42: 2020 Milk-Moscone Vigil
In this April 1977 file photo, San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, left, and Mayor George Moscone are shown in the mayor's office during the signing of the city's gay rights bill. (Read more at NPR.)
On November 27th, 1978, Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were both murdered in cold blood by Dan White. So every year on this date, the Milk Club honors these men and the progressive movement they each created. Always remembering how their tragic and senseless deaths continually force us to fight for a queer-friendly, inclusive, and progressive future for all, in San Francisco and beyond.
During recent years, the Milk Club hosts an in-person, candlelight march in the Castro, ending at Harvey's old camera shop. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that simply was not an option this time.
According to Chris Arvin's presentation at Tuesday's General Membership Meeting, a strong majority of SF voters continues to agree with our Club's endorsements.
At our November General Meeting, the Membership voting to:
1) Officially oppose Ordinance 201265 which would penalize tenants $1,000 a day if they are accused of smoking tobacco or cannabis in their apartments. (Read more about this here.)
2) Officially support Ordinance 201185 which would require all new supportive housing that comes online and all current supportive housing to charge tenants no more than 30% of their income towards rent.
3) Hold an endorsement vote for ADEM candidates running in AD 17 and AD 19 at our December General Membership Meeting. (More on this below.)
4) Hold an endorsement vote for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock for the U.S. Senate in Georgia at our December General Membership Meeting.
5) Officially support AB 310 (The California State Public Bank Act) and the Federal Public Banking Act, sponsored by US Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
If you missed our meeting, you can view it here.
Article VI of the California Democratic Party Bylaws provides that Assembly District Election Meetings (ADEMS) be held in each of the 80 California Assembly Districts in January of each odd-numbered year to elect seven self-identified female Democratic candidates and seven other than self-identified female Democratic candidates to be Assembly District Delegates to represent the Assembly District in which they live.
These elections are open to all California Democrats. Delegates are responsible for planning and attending informational meetings throughout their respective regions and working with other delegates across California on statewide matters.
Therefore, it is critical that all of us in the Milk Club register to vote and vote for progressive Democratic Delegates in Assembly Districts 17 and 19 to ensure that we endorse truly progressive state-level and federal representatives and ballot measures in 2022, worthy of Harvey Milk's legacy. Remember, these delegates could be pivotal if/when there are open seats in Congress or the State Assembly on the horizon.
In order to register to vote in the 2021 ADEM elections, register here. The deadline to register for a vote by mail ballot is January 11, 2021.
In order to apply as a candidate, register here. The deadline to apply is December 15th.
Also, keep in mind that the Membership will vote to endorse a slate of ADEM candidates in AD 17 and AD 19 at our December General Meeting. Stay tuned for more details as we get a clearer picture on who is running.
A Queer Election: What Just Happened?
Bye bye, baby.
We in the Harvey Milk Club hope you are all rested by now because the 2020 elections have been one hell of a roller coaster!
And when all is said and done, the incumbent will be ejected from The White House one way or another. And our Club's endorsed presidential ticket, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, will soon be sworn into office and tasked will cleaning up the mess and healing our country's bloody wounds.
Our national nightmare is almost over. Hopefully.
Diana Ross in The Wiz singing "Brand New Day" after the melting of Evilene, the Wicked Witch of the West. Very fitting after these four long years.
Congratulations to District 1 Supervisor-elect Connie Chan!
Overall, November's election results have been mixed but mostly positive, especially at the local level. In fact, "Progressives are winning the Battle of San Francisco," according to 48 Hills.
Connie Chan's election to the Board of Supervisors certainly represents one of our progressive wins, despite sleazy, fly-by-night, fake tenant groups spending big bucks in District 1 to the contrary.
The Harvey Milk Club is proud of the grassroots (and mostly volunteer) support we offered Supervisor-elect Connie Chan, and we look forward to working with her at City Hall next year.
Join us at 7pm on Tuesday on Zoom as we discuss the November election results and what comes next.
We briefly discussed Connie Chan's win earlier, but what else happened on Election Day?
Join the Milk Club on Tuesday at 7pm as we discuss all of the election results (local, state, and federal) and what this election means for advancing our queer values in the not-so-distant future.
The Facebook Event details are here. And the Zoom details are here.
