NEPTUNE, N.J. (AP) – Randy Bishop understands why a certain amount of fuss is being made over his expected appointment as mayor this week, though he is doing his best to take a low-key approach.

If Bishop is named to the position on Tuesday, he will become the second openly gay mayor currently in office in New Jersey, and just the third in the state’s history.

”I guess it’s still an oddity for openly gay people to be in elected politics,” Bishop told The Asbury Park Press of Neptune for Sunday’s editions. “The same as for years it was probably true of African-Americans, of people of the Latino cultures, of Asian cultures. It’s the oddity because today it’s so few. Hopefully, it will come to the point where people aren’t looked at as though they are in a box, but by what they bring to the table.”

Tim Eustace of Maywood is the only other openly gay mayor in New Jersey. Gina Genovese became the state’s first openly gay mayor in Long Hill in 2005 and no longer holds the office.

Bishop, who owns the Melrose Inn in Ocean Grove, said his sexuality is a small part of who he is and should not be the focus of his tenure as mayor.

Current Mayor James Manning Jr. agreed.

”Randy approaches everything as a caring ‘person,’” Manning told the newspaper. “His lifestyle has nothing to do with him leading the township.”

Bishop said his top priorities are to advance development projects in the town and start talks about building a township community center.

Steve Goldstein, chair of Garden State Equality, said Bishop’s selection as mayor would be “an extraordinarily important step for us in the gay community. It will encourage other lesbian and gay people to run for office, and further encourage politicians who are lesbian and gay but not open about it to be open about it.”