Meet Alex Morse, the gay progrsive mayor takg on a 30-year Democratic cumbent |

Contents:

• GAY MAYOR NONTS 'HOMOPHOBIC' SEX SNDAL AHEAD OF PRIMARY
• THE YOUNGT GAY MAYOR MASSACHETTS HISTORY IS RUNNG FOR CONGRS
• ELECTED MAYOR AT 22. ALEX MORSE, A GAY JEWISH PROGRSIVE, IS NOW NNG FOR CONGRS.
• ALEX MORSE WAS ELECTED MAYOR AT 22. NOW THE GAY JEWISH PROGRSIVE IS NNG FOR CONGRS.
• GAYT PLAC IN MASSACHETTS FOR 2020
• MEET ALEX MORSE, THE GAY PROGRSIVE MAYOR TAKG ON A 30-YEAR DEMOCRATIC CUMBENT

GAY MAYOR NONTS 'HOMOPHOBIC' SEX SNDAL AHEAD OF PRIMARY

”The allegatns — that the young, gay mayor had ed his posn of power to sexually proposn vulnerable llege stunts — spread quickly through his wtern Massachetts district, leadg one member of Holyoke’s cy uncil to ll for his ls than a week later, The Intercept published explosive reports allegg that members of the College Democrats at the Universy of Massachetts Amherst, where Morse once worked, had schemed for months to create a sex sndal to rail Morse’s progrsive challenge to cumbent Rep.

“A number of folks are seeg for what is, terms of the the language and rponse to the accatns beg rooted age-old homophobic trop and the nstant overpolicg of the personal liv, the sex liv, of gay men and members of the queer muny, ” Morse told NBC News. 9, sayg Morse “abed his power for sexual relatnships” and nfirmed they sent a siar emailed statement to the ndidate same day, Holyoke uncil member Mike Sullivan lled for Morse to rign for teractns wh “naive and nocent teenage llege stunts, ” acrdg to wtern Massachetts news statn LGBTQ Victory Fund nmned Sullivan, sayg “believ the e of the word ‘teenagers’ is meant to purposely evoke homophobic stereotyp of gay men as pedophil.

”“The archects of the efforts knew this is where the nversatn would lead – wh no regard for the homophobia would unleash, ” the group said, askg those supportg Sullivan’s motn to “ask themselv whether he would treat a straight ndidate the same way.

THE YOUNGT GAY MAYOR MASSACHETTS HISTORY IS RUNNG FOR CONGRS

”Morse cid to stay the race, sayg he tsts the voters of Massachetts’ 1st Congrsnal District to make up their own mds as to whether homophobia fluenced the alleged scheme. “If voters aren't seeg the homophobia, they are certaly seeg the tablishment — they are seeg a powerful cumbent at risk of losg a seat and the people around him willg to do whatever tak for him to hold onto power, ” Morse jt as quickly as the sndal had appeared, seemed to disappear: A new report st strong doubts on the origal College Democrats letter five days after ma Aug.

A poll nducted this month put Morse wh five pots of Neal, wh 13 percent of voters uncid — well wh the strikg distance that other Democratic challengers om the left had before wng their, who at 31 is among the first of a generatn of LGBTQ policians who me of age g mon datg apps such as OkCupid, Tr and Grdr, said he “will never apologize for beg young and gay and sgle and g gay datg apps and havg nsensual relatns wh other adult men. Morse, a ngrsnal ndidate and former gut lecturer at the universy, om s future events, claimg “numero cints” of unwanted and appropriate advanc toward Morse is a 31-year-old, gay, small-cy mayor and a risg star natnal progrsive polics. Neal and his alli the state’s Democratic learship of havg a hand a homophobic plot to smear him.

ELECTED MAYOR AT 22. ALEX MORSE, A GAY JEWISH PROGRSIVE, IS NOW NNG FOR CONGRS.