Our agenda includes:
1) Election results analysis, with a particular focus on local and state results with David Campos, Jane Kim, Joe Eskenazi and Chris Arvin.
2) Community Outreach efforts, including an open conversation on engaging in community service projects during off-election cycles.
3) Discussion on the upcoming 2021 E-Board elections.
4) Discussion for our Annual Harvey Milk Vigil for November 27th, which will be held virtually this year, due to COVID-19 concerns.
5) New Business.
Onward to 2021, queers! Onward:
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
SF Transgender Film Festival 2020 (Online)
Thursday, November 12th - Sunday, November 15th
Facebook Event Details Here
Film Festival Details Here
Milk Club November General Meeting: What Just Happened?
Tuesday, November 17th | 7-9pm
Facebook Event Details Here
Zoom Details Here
The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
http://www.milkclub.org
Join or renew your Membership today!
http://www.milkclub.org/join
Bye Bye Baby!!!
The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
http://www.milkclub.org
Join or renew your Membership today!
http://www.milkclub.org/join
Act Up! Fight Back!
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”
There are no words to describe how saddened we are by the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Much like our Club’s namesake, Ruth came from humble beginnings. She was born to Jewish immigrant parents and grew up in New York during the Great Depression and came of age during World War II.
The gender discrimination Ms. Ginsburg faced throughout her professional career undoubtely shaped her political values and overall jurisprudence, much to the material benefit of the lives of millions of Americans during her service on the United States Supreme Court.
During Justice Ginsburg's tenure on the Court, she fought for Women's rights, LGBT rights, racial equality, voting rights, workers' rights and against discrimination, voter supression, gerrymandering, money in politics and unfettered capitalism. Some of the most rulings on LGBT rights she presided over include (but are not limited to):
Romer v. Evans (1996):
Voiding an amendment to the Colorado state constitution that prohibited laws protecting the rights of homosexuals.
Lawrence v. the State of Texas (2003):
Overturning anti-sodomy laws in 14 states.
Hollingsworth v. Perry (2013):
Legalizing same-sex marriage in Califonria.
United States v. Windsor (2013):
Overturning the Defense of Marriage Act.
Obergfell v. Hodges (2015):
Giving same-sex couples the right to marry in all 50 states.
Bostock v. Clayton County (2020):
Banning employees from being discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
As you can probably guess, the leadership of the Milk Club is deeply worried by who may replace RBG on the Court and the potential loss of all of our civil rights over the next few decades. But we must focus on this fight one step at a time.
The first step is to volunteer with us and turn out a solidly progressive vote in November 2020. We will show you how below.
Let's make Ruth proud.
The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
http://www.milkclub.org
Join or renew your Membership today!
http://www.milkclub.org/join
Our Dean Preston Event & Honoring Denise D'Anne
Register on Zoom here!
On Thursday at 6pm, please join the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, former CA State Senator Mark Leno, Jackie Fielder, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, former Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, SF DCCC Chair David Campos, CCSF Board of Trustees President Shanell Williams, and CCSF Trustee Tom Temprano for a fundraiser to support Supervisor Dean Preston's re-election campaign.
Please register in advance on Zoom here. Also, please consider signing up for a Dean Preston phonebank here.
A queer time will be had by all, especially when Dean Preston wins again this November.
Denise D'Anne's entry photo for Miss Tall Club from the 1970's. Photo: Geoffrey (Lucky) Scott.
As you may already know, Denise D'Anne, a former Co-President of the Milk Club, passed away on September 2nd. She was an early transgender activist and lifelong environmentalist and brought these value sets when she led this Club in 2010 with David Waggoner.
Denise D'Anne will be missed. So please plan to virtually attend our September General Membership Meeting this Tuesday, from 7-9pm, where we will discuss her life. Here is our full agenda:
1) Introduction & endorsement ballot description.
2) PAC Chair report.
3) Events & Fundraising report.
4) Presentations and Q&A with E-Board nominees Kurtis Wu for E-Board Outreach, Jasper Wilde for At-Large #1, and Joe Adkins for At-Large #2.
5) Reflections on the life on Denise D'Anne.
6) A discussion on Club civility.
7) New Business.
