Guy V. Padgett III is a former American municipal politician from Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

. A member of the Casper, Wyoming

Casper, Wyoming

Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...

 City Council from 2003 to 2009, he was mayor of Casper from 2005 to 2006. He is a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

.

He came out

Coming out

Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....

 as gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 while on the city council in 2003, becoming the state's first openly gay elected official. Despite Wyoming's reputation for being politically conservative

Conservatism

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...

 and the murder of Casper native Matthew Shepard

Matthew Shepard

Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...

 in nearby Laramie in 1998, Padgett was unanimously elected mayor by the council in 2005. He reportedly enjoyed great popularity among his constituents, including support from prominent Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politicians such as Alan K. Simpson

Alan K. Simpson

Alan Kooi Simpson is an American politician who served from 1979 to 1997 as a United States Senator from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party. His father, Milward L. Simpson, was also a member of the U.S...

. In addition he was, at 27, Casper's youngest mayor.

He was re-elected to the city council in 2006; he resigned his seat June 30, 2009, upon admission to a master's degree program at the University of Denver

University of Denver

The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....

 Josef Korbel School of International Relations. His resignation left only one openly gay elected official in Wyoming: state representative Cathy Connolly

Cathy Connolly

Cathy Connolly is an American professor and politician from Wyoming. A Democrat, she is a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives representing the state's 13th district in Albany County...

(D–Laramie).