Providence, Rhode Island Mayor David Cicilline stands to become the nation’s first governor to be elected as openly gay, according to a recent feature in The Advocate.

Elected six years ago to the seat previously held by Vincent “Buddy” Cianci (who went to prison in 2001 for racketeering and corruption), Cicilline has made substantial improvements to the city. He drew more than $3 billion in investments to the city, erased a $59 million debt and reduced the crime rate to its lowest level in 30 years.

The Advocate reports:

Cicilline’s salesmanship could soon be put to a new test. Widely considered one of the state’s most viable gubernatorial candidates for 2010, he’s hinted that he’ll throw his hat into the ring early this year. “It’s something I’ve been looking at in a serious way,” Cicilline says.

It’s a victory that would be historic. No other governor has ever run as openly gay (New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey came out while in office). But it’s not a done deal.

“Mayors don’t translate to governors easily,” says Donald Sweitzer, Democratic National Committee finance director. “Big-city mayors face an enormous amount of problems in their day-to-day duties, and they rack up a lot of detractors.” But Cicilline, who has largely maintained a 60%–plus approval rating, could buck the trend. His only major adversary is the Providence firefighters labor union, with which he’s been engaged in a hard-fought contract dispute.

“But David is a unique character,” Sweitzer adds. “He will hold statewide office soon.”

Rhode Island’s geographic intimacy has likely helped boost Cicilline’s popularity beyond the reach of his detractors. “It’s a small media market, and people see him every day on TV,” Sweitzer says. “Since we are a one-newspaper state, people know him and they see what he’s done.”

And Cicilline’s accessibility has helped render his sexual orientation politically insignificant. Despite his vocal support for marriage equality and his regular appearances at gay bars around Providence, the historical implications of being the nation’s first serious out gubernatorial candidate don’t seem much of a hurdle.

“His sexual orientation hasn’t been an issue,” says Darrell West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution. “In a small state like Rhode Island, people know their officials. They judge the person on who he is versus what he is.”