At our meeting, we will also virtually vote to endorse for Oakland City Council's At-Large Seat and for the SF Pride Board. (The PAC has given recommendations to Rebecca Kaplan for the Oakland City Council At-Large Seat and Laurence Berland and Tyler Breisacher for the SF Pride Board of Directors, so take that into consideration.)
We will also vote on electing the aforementioned Executive Board nominees.
If you knew Denise D'Anne and would like to talk about her life at our meeting, feel free to email us at [email protected] so that we can formally add you to our agenda.
The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
http://www.milkclub.org
Join or renew your Membership today!
http://www.milkclub.org/join
Milk Club Values and the Next D7 Supervisor
Joel Engardio is actually running on being anti-police-reform. In this day and age?
In the age of Defund the Police and Black Lives Matter, Joel Engardio had the bizarre audacity to send out this mailer. In it, he attacked our Club's endorsed candidates Vilaska Nguyen (#1) and Myrna Melgar (#2) for District 7 Supervisor, in an apparent attempt to win over reactionary voters and Police Officer Association money.
All during the Republican National Convention, no less!
As a gay person, Joel Engardio should know better. Law enforcement has played a long and grotesque history of brutalizing Black, Brown, and Queer people in San Francisco and across the nation. This is why, despite being gay, the Harvey Milk Club Political Action Committee and it’s Membership decided not to endorse him for Supervisor.
For more context, check out Mr. Engardio's responses to his SF DCCC questionnaire and judge for yourself. He chose not to participate in our Club's endorsement process, so we have no questionnaire for this candidate, unfortunately.
Please note that in the DCCC questionnaire, Joel Engardio did not support the mayor's plan to divert police funding and reinvest in Black Community. He left that yes/no answer blank.
No wonder Joel is the candidate of the SF Police Officers Association, SF Republicans, Scott Wiener, and apparently Senator Dianne Feinstein's third-choice. Read the very fine print in Mr. Engarido’s most recent piece of artwork below.
Begs the question: Who are Senator Feinstein's #1 and #2 candidates for District 7?
All of this only underscores why the Milk Club endorsed Vilaska Nguyen and Myrna Melgar as our #1 and #2 candidates for District 7 Supervisor. They are both committed to life-saving, common sense police reform. Both oppose qualified immunity for officers, which is the civil rights action of our time. Both oppose tasers and have strong positions on many other issues including tenants rights, immigrant rights, and environmental justice.
And both candidates support District Attorney Chesa Boudin, as if that is something to be ashamed of. By the way, do you remember when the Milk Club called out Kimberly Guilfoyle earlier this year for her anti-Chesa rant?
We tried to warn you back in January, America!
With several other moderate candidates in the running in this fairly moderate district, it is imperative that we in the Milk Club support both of our candidates for Supervisor, Vilaska and Myrna! So visit their websites and sign up to volunteer.
At the Milk Club, we leave no district behind.
The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
http://www.milkclub.org
Join or renew your Membership today!
http://www.milkclub.org/join
Milk Club Endorsement Season
Here are our Milk Club's endorsements for the November 2020 ballot:
United States President & Vice President: Joe Biden & Kamala Harris
U.S. Congress, District 12: Nancy Pelosi
U.S. Congress, District 14: Jackie Speier
CA State Senate, District 11: Jackie Fielder
CA State Assembly, District 17: no position
CA State Assembly, District 19: Phil Ting
District 1 Supervisor: Connie Chan
District 3 Supervisor: Aaron Peskin
District 5 Supervisor: Dean Preston
District 7 Supervisor: #1 Vilaska Nguyen, #2 Myrna Melgar
District 9 Supervisor: Hillary Ronen
District 11 Supervisor: John Avalos
School Board: Kevine Boggess, Alida Fisher, Mark Sanchez
Community College Board: Tom Temprano, Shanell Williams, Alan Wong, Han Zou
BART Board, District 7: Lateefah Simon
BART Board, District 9: Bevan Dufty
AC Transit Board of Directors, Ward 1: Jovanka Beckles
Proposition 14: Bonds authorizing $5.5 billion for state stem cell research. YES
Proposition 15: Tax commercial and industrial properties for education and local government funding. YES
Proposition 16: Repeal Proposition 209 and allow for more diversity. YES
