Neil Giuliano

Neil Giuliano
30th Mayor of Tempe
In office 1994–2004
Preceded by	Harry Mitchell
Succeeded by	Hugh Hallman
Personal details
Born	(1956-10-26) October 26, 1956
Political party	Republican Party (until 2008) Democratic Party (2008–present)[1]
Alma mater	Arizona State University

Neil G. Giuliano (born October 26, 1956) is an American politician who served as mayor of Tempe, Arizona for four terms, from 1994 to 2004. Giuliano served as President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) from 2005 to 2009, and has served as CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation since being appointed in December 2010,^[2][3] though he is retiring at the end of 2015.

Education and work at ASU

Giuliano graduated with a BA degree from what is now the Hugh Downs School of Communication at Arizona State University in 1979, and received a master's degree in Education there in 1983.^[2] While a student there, he served as Student Body President as well as International President of Circle K International.^[4]

Community service

He was an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Tempe, President of the club from 1986-1987.^[5] He also served as president of Tempe Leadership and on numerous non-profit boards of directors including the Tempe Community Council, Big Brothers-Big Sisters and the Friends of the Tempe Center for the Arts.

Political career

Giuliano began his political career as a councilmember and Vice-Mayor of Tempe, Arizona.^[2] He was elected as mayor of Tempe four times, serving from 1994–2004; the first three terms were two years each, the fourth was for four years.^[2] After he came out as gay, political opponents tried to remove him from office by organizing a recall campaign.^[6] A recall election was held in September 2001, which Giuliano won in a landslide, defeating a campaign that was called "blatantly homophobic".^[7] He also chaired the commission in charge of hosting the third debate of the 2004 United States presidential elections.^[8] Upon retiring, Giuliano received praise from Senator John McCain and then-Governor Janet Napolitano. In 2008, Giuliano changed his registration from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party and The Arizona Republic reported that he has considered running for governor of Arizona in 2010 as a Democrat but he declined to run.^[9] He was again speculated about running for Governor in 2014 but he has endorsed Fred DuVal for the Democratic nomination.^[10]

GLAAD

Giuliano served as President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a national LGBT organization dedicated to ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of LGBT people and events in the media, from 2005 to 2009.^[2]

Giuliano was featured on CBS Sunday Morning and has appeared on CNN, ABC World News Tonight, Showbiz Tonight, and Access Hollywood and has been quoted in Newsweek and USA Today and numerous state and regional media outlets discussing LGBT images in the media and issues.^[11]

Awards and recognition

Giuliano was named one of the Top 25 of 2005 by Instinct Magazine.^[12] In 2004, he received the Individual Achievement Award from the Arizona Human Rights Fund.^[13] He was named to the OUT 100 by OUT Magazine, which notes the top 100 people in gay culture in the US.^[12] While he was Mayor, Tempe was named an "All American-City," an award honoring local governments demonstrating success in problem solving.^[3]

References