Turkey’s first ever openly gay mayor candidate announces bid

ISTANBUL

Can Çavuşoğlu has said he will run in Giresun’s district of Bulancak in the March 2014 local elections. Photo posted on Twitter by @cancavusglu

A Turkish man who studied in the United States is aiming to become the first open member of the country’s LGBT community to hold public office when he runs to become mayor of a small town on Turkey’s Black Sea coast.

Can Çavuşoğlu has said he will run in Giresun’s district of Bulancak in the March 2014 local elections in a bid to become the first-ever openly homosexual mayor in the country, while declaring himself a “gay, activist, writer, thinker, painter, humanist and women rights activist.”

The 43-year-old, who was born in Istanbul, has looked to win votes by saying only he can bring American investment to the town thanks to his connections with the U.S., according to a written campaign bid released Sept. 12.

Çavuşoğlu also noted his desire to be the first member of the LGBT to be elected mayor on Sept. 11.
“The international values I possess, the representation skills and governmental accounting can be found only in a few people,” said Çavuşoğlu, an independent who is publicizing his campaign on a discussion website and on his Twitter account.

Çavuşoğlu also said his financial situation was “quite good” – a factor that will allow him to end corruption and embezzlement in Bulancak if elected as mayor.