Proposition 17: Restore the right to vote to ex-prisoners. YES
Proposition 18: Permit people 17-years-old the right to vote in primaries and special elections. YES
Proposition 19: Property tax transfers, exemptions, and revenue for wildfire agencies. no position
Proposition 20: Restrict parole for non-violent offenders. NO
Proposition 21: Expand local government's ability to enact rent control. YES
Proposition 22: Exempt app-based transportation and delivery companies from providing employee benefits. NO
Proposition 23: State requirements for kidney dialysis clinics. YES
Proposition 24: Establish the California Privacy Protection Agency. no position
Proposition 25: Replace money bail with a system based on public safety and flight risk. YES
Measure A: Health and homelessness, parks, and streets bond. YES
Measure B: Create a Public Works Commission and a Department and Commission of Sanitation and Streets. YES
Measure C: Remove citizenship requirements for members of city bodies. YES
Measure D: Sheriff's Department oversight. YES
Measure E: Remove the minimum police staffing requirement. YES
Measure F: Business tax overhaul. YES
Measure G: Authorize youths aged 16 and 17 to vote in municipal elections. YES
Measure H: Neighborhood commercial districts and city permitting. no position
Measure I: Real estate transfer tax. YES
Measure J: Parcel Tax for SFUSD. YES
Measure K: Affordable housing authorization. YES
Measure L: Business tax based on comparison of top executive's pay to employees' pay. YES
Measure RR: CalTrain sales tax. YES
Here is our list of completed questionnaires turned in so far:
US House, CA-12: Shahid Buttar
District 1 Supervisor: Connie Chan
District 1 Supervisor: David Lee
District 1 Supervisor: Marjan Philhour
District 1 Supervisor: Marjan Philhour (Candidate Statement)
District 1 Supervisor: Veronica Shinzato
District 3 Supervisor: Aaron Peskin
District 3 Supervisor: Danny Sauter
District 5 Supervisor: Daniel Landry
District 5 Supervisor: Nomvula O'Meara
District 5 Supervisor: Dean Preston
District 7 Supervisor: Stephen Martin-Pinto
District 7 Supervisor: Myrna Melgar
District 7 Supervisor: Emily Murase
District 7 Supervisor: Vilaska Nguyen
District 9 Supervisor: Hillary Ronen
District 11 Supervisor: John Avalos
District 11 Supervisor: Ahsha Safai
Community College Board: Aliya Chisti
Community College Board: Anita Martinez
Community College Board: Jeanette Quick
Community College Board: Geramye Teeter
Community College Board: Tom Temprano
Community College Board: Shanell Williams
Community College Board: Han Zhou
District 9 BART Board: Bevan Dufty
AC Transit, Ward 1: Jovanka Beckles
Ballot Measure (Local): Real Estate Transfer Tax Rate Increase
Ballot Measure (Local): Article 34 Authorization for Social Housing
Remembering Harry Britt
The late Harry Britt with former Milk Club President Gwenn Craig, Jane Fonda, and Tom Hayden at our annual Dinner on May 22nd, 1980. Thank you Gwenn for sharing this photo by Dan Nicoletta.
Harry Britt would not have wanted to be memorialized as a “legend” or a “hero.” But for all of us, he will always stand as a queer icon.
Harry was the chosen political successor of our Club’s namesake, Harvey Milk, and helped define progressive & queer values throughout San Francisco. Harry believed that tepid liberalism kept the powerful satisfied with the status quo and that none of us should rest until there is a fundamental transfer of that power to Queer and Trans folks, Women, People of Color, and those most damaged by the ills of our society. His fight lives on in all of us.
Harry would want us to turn our pain and sorrow into tangible action. The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, devastated by this loss, will continue to fight to do just that. Let the pain of this loss ignite a flame inside of all of us to do better for those of us with less. Let that flame grow bigger and brighter in our shared fight for radical racial justice.
No apologies. Black Lives Matter.
Rest in Power Harry.
Please read more about Harry Britt's life, accomplishments, and reactions to his passing here in 48 Hills, The Bay Area Reporter, The San Francisco Examiner, and The San Francisco Chronicle.
Harry Britt's passing on Wednesday will not make us queers timid in the least. In fact, it will make us resist oppression that much harder. Harry wouldn't have it any other way.
The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
http://www.milkclub.org
Join or renew your Membership today!
http://www.milkclub.org/join