Ron Oden (born March 21, 1950) is an American politician. In November 2003, he was elected the first gay African-American mayor of Palm Springs, California, after serving eight years on the city council. He became the first Black openly gay man to be a mayor of a U.S. city. His ground breaking election opened a door and: he was also "the first gay African-American elected to lead a California city." The community's outlook and fortune was transformed. The Palm Spring City Council made history once again: in December 2017, Palm Springs elected "America's first all-LGBTQ city council."