Mayor Ed Lee is expected to make an appointment soon to replace Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, who resigned last month after he was elected to the state Assembly. For weeks, rumors have circulated that Lee would name District 4 Supervisor Carmen Chu to the post, a move that would allow Lee to name her successor on the Board of Supervisors.
We have a better idea: Lee should appoint acting Assessor-Recorder Zoon Nguyen, an out lesbian who has been filling in capably for more than a month. She joined Ting's staff in 2006 as one of his three deputies, serving as his second-in-command. She has a thorough understanding of the office and its duties.
And more to the point, there is a dearth of out LGBT Asians in city government. There are LGBT Asian and Pacific Islander appointees on the city's numerous boards and commissions, but there is only one elected official �" Lawrence Wong, who serves on the City College of San Francisco board. Naming Nguyen to fill the assessor's post permanently, would double the number, but more importantly, she is already running the office and will not be handicapped by a learning curve.
Two years ago, we looked at the impact of Lee when he became the city's first Asian American mayor. At that time he was appointed to the post, too, but it was heralded as a sea change in city government, along with several straight Asian Americans in political office. Even back then, however, we took note of the absence of LGBT Asian Americans in the halls of power. The only other LGBT Asian elected to office in the city was Angie Fa, who in 1992 became the first out lesbian to serve on the school board.
Benjamin Leong of the Gay Asian Political Alliance in San Francisco said in 2011 that having an out Asian on the Board of Supervisors would "go a long way of fighting the cultural norms." He also pointed to another reason the bench of out LGBT Asian elected officials has been so bare: "A lot of gay Asians are afraid of coming out."
Two years later, as we note in one of the stories on LGBT aging this week, fear of coming out is still a topic of conversation among GAPA members and others.
Which brings us back to Nguyen and why her appointment would be historic. It would send a signal to other LGBT Asians that they, too, can come out and hold important posts in city government. While Nguyen would have to win election later this year to finish Ting's term, we bet that she is up to the task. Nguyen is a community leader, having served on the board of the LGBT Community Center several years ago. She could draw on a network of LGBT and Asian American groups that would likely work on her campaign.
Lee may have his reasons for taking some time before naming Ting's replacement, particularly if he's considering Chu. But in trying to find a successor for her on the board, the mayor is likely looking for someone who is loyal and who can win election in their own right this November. His strategy did not succeed last year, when Lee appointed Christina Olague to the board (replacing Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi). While we were happy with Olague's appointment, and her controversial vote to retain Mirkarimi as sheriff, the mayor was decidedly less pleased. But appointed officials at some point have to look at their own best interests and sometimes those conflict with the person who appointed them. Sometimes, too, as with Olague's case, voters decided that someone else should represent District 5.
San Francisco's city family of elected leaders is remarkably diverse, and by appointing Nguyen, the mayor would add to that diversity in an important way.