I would hesitate to call the current mayor popular. She's not seeking a second term for a reason. I'd also question how strong the socialist tensions are. There's definitely tensions between moderate old guard pro-regulation republicans and libertarians with a small vocal minority of socialists.

I may have conflated the popular Mayor Rocky Anderson's human rights activism for gay people along with the current lesbian Mayor Jackie Biskupski with whom I am only superficially knowledgeable and as you point out my phrasing was incorrect. I haven't lived in the city for a decade and only recently visited for a conference, but found it the same lovely corner of the country with a less oppressive culture than when I lived there.

Mostly I was just trying to point out that while the media and popular culture reduces parts of the world to simple caricatures, usually the particulars are more complex and nuanced.