SCOTTSDALE (AP) – Scottsdale’s Personnel Board has voted unanimously to recommend the city protect gay and transgender people from discrimination in City Hall.

The vote addresses the first of a three-part ordinance including a proposal requiring Scottsdale businesses and contractors to offer protection for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Scottsdale has ordinances that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age and physical disability.

If the City Council approves it Dec. 4, the city will add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes of people.

VALLEJO (AP) – A 45-year-old city councilmember is set to become the San Francisco Bay area’s first openly gay mayor, after he was declared the winner by only four votes on the same day he apologized for his arrest for public drunkenness.

The final results of the Nov. 6 election came on Tuesday, just days after Mayor-elect Gary Cloutier was arrested behind the wheel of a Cadillac on suspicion of public intoxication outside a Palm Springs bar.

A recount was likely in Cloutier’s apparent 5,722 to 5,718 win over Osby Davis, 62, who would have been the first black mayor to lead the city of about 120,000 just north of San Francisco.

Gay rights advocates hailed Cloutier’s election as historic for a region known as a haven of tolerance for gays and lesbians.

“Any time people across a city or a region vote for an openly gay candidate, they are saying a person’s sexual orientation doesn’t matter,” said Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. “It shows Americans are fair-minded.”

Cloutier publicly apologized for the arrest Tuesday morning before learning of the vote tally. He was arrested Sunday morning after he allegedly emerged drunk from the bar and got into the driver’s seat of the car.

“I had too much to drink,” Cloutier said outside city hall. “I make no excuses, and I accept full responsibility for my actions.”

Police said Cloutier was about to drive away, but his campaign manager said he was never intending to drive drunk.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce endorses same-sex marriage, saying it would improve the city’s business climate.

More than 40 briefs were filed with the California Supreme Court supporting legalizing same-sex unions, but only one represents business interests.

The high court is reviewing lawsuits by same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco claiming a state law, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, violates the California Constitution.

TALLAHASSEE (AP) – State Rep. Bob Allen has resigned after being convicted of agreeing to pay $20 to perform oral sex on an undercover police officer in the men’s room of a Titusville park.

The Merritt Island Republican submitted his resignation to House Speaker Marco Rubio, who had been pressing Allen to give up his seat since Nov. 9, when a Brevard County jury found him guilty of soliciting for sex.

Allen was sentenced to six months on probation and fined $250, when he also filed an appeal. He could have received a maximum of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

“Due to the requirements of my family and private life, and in order to seek justice in the upcoming appeal process, I regretfully would like to inform you that I will need to resign,” Allen wrote in the letter to Rubio, R-West Miami.

Allen was known for trying to pass tougher public lewdness laws since being elected in 2000. He had been planning to run for the Florida Senate next year.

His resignation will go into effect Feb. 15 or when a replacement is elected. Gov. Charlie Crist is expected to order a special election in Allen’s Space Coast district.

If Allen had not resigned, the House could have removed him but probably not until March when the Legislature begins its next regular session. A special session was unlikely because the Senate also would have to convene even though only the House could take action against Allen.

Officer Danny Kavanaugh testified the lawmaker peered over a stall at him in July and asked to go somewhere private. Kavanaugh said he then told Allen “I’m looking to get some money. Can you hook me up with $20.”

ROCKVILLE (AP) – Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett has signed off on legislation to protect transgender people from discrimination.

The measure prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in housing, employment, taxi and cable service, and public accommodations.

Opponents say they plan to gather signatures for a referendum to overturn the protections. They worry the measure will give male cross-dressers access to women’s restrooms and locker rooms.

The county’s anti-discrimination code, however, makes exceptions for areas considered “distinctly private or personal.”

According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 13 states, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and 90 other local jurisdictions have banned discrimination against transgender people.

LANSING (AP) – Gov. Jennifer Granholm has issued an order that bars discrimination against state workers based on their “gender identity or expression,” which protects the rights of those who behave, dress or identify as members of the opposite sex.

The order, which Granholm signed Wednesday, adds gender identity to a list of other prohibited grounds for discrimination that includes religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, height, weight, marital status, politics, disability or genetic information.

“State employment practices and procedures that encourage nondiscriminatory and equal employment practices provide desirable models for the private sector and local governments,” says the resolution.

The Triangle Foundation, a Michigan-based group advocating rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, praised Granholm’s action.

“Coming out as transgender is a career-ender. Transgendered people lose their jobs all the time,” foundation policy director Sean Kosofsky told the Detroit Free Press.

James Muffet, president of Citizens for Traditional Values, expressed doubt about the seriousness of sexual identity discrimination in state government. He said Granholm more likely was making a political gesture toward gay rights groups that backed her 2006 re-election bid.

CONCORD (AP) – Same-sex couples seeking civil unions will be able to obtain licenses at New Hampshire town and city halls beginning Dec. 10.

Deputy Secretary of State Dave Scanlan said the final steps for civil unions are falling into place for couples who want to get them as soon as they go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1.

“As far as we’re concerned, everything is on schedule,” Scanlan said.

He said worksheets for clerks to use while issuing licenses are being printed this week. They’re similar to forms for marriage licenses–but with the words “bride” and “groom” deleted. A final computer systems check is scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 8.

TOLEDO (AP) – A new city ordinance will allow same-sex or other unmarried couples to register their domestic partnerships.

The ordinance, passed by City Council last week, was signed into law by Mayor Carty Finkbeiner on Wednesday. The registry will serve as proof of eligibility for benefits such as health care.

Those who sign an affidavit at City Hall will receive a certificate and cards to give employers as proof of an unmarried but committed relationship.

The registry also could provide a basis for people to visit domestic partners in the hospital and pick up children at schools, supporters said, noting that the city has a domestic partnership registry for police officers and firefighters who have negotiated benefits in their collective bargaining agreements.

Supporters say the ordinance does not violate Ohio’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. It is modeled after the only other one in the state, which voters in Cleveland Heights approved in 2003.

On Sunday, Bishop Leonard Blair urged the city’s Roman Catholics to speak out against the plan, saying it would weaken the institution of marriage.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Philadelphia Mayor John Street has presided over his first ever same-sex commitment ceremony.

Ryan Bunch and Micah Mahjoubian exchanged vows inside City Hall on Saturday. Mahjoubian has worked in the mayor’s administration for the past eight years and asked Street to officiate.

Street says he agreed because Mahjoubian is his friend.

Mahjoubian says that while the state does not recognize same-sex marriage, Street’s action “lends legitimacy” to the ceremony. He says that was important to the couple, whose commitment was witnessed by about 125 people.

Protesters opposed to same-sex marriage met the couple outside as they left City Hall. Unfazed, the two drove off in a convertible with a sign that read, “Just Married.”