecting a paycheck, so time to look at other options, and maybe you should exercise your rights as a citizen and impeach Osby since he has not taken care of you.

Look at reality, Vallejo. Move in the right direction, and crime is not the solution. It is the problem. You can do it, and if you do not, your city will fail.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by SueBInVallejo

Elections are coming up again in a couple of years, and I plan to run for mayor. This city needs someone in charge who can make its citizens rise to the challenge by working harder, instead of resorting to crime. Crime in your own city is like pooping in your nest, because you have to sleep in it. Rise above it Vallejo, because your community is down the wrong road with no action with your current mayor.
Please note, Osby is not taking care of the state of Vallejo. He is just collecting a paycheck, so time to look at other options, and maybe you should exercise your rights as a citizen and impeach Osby since he has not taken care of you.

Look at reality, Vallejo. Move in the right direction, and crime is not the solution. It is the problem. You can do it, and if you do not, your city will fail.

Good for you for trying to make a difference.