Portland Mayor Sam Adams and His Beau

"PORTLAND -- A contrite Mayor Sam Adams apologized to Portland for lying about a sexual relationship with a male teenager he was mentoring, but asked the city to consider it an anomaly in two decades of public service. "I screwed up. I blew it. There's no way to sugarcoat it," Adams said during a news conference at City Hall Tuesday. Adams coasted to victory in the 2008 election, making Portland the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor. He was sworn in Jan. 1. The 45-year-old said he has no plans to resign, but left open the possibility: "If it were no longer in the city's best interests that I stay, yes, I would resign." Rumors of a relationship between Adams and the teen, Beau Breedlove, surfaced in 2007, when the city commissioner was getting ready to run for mayor. The rumor was that Adams had sex with a 17-year-old. The pair denied the rumor, but Adams, with the Willamette Week newspaper preparing to publish evidence of the relationship, admitted Monday that the two were together in the summer of 2005. Breedlove turned 18 in June of that year, and Adams said the relationship did not begin until after the birthday. "In fact, Beau encouraged me to be honest about the facts of our relationship," Adams said. "I am deeply sorry that I asked him to lie for me." Commissioner Randy Leonard, who defended him when the rumor surfaced in 2007, has now called for an investigation. Leonard's chief of staff, Ty Kovatch, voiced concern about Adams' decision to ask Breedlove to lie. "It reveals a much more strategic and planned effort to mislead people," Kovatch said. Leonard said he believes Adams can continue as mayor -- unless "further omissions and discrepancies" emerge. Adams said he would cooperate in any investigation. He stressed the issue is about a public official lying, not sexual orientation, and he would work to regain the public's trust. "I will be subject to greater scrutiny because of this, and that is appropriate," he said. "My reputation has been impacted. Friendships have been impacted, and that's appropriate as well." Jeana Frazzini, director of Basic Rights Oregon, the state's largest gay rights organization, said she sensed disappointment within the gay community, but said the long-range impact is hard to predict. "Our main concern is that we hope gay politicians who come after Sam don't turn out to be failures because of individuals who came before," Frazzini said. Though Adams says the relationship with Breedlove was legal, he added that it was inappropriate because of the age gap. He said Breedlove, a legislative intern, wanted to meet with him to get advice about public service. Adams said he wanted a chance to apologize to Breedlove's parents. "I'm the one who should be held accountable," he said. "I was the older adult." The rumor of an Adams-Breedlove relationship came three years after it was revealed that former Oregon Gov. Neil Goldschmidt had sex with an underage girl in the 1970s, when he was Portland mayor. Goldschmidt left public life amid the scandal. Adams said he lied because he didn't think people would believe that the relationship began after Breedlove's 18th birthday. He said there's a stereotype that gays seek out underage children. "That's a very inflammatory thing to throw out there," he said. "It's very difficult to prove a negative."

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