Openly Gay Councilmember to Run for DC Mayor

District of Columbia Councilmember David Catania is filing paperwork to run for mayor as an independent in the midst of a fundraising scandal involving Mayor Vincent Gray’s 2010 campaign.

Catania could pose a challenge to the Democratic nominee in this year’s general election, even though the district is heavily Democratic. Catania is a gay former Republican with a progressive record. He first won a citywide at-large council seat in 1997 and has been re-elected four times.

Catania is opening his campaign Wednesday, registering his candidacy with the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance.

After President George W. Bush championed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in 2004, Catania left the Republican Party and registered as an independent. He later led an effort to legalize gay marriage in the nation’s capital.