Harvard City Leadership Initiative, which is an initiative founded by Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term mayor of New York City as well as Harvard University. The mission of the program is to inspire and strengthen city leaders as well as equip them with the tools to lead high-performing and innovative cities. Politics Gusciora is a supporter of gay rights and same-sex marriage. In December 2006, he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality, thereby becoming the first ever openly gay member of the New Jersey Legislature. In January 2012, he was joined by Assemblyman Tim Eustace, the openly gay mayor of Maywood, who was elected to the General Assembly from the 38th District. On Governor Chris Christie's opposition to a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state, Gusciora stated "Govs. Lester Maddox and George Wallace would have found allies in Chris Christie over efforts by the Justice Department to end segregation in the South", and "[Christie] would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets of the South." Christie responded, "What I said was I’m sure that civil rights advocates would have liked to have this as another option but it was not available to them, yet you have numbnuts like Reed Gusciora who put out a statement comparing me to George Wallace and Lester Maddox." The two later amended their differences. See also LGBT culture in New Jersey References External links New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms: 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 Campaign website Assembly Member Reed Gusciora, Project Vote Smart |- 1960 births 21st-century American politicians Catholic University of America alumni Gay politicians LGBT mayors of places in the United States LGBT state legislators in New Jersey Living people Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey lawyers Mayors of Trenton, New Jersey People from Jamesburg, New Jersey People from Princeton, New Jersey Politicians from Passaic, New Jersey Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey Seton Hall University School of Law alumni