Tempe is the largest city in America with an openly gay mayor, Neil Giuliano.
After eight years in office that included coming out of the closet under public scrutiny and having to battle with those opposed with his lifestyle, he has a few stories to tell.
Today, national Coming Out Day, Giuliano is in the process of putting the finishing touches on his first book, tentatively titled "The Campaign Within."
Q. How did you become interested in writing a book?
A. I've been working on it since about 1999, actually after I went and talked to a couple of student organizations about some of my personal and political experiences, and they said 'oh, you should really write something about that,' and that was the first thought I had about that.
Q. What is the book about?
A. The book is about my campaigns, the experience of going from in the closet as an elected official, to coming out publicly. Sort of battling with the religious right and the Christian coalition and everything else that comes with that.
Q. When did you come out?
A. I came out in August 1996. There were some issues with the city of Tempe helping to waive fees for the annual gay pride festival that was taking place on our soccer fields over by Tempe Diablo stadium.
It was reported in the paper that Tempe was helping to waive those fees like we did for a whole lot of other events.
The religious right in Tempe got all upset about it and started coming to council meetings. The situation just got uglier and uglier.
They were really just trying to force me out. They said they were going to come to the next council meeting and ask point-blank, each member of the city council about their sexual orientation and wanted to know about city employees as well.
Q. Do you think as a public official you should be asked about your sexual orientation?
A. I think as a public official, the pubic has a right to know with regard to why I may feel the way I feel and have the views that I do on certain public policy issues. I think it comes with the territory, and anyone wanting to get into public life is naïve thinking that they can keep things private
They [right-wing religious groups] were just trying to force me out. I didn't really care if anybody knew. People already knew, anyway.
So I said 'Yeah you know what? You folks are after me? Fine, right I'm gay, big deal.'
It wasn't really a surprise to anybody.
They thought they were going to kill me politically, they thought it was going to be the ruin of my political career.
Q. Were you surprised with the recall election results?
A. No, I wasn't surprised because we ran a very effective campaign.
Q. Do you think coming out helped your campaign?
A. No, I think it's a non-issue. I think most people realize that sexual orientation has nothing to do with someone's ability to do a job.
There will always be those folks who, for their own beliefs, don't think anyone who's not totally straight should be in public life or politics.
More and more, I think that's becoming less of the situation, and more and more people realize that it doesn't really matter.
Q. Your book is 95 percent complete. What sort of reaction do you expect when it comes out?
A. I think folks will be shocked to hear of some of the things that we dealt with behind the scenes during the political campaigns.
I wrote about the threats, the bugging of my home phone. I've never talked about any of that.
Even though people knew I was still in the closet, there were people threatening to expose me, hoping I would drop out of the race.
It was a very difficult decision, but I decided to stay in the race anyway.
There is also a whole chapter about what went on behind the scenes of my first mayoral campaign, which no one in town knows about.
Q. Have you ever had any problems with council members regarding your sexual preference?
A. No, council members have always been good. They are pretty educated people.
Q. Do you discuss your experiences in college?
(Giuliano was a student at ASU in the late 1970s and early '80s)
A. Yes the book covers some of my experiences at ASU. When gay people are in the closet, they really think no one knows. We have this façade that no one knows, but in reality they can figure it out even if you've never said anything.
Q. (Today) is national coming out day. What do you say to those who want to come out?
A. The decision to come out is a personal one.
All I can say to people who may read this, and are still in the closet, is the fears you have about when you are still in the closet, are mostly unwarranted. We create these fears for ourselves when the reality is, in the big picture those fears don't exist, they are not real, but we make them real.
I would tell people to be honest, live an honest life, live with integrity. Be honest to your friends and your family and you'll live a much better and happier life.
Q. What do you want readers to get out of the book?
A. It was young people who encouraged me to do this. I hope they'll take from it that their sexual orientation is not an impediment to them achieving their dreams and being successful.
There was a time when I thought I could never be in politics because I was in the closet.
I was on the verge of living a totally false life. I almost got married twice, once in my early 20s and once in my late 20s.
I am very glad that I didn't do that. I'm very glad that I chose to live an honest life. And even publicly just be honest with citizens. I think one of the things about Tempe voters is they appreciate the honesty. They may not totally understand the sexual orientation issue, and maybe not be totally comfortable, but they just like the fact that you've been honest with them.
Q. Do you wish you had come out sooner?
A. I don't believe in having regrets.
It probably would have been better but would I do what I'm doing today? Probably not because I probably would have not been so driven, and so much of a classic little overachiever, had I not been focusing all my energy on what is a typical, normal societal social life.
While speaking to a business in Phoenix over the summer, someone asked me why gay people were always out to recruiting, looking for young people to become gay.
And my response was 'you know what? I was recruited to be straight my whole life.' My whole life, I was told to go to the prom, go to little boy-girl parties.
Our whole society says 'be this way' and it's very hard for people who are not that way to not assimilate into that. And a lot of people do.
Q. Do you think sexual orientation will always be an issue?
A. I think the generation coming up is a generation that is more understanding of what sexual orientation is about, that it's not a choice. Society is also realizing that so it's not as terrible or hard a thing for people to come out.
Reach the reporter at meagan.pollnow@asu.edu
