Valerie Terrigno

Valerie Susan Terrigno (; born 1954 ) is a former mayor of West Hollywood, California. She was elected to the city council in 1984 and became mayor not long after. She was the first lesbian mayor of an incorporated municipality in the United States.

Early life Terrigno grew up in the Bronx, the oldest of five children. The family moved to Neptune, New Jersey in 1966. Terrigno graduated second in her class from Neptune High School, then attended Hofstra University on a scholarship. She transferred to University of California, Los Angeles where she studied psychology but later dropped out. She then took courses for a therapy license at biofeedback clinic New Health Institute. and began offering domestic partnership benefits, becoming the second American city to legally recognize same-sex relationships (Berkeley had passed a similar law a year earlier). Her best-known action as mayor was, after the city council passed an anti-discrimination ordinance, taking down a controversial anti-gay sign, "Fagots [sic] Stay Out," at local landmark restaurant Barney's Beanery.

Embezzlement charges After serving for one year as mayor of the city, a largely ceremonial position that rotated annually among the members of the city council, On the witness stand, Terrigno acknowledged making "errors in judgment" but denied any criminal wrongdoing. Former friends, colleagues, and significant others testified against her. Terrigno claimed that she was targeted for being lesbian, but jurors denied that sexual orientation was a factor. When she resigned, city officials awarded her with four plaques honoring her work in organizing West Hollywood. Longtime gay activist Harry Hay, angered at what he believed was unfair treatment, walked the parade route with a sign reading "Valerie Terrigno walks with me".