When Don Guardian was elected mayor of Atlantic City in 2013, he beat all the odds. A gay, white Republican in a predominantly non-white city, he defeated a sitting African American mayor by cobbling together a diverse coalition of all creeds, races and sexual proclivities. But soon after he was elected, a feud with a fellow Republican, Governor Chris Christie, eventually led to a state takeover of the city, stripping him of what little power he had, given that he had no allies on City Council either. Guardian is up for re-election in November, facing similar odds he overcame four years ago. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros, an Atlantic City resident, at his offices in City Hall in August.
