Free Republic

DALLAS (Reuters) - An openly gay candidate lost his bid on Saturday to become mayor of Dallas in a race that attracted wide attention because of his sexual orientation. Councilman Ed Oakley lost to businessman Tom Leppert, who took 58 percent of the vote to Oakley's 42 percent, according to official returns. Oakley had the endorsement of the Democratic Party, while Leppert ran a nonpartisan campaign. A victory by Oakley would have made him the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a Washington-based gay rights group. Neither candidate...

Miller camp says Bush photos to move to noncampaign site Mayor: Intent wasn't to make it appear that president endorsed her 01/25/2003 By JIM FRY / The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON - Even as White House officials Friday accused Iraq of "willful defiance" and the president declared homeland security efforts unfinished, a key adviser deep in the West Wing was worrying about another "crisis." The flap over White House photos on the Dallas mayor's Web site. It wasn't a "situation room" situation, but two of the president's closest confidants were involved. Mayor Laura Miller's campaign agreed Friday that it...

Pictures have RNC frowning Miller asked to remove Bush photos from Web site; Poss is critical 01/24/2003 By COLLEEN McCAIN NELSON / The Dallas Morning News Pictures of Laura Miller and President Bush pose a problem now that the Dallas mayor's race is under way, according to the Republican National Committee. Party officials have asked the mayor to "cease and desist" using photos that show the smiling president with Ms. Miller and her husband. The pictures, which are reproduced on Ms. Miller's campaign Web site, were snapped last year when she visited the Oval Office. Tom Josefiak, the RNC's...