Members expelled the former president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club in a vote Tuesday, January 7. The decision follows an investigation into the club's endorsement process for the November election that concluded Jeffrey Kwong manipulated the vote in some races.
Current club President Gary McCoy, a gay man, also issued a statement accusing Kwong of taking club property and failing to sign an agreement to return the items.
Kwong, a gay man, stepped down as president last August, as the Bay Area Reporter noted. He had been president since January 2023. His resignation followed news that some of the club's endorsements were "potentially fraudulent" and "compromised." The club retained attorney Scott Emblidge of Moscone Emblidge and Rubens to conduct an investigation.
Dues-paying club members were invited to a special meeting January 7. According to the notice, "At this meeting, the Executive Board Investigation Subcommittee will share its findings on last year's endorsement process voter fraud, and space will then be held for Q&A and a discussion before the membership votes on the Executive Board's recommendation of expulsion for Jeffrey Kwong in response to complaints of civility violations."
According to an item in the San Francisco Standard's January 8 Power Play newsletter, which cited the report, Kwong manipulated endorsement votes.
"In a presentation for Milk club members, the club's investigation committee — including Seamus McGeever, Melissa Hernandez, and Peter Gallotta — alleged that Kwong faked votes for endorsements by impersonating 30-plus members on Zoom," the Standard reported. "They said Kwong pretended to be dues-paying members who hadn't attended meetings lately — a red flag that jumped out when folks spotted votes from long-absent peers. Whose election was he trying to help? It's not clear. Members speculated Kwong was trying to endorse people and ballot measures to bring in more funding for Milk's slate card mailers, which in turn would help the club's endorsed candidates, including [Aaron] Peskin for mayor."
Peskin, the former president of the Board of Supervisors, ran for mayor as the progressive candidate, but lost to Daniel Lurie, who was sworn in as mayor January 8.
Kwong issued a statement to the B.A.R. "As the former president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, I reject the unfounded and politically motivated allegations being made against me. These claims come from individuals with personal grievances. This is not about facts — it's about attacking me to distract from their own shortcomings."
McCoy has not publicly released the report. Following the special meeting, the club released a brief statement.
"After a closed session, the club's membership voted in the affirmative to expel Jeffrey Kwong from the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club," the statement read. "Because of the nature of the civility complaint, and per Robert's Rules of Order, we will have no further comment on this action."
"Looking ahead, the Integrity & Accountability Working Group of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club will continue working to address internal processes, efforts to ensure full integrity and accountability with secure voting in our endorsements, stronger membership management solutions, a code of conduct for all Club officers, and will work to implement redundancies to safeguard the Club's assets," the statement added.
More statements
It turned out that club leadership did have more to say, which McCoy elaborated on in a follow-up statement released January 9.
"While the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club has no further comment on the issue of former President Jeffrey Kwong's expulsion from the club as voted by our membership at this past Tuesday night's General Membership meeting, as President of the club, I stand behind Melissa Hernandez, our Vice President of Membership, and the work of the full Investigation Committee — and am disappointed to see the public unfounded and baseless comments directed at Melissa and the Club from Jeffrey Kwong," McCoy stated.
"When Melissa, in her duties as Vice President of Membership, discovered that there may have been fraud, she made the difficult decision to blow the whistle out of respect for the Club's democratic process, and she believed our members deserved to hear the unfortunate truth," he added. "At the request of our Board, the Investigation Committee — in consultation with our attorney, Scott Emblidge — investigated the matter by poring through hundreds of pages of Zoom data, emails, Google documents, and our Club's NationBuilder account.
"Jeffrey Kwong was asked for an interview multiple times to discuss the evidence the committee found and to explain his perspective, but he chose not to participate," McCoy added. "I stand by the factual findings the Investigation Committee presented to the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club membership, and hope that Jeffrey will respect our members' decision to expel him from the club."
Regarding unspecified club property and assets in Kwong's possession, McCoy explained the situation.
"Jeffrey removed items from the Club's storage unit after he resigned as President, and only alerted Club leadership after he removed everything," McCoy stated. "Jeffrey was presented with a settlement agreement drafted by our attorney to return our property, and agreeing to reimbursements claimed by Jeffrey — and he chose to not sign the agreement. The Board will explore other options for the safe return of Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club property and assets illegally in Jeffrey's possession."
Kwong stated in his message to the B.A.R. that no agreement was signed because the club didn't respond to his request for changes that would make the club and Kwong mutually agreeable, as in they both release each other from all claims.
He also stated that in September, after he stepped down as president, he alerted the club that its lease on the storage unit would expire in November. "They acknowledged it but took no action," he stated.
In order to prevent loss or abandonment of the items, Kwong stated that he "safeguarded them myself."
"Among those items is a new club tent, paid for with my personal credit card, which remains unreimbursed, along with street fair registration and insurance policy I covered out of my own pocket," he stated.
He said he's been met with "radio silence" from club officials "despite multiple invoices and reminders."
Mission Local reported that Kwong acknowledged that he did not take part in the investigation.
"I have not done any of that. I do not have knowledge of that," Kwong told Mission Local. "They claim to have evidence of that, but I have not participated in the investigation process."
The outlet reported that Kwong did not delve into specifics.
Several former club presidents issued a statement January 9 indicating they are helping revamp some of the club's processes. They are Gallotta, Gwenn Craig, Laura Thomas, and Gabriel Haaland.
"As former Presidents of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, we have been asked to review the Club's policies and recommend any needed improvements to uphold the integrity of our organization," they stated. "We supported the diligent work and thoughtful leadership of the Investigation Committee and the outcome of their findings. The entire membership was given the opportunity to hear a closed-session report on the findings and voted overwhelmingly to affirm the findings and recommendations of the Investigation Committee.
"We are currently engaged in an open and transparent process to review bylaws and procedures to ensure something like this never happens to our Club again," the former leaders added. "That work, led by our Integrity & Accountability Working Group, will continue in earnest this year. As Donald Trump takes office and puts a target on the back of our community, the Harvey Milk Club's voice is needed more than ever. We must now turn to the bigger battles that lay ahead, remaining steadfast in our fight for LGBTQ+ rights and for social, racial, and economic justice for all."
Craig stated in a message that she did not have any additional comments. Haaland and Gallotta said the statement reflects their views. Thomas did not respond to a request for comment.
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