Draft:Steve Schulte

Stephen Eugene Schulte (b. January 21, 1946) is an American politician, activist and policy analyst. The first openly gay candidate to run for the Los Angeles City Council, he was the third mayor of West Hollywood.

Political career
Following his 1983 resignation as director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center (now the Los Angeles LGBT Center),  Schulte ran for Los Angeles City Council. He was later elected to the City Council of West Hollywood after it was established as an independent city. Serving with John Heilman, Valerie Terrigno and Paul Koretz, Schulte was known as the "voice of dissent."

Schulte served as West Hollywood's third mayor from 1986 to 1987. He was involved in the City's organizational, legislative, personnel and policy decisions. Schulte worked to create the Public Safety Commission that monitored anti-gay behavior by the deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He also worked to establish a gay and lesbian task force to reshape city policies and worked with a coalition of anti-development activists who succeeded in halting the development of a 23 million dollar civic center in West Hollywood Park. During his time as councilman, Schulte helped to establish a Russian Cultural Center for the City of West Hollywood as a means of integrating and educating Russian immigrants fleeing the anti-Semitism of the Soviet Union.

Project Angel Food
Schulte was Executive Director of Project Angel Food (1992–1993), a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles County which provides prepared meals for people who are home-bound with illness. He joined the organization at a time of structural and financial challenges and worked to see stability, growth and progressive employee policies embedded into the agency. He clashed with Project Angel Food's founder, Marianne Williamson, which resulted in his dismissal. Employees of Project Angel Food responded by demanding the resignation of Williamson and the reinstatement of Schulte as director.

Modeling Career
Schulte modeled in the nude under the pseudonym Nick Chase for Colt Magazine from 1977 to 1980, something his opponent attempted to use against him in his run for mayor of West Hollywood. "I don't want to be labeled as a 'Colt model.' This is a part of why I stopped doing it. I'm not merely... anything. I wasn't merely the mayor of West Hollywood, I wasn't merely the director of the Gay and Lesbian Center, and I wasn't merely a model for Jim French (photographer)" said Schulte in an interview for the Huffington Post.