Out in the Bay: Talking fast-food and other politics with the B.A.R's Matthew Bajko

  • by Eric Jansen
  • Thursday November 18, 2021
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These Sonoma County chickens are not headed for any fast-food chains, homophobic or otherwise. Photo: Terry Johnson
These Sonoma County chickens are not headed for any fast-food chains, homophobic or otherwise. Photo: Terry Johnson

Chick-fil-A is closing in on San Francisco, says Bay Area Reporter assistant editor and political columnist Matthew S. Bajko. The fast-food chain boycotted by many LGBTQ people for the CEO's and the company's past donations to anti-queer charities and political organizations opens a new outlet Thursday, November 18, in Daly City's Serramonte Center, just outside San Francisco city limits.

In a long overdue politics conversation on this week's Out in the Bay (https://www.outinthebay.org/talking-politics-with-b-a-r-columnist-matthew-bajko/) podcast and radio show, Bajko fills us in on the fast-food development, new laws taking effect January 1, and a hotly-contested California state Assembly race.

On the Assembly race, Bajko reminds us that although there are several LGBTQ representatives in the Assembly, none are from San Francisco.

That could change, as gay former San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, who is on leave as chief of staff to San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, and straight, queer-supportive current San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney are considered the top two contenders for Assembly District 17 seat now open after David Chiu resigned to become San Francisco's first Asian American city attorney November 1. It's a seat that, before Chiu, had been held for many years by a succession of LGBTQ politicians.

Bajko also outlines for us key points of several new laws that go into effect January 1 that will especially affect LGBTQ Californians. These laws include provisions for a nonbinary choice on death certificates, prohibiting universities and colleges in the state from deadnaming transgender and nonbinary students on their degrees and in other records, adding new levels of health care privacy, and requiring financial planners to be trained in LGBTQ issues.

Read more about the new laws, the Assembly race, and the Chick-fil-A controversy in Bajko's recent articles linked below.

Hear Matthew S. Bajko talk about all the above, with some details and context not in his articles, on this week's Out in the Bay. The program airs at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, November 18, on KSFP, 102.5 FM San Francisco only; at 5 p.m. Friday, November 19, on KALW, 91.7 FM SF Bay Area-wide; and again at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, November 21, on KSFP. It is available anytime on Out in the Bay's This text will be the linkwebsite.

Eric Jansen is founding host of Out in the Bay — Queer Radio from San Francisco. Learn more and hear past episodes at https://www.outinthebay.org/

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