Morse and works to elect lbian, bisexual, gay and transgenr ndidat, heard through an termediary June about a vague and unsourced plat that the ndidate had a checkered datg the timg of that warng was spic, g jt after the anizatn voted to formally endorse Mr. Morse would set a bad precent for progrsive ndidat, pecially gay on.

Cyr, who is gay. “Amerins are OK wh gay policians as long as they’re sexls, ” Mr. Fischel Morse said the suatn left him eply nflicted — as someone who was wrongly acced but who believ victims should not feel timidated to speak out, and as a gay man worried about endurg homophobia Amerin society.

Rivera, a muny anizer who served as the first openly gay cy uncil member of Sprgfield, Massachetts, met Morse when he joed a youth engagement task force Rivera was headg up. ’ And he didn’t want that, ” Rivera 16, Morse me out as gay and soon after found his high school’s first gay–straight alliance. He spent much of his senr year, Morse don’t seem to md havg missed out on, as one mpaign staffer put , his “crazy gay twenti.

ALEX MORSE WAS ELECTED MAYOR AT 22. NOW THE GAY JEWISH PROGRSIVE IS NNG FOR CONGRS.

We have this young gay mayor om Holyoke, which is kd of up and g, and this seasoned ngrsman, who’s done the way ’s always been done, ” Rivera said.

A Holyoke, Mass., Cy Council member wants to rell Mayor Alex Morse over reports that the gay mayor had relatnships wh llege stunts -- and the uncil member is beg lled homophobic for sayg Morse engaged "sexual activi wh teenagers.

GAYT PLAC IN MASSACHETTS FOR 2020

In a statement released Tuday, he acced Morse of havg "sexual activi wh teenagers, " wordg that crics say plays to homophobic trop.

" Three other uncil members, David Bartley, Howard Greaney Jr., and Lda Van, support a rpond to the statement by tellg the TV statns, "This is nothg but a sad, ignorant, and homophobic attack by cy uncilors who have long fought agast efforts to make Holyoke a welg muny for all. "Councilmember Sullivan's statement is a blatant attempt to mislead voters and appeal to homophobic stereotyp about gay men as pedophil -- and mt be retracted and nmned, " Victory Fund Senr Polil Director Sean Meloy said a prs release. The archects of the efforts knew this is where the nversatn would lead -- wh no regard for the homophobia would unleash.

"It is unsurprisg that a uncilmember who refers to people who are homels as 'animals' would also e homophobia as a polil weapon to mislead voters. But we hope Councilmembers Bartley, Greaney and Van regnize the homophobic dog whistl for what they are and retract their support for his efforts. Polics has been his blood om an early age, when he served on the Holyoke Youth Commissn at age 12, formed a Gay-Straight Alliance high school, and then went on to jo the Massachetts Governor’s LGBT Commissn.

MEET ALEX MORSE, THE GAY PROGRSIVE MAYOR TAKG ON A 30-YEAR DEMOCRATIC CUMBENT

Several of those figur were endorsed by the Jtice Democrats, who recently gave Morse their endorsement as has refully flected parisons to another gay Democratic ndidate for higher office Pete Buttigieg. “I thk we may have different views on certa polici and how to get there, ” he says of the South Bend mayor, addg that “watchg an openly gay young person and his hband n a very out and proud mpaign was certaly excg and spirg to watch. Gay Massachetts ngrsnal ndidate Alex Morse, unr cricism regardg sexual relatnships wh llege stunts, has admted the relatnships but vowed to stay the is challengg cumbent U.

The primary will be held September 1, and there is no Republin ndidate, so the wner of the Democratic primary is assured of electn November, barrg unforeen, now 31, beme the youngt mayor of Holyoke and the first openly gay one when elected at age 22.

" There is an important nversatn gog on about power dynamics relatnships, he he said some of his crics are vokg "age-old anti-gay stereotyp" and that his private life has been subjected to "scty and fixatn that are all too faiar to other members of the LGBTQ muny. In the newly tablished gay mecs, LGBT people uld velop muny and build fai of choice to make up for straed relatns they left behd.