Mayor’s Affair: Beau Breedlove speaks out
We’ve heard the openly gay mayor of Portland, Oregon, Sam Adams, apologize for his affair with a teenage intern, and confess he lied about it while running for office. But for the first time, the young man at the center of the City Hall scandal is speaking out, and only to 365gay News.
Beau Breedlove sat down with Ross Palombo of CBS News to tell his side of the story.
Breedlove says their relationship began when he was 17, working as a legislative intern. Adams was 42 and a commissioner for the city of Portland.
“What attracted you to him?” Palombo asked.
“Our friendship, his personality…” Breedlove said. “I thought he was very handsome, I thought he was very charismatic.”
The second time they met, the subject of Breedlove’s age came up.
Breedlove says Adams was surprised to learn he was 17.
“He was worried about the perception of our relationship at that time,” Breedlove told Palombo.
But not worried enough to stop their first kiss, Breedlove says, a kiss goodbye at the train station.
“It was a kiss, it caught me off guard, but it was mutual,” Breedlove said.
“He, the adult, knows you’re 17… but kisses you anyway?” Palombo asked.
“It just happened… It just happened,” Breedlove whispered.
Breedlove also details a kiss inside City Hall, and tells when he and Adams first had sex.
While the Portland Attorney General is investigating whether Breedlove was of the age of legal consent at the time of the sexual relationship, Breedlove insists he is not a victim.
Breedlove also describes his life today, and his relationship with Adams now.
You can see the full interview exclusively on 365gay News, Thursday at 7pm Eastern and Pacific, on Logo.
That last post:
Mr. Kulprapat Patrick Soungthamai Said: February 5th, 2009 at 1:56 pm …
made my skin crawl. Is this a news service or dating service? Let a life dude!
I think it’s ok to have special feeling with young handsoem boy like him. he looks so attractive as same as me by the way I am now in Thailand , the land of conflict and smiles at the same time I prefer getting inside all interesting American websites to know black sporty , muscular , strong , healthy and need to know me personally I really like the way American young punks live and their life styles too. I am Thai-English translator and need to know hot black American guys too. if you are supposed to know me please contact back to my e-mail address patrickvasa@yahoo.com anytime you need I like cycling , swimming and sex too.
Scott
“Is he selling out to the media?”
This is what I perceive in this snippet of an incomplete audio and video clip view of this interview.
It appears that the interviewer put leading words into this young man’s mouth that cause him to respond to this interviewer the way he did. And maybe trigger some twinge of guilt in his mind and then verbalize his feeling of guilt saying it was not appropriate after the interviewer asked him if he thought “it was appropriate”. The interviewer should not have been asking him leading value-laden questions if he wants “a more authentic response” (if that is possible with a member of the media sitting there in front of you asking you stuff.) Interviewer should have merely have said, “could you please tell us in your own words what happened between you and Mayor Adams and how you felt then about it and how you feel today about it?”
And just let Beau take his time to express whatever is in his mind about it.
He is only 17 going on 18 and is he experienced at being interviewed for years?
Beau may have felt some public judgemental attitude leveled at him by the interviewer’s line of questioning and may felt the safest thing to do was to say it was inappropriate thinking it was what people expected to hear and might be more inclined to leave him alone if he stated it as such.
I think by asking leading questions like “was it appropriate,” words were put in Beau’s mouth for him by his interviewer.
But Beau’s words have been said and there is no taking them back when it comes to human relatiionships. Mayor Adams is not likely going to come his way again for fear of getting “burned” again by the “inappropriate label” and of being rejected and Beau is not coming Mayor Adams way again out of guilt, how does this make both of us men look, ideas that the mayor was handsome but the situation was inappropriate, a lot of “head stuff” going on and “too much “cumbersome baggage” being created by this situation”.
Maybe if Mayor just let Beau make the moves himself and do the approaching and asking and say “I feel that I like you but can we meet over coffee and just get to know each other first” and then see if the mayor likes and welcomes the idea.
Maybe it would have been less awkward.
I reminds me of a sign I saw at a country peach stand years ago that goes (nd it is sort of the same idea here if put into the context of interaction between a man who likes another man who aren’t mutually “taken” by each other yet…)
” a peach is like a woman, don’t pinch it until yours”.Pinching a peach bruises and ruins it quickly and peaches have to bandled with some care.
People have to be handled with some care, too.
A person has feelings to take into account, you can’t just “force” yourself on someone unless there is mutual consent and unless the other person agrees to be your boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse or whatever mutually willing thing is going on.
Seems Mayor was caught up in a “moment” and Beau found him handsome and attractive but was caught off guard with his defenses down and returned the kiss as a sort of reaction, but then later was likely wondering why he was kissed and why he kissed back after 2 seperate occaaions.
