Salt Lake City close to electing 1st openly gay mayor

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — It may not be official for two weeks, but election results so far indicate Salt Lake City, the capital of conservative Utah, is poised to narrowly elect its first openly gay mayor in what would mark another milestone for an LGBT movement that has made major strides in a state with a long history of hostility to gays and lesbians.

Former state lawmaker Jackie Biskupski is leading two-term incumbent Ralph Becker by 1,450 votes, according to election results released late Tuesday night.

But at least 10,000 ballots county-wide need to be counted in the coming days, including an unknown amount in the mayor's race, Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said. She said a fleet of about 20 members of her staff are sorting ballots this morning with that expectation that the total number of uncounted mayoral votes will be known Wednesday afternoon.

Biskupski spokeswoman Maryann Martindale said they have analyzed the results and don't foresee any scenario where Becker can make up the deficit. But Martindale said they understand why Becker isn't conceding and respect the process.

http://news.yahoo.com/salt-lake-city-close-electing-1st-openly-gay-204720705.html