Nothing like mutual communication over coffee in a public place to let both men think if this someone “I would like to
know better”.
I had a similar “caught me off guard thing” happen to me but it was with a drunk man suddenly grab me and forcedhis tongue in my mouth before I had a chance to react as I was coming out the door on the back deck of a house at a men’s potluck.
I did not fall apart. I’ve had sex with men before in my life so I knew what to do about it. He wouldn’t leave me alone so I kept shoving him away while making blunt comments but with a sweet and good humored tone of voice like “you really need to visit with some of the other men here”, “Brian, I am not your type, so leave me alone”,etc. And some of the other men began to tell Brian to leave Morgan alone after I pushed him from me in the pool about 20 or so times that he tried to do the same and wouldn’t get the message. I took care to never accuse him of being drunk and never sound angry, since other men had been drinking beer there as well.
It all goes back to the mutual consent thing from my interactions with other men.
My own attitude is “You really like me and you want me? Fine, so long as it’s mutual and after we’ve spent a little while with each other.” But at least let me have a say about what happens to me first.
I have no problem at all with a friendly hug and kiss from another man, whom I know and who is in my social group,
but don’t force on me things I haven’t yet consented to like an intimate tongue to tongue exchange of saliva, etc.
Best for these two men to move on with their lives, get over what happened and meet other men “whom they can have”.
I agree with Kevin and NOT with Edward. I too am from Portland and do not understand how Edward thinks it is “okay” to lie about some things and not others. Telling a lie is just that, telling a lie. Edward must have very low personal standards if he thinks that ANY lie is okay. Sam lied to protect his run for the mayor’s office. Plain and simple. Sorry Ed, but the Portlander’s I know are not okay with any lie.
So where do we draw the line Ed, is it okay for Sam to lie about anything related to his personal life as long as he is 100% honest about his political life? Get real!
Ouslander asks, “Why can’t guys date age-appropriate people?” Who are you to tell others what age is appropriate for people to date? Adams and Breedlove had a consensual relationship. They were both of legal age. Just because in retrospect they decided that it was inappropriate is no cause to make generalizations about what is appropriate for all people. Christopher Isherwood was 49 when he fell in love with 18-year-old Don Bachardy. The wives of John McCain, Rudy Guiliano, and Fred Thompson are more than 25 years younger than they are, and that didn’t become an issue in the Presidential campaign–and all those were guilty of adultery!
When I was 17 I would have loved to have been kissed, and more, by a handsome, older man. I didn’t because I was stuck in a rural area with no opportunities. Starting at age 18 I usually dated men 9-12 years older than myself. I would never say that, in retrospect, what we did was inappropriate. This guy’s lack of conviction makes me angry. Is he selling out to the media?
One doesn’t have to dfeel like a victim to be a victim. Why can’t guys date age appropriate people? It’s too often acceptable to sexualize underage guys and be with them in a desperate attempt to retain/racpture your own youth.
This handsome, attractively dressed and groomed, soft-spoken young man will one day find the handsome and attractive man who will become his true love. A man whom he deems to be appropriate and right for him.
I wish him the best of luck in finding a good man, who is good to him and for him and who will be the one to lead down the path of love.
And I hope that Mayor Adams finds love with a nice man who will find it appropriate to be with him.
I am from Portland and I just have to tell my fellow residents to please stop with this whole “untrustworthy” thing. Ok. He lied. But he didn’t lie about anything related to his office, just his personal life. Oh wait, what was that? HIS PERSONAL LIFE. Who cares? It doesn’t affect his performance in office. So get off you moral high horse and give the man a break. He lied. The end. Unless you are perfect and have never lied, then please shut up. You’re probably all just jealous he snagged an 18 year old. So please, get over it. The world will keep turning.
What? No steaming photos of Breedlove as young hottie? I’m disappointed. Maybe a feature photo on the front page of the Advocate?
I am having trouble understanding the importance of this story. It seems like much a do about nothing to me. Maybe I’m just getting old but I remember a time when gay men were happy to have sex and thrilled to be gay. Have we just become feminized?
Anymore content?
Such a tease! I wish the whole interview were posted here. Thankfully, I have LOGO–now if only I could set my TWC DVR from the web…
That’s it? Where is the rest of the interview?
It’s not a sex scandal that has the mayor in deep sh#@, it is that he lied about it. Most people here in Portland, especially the gay community, do not care about Breedlove. We want a mayor we can trust to tell the truth, even if it does not suit his political aspirations. What he or any elected official do in their bedrooms (as long as it is legal) usually does not shape our (Portlanders) opinions of their abilities to serve the city.
Now if they lie as Sam did, then we say “string em high!”
I would rather have a stright mayor who is honest than a gay mayor who lies.
Breedlove had is 15 minutes (after all Sam is in his mid-40’s)