The proposal to rename San Francisco International Airport after Harvey Milk, the gay city supervisor who was tragically assassinated in 1978, is an unwise move that could divide the city, turn our friends against us, and zap resources that might be needed for other battles. It is a flight of fancy by one supervisor who seems to be putting his political career ahead of the best interest of the LGBT community – and the city.
The Board of Supervisors should immediately reject this bad idea so that it does not go on the ballot.
We want to be clear that this isn't entirely against Supervisor David Campos, the proponent of the name change who is a gay man and has ably represented the city's Mission district. He was just re-elected in November with no opposition. Campos is a leader in the city's LGBT and Latino communities and is a solid voice on the board for HIV/AIDS funding, the city's homeless, and undocumented residents. But Campos has played his hand badly in this case and, we fear, seriously underestimated the cost and details of renaming SFO. The airport is a global travel hub and millions of passengers pass through its gates annually. Like the Golden Gate Bridge, it is an icon that shouldn't be named after anybody. Past plans to rename the airport after former Mayor Joe Alioto and the late Congressman Tom Lantos went nowhere.
Renaming SFO is a big deal. Campos dropped his idea on a mostly unsuspecting public last week, leaving many stunned as they picked up the morning paper or tuned in to the local news. Within minutes, social media sites and gay blogs were buzzing. The news quickly went national. But gays and others who had concerns quickly tempered the initial excitement. Campos's mistake was not testing the idea among opinion leaders, both gay and straight, to gauge their support or lack thereof. Then he should have met with local editorial boards to explain his proposal. As it was, the San Francisco Chronicle landed with a thud the next day with an editorial slamming the proposal. And here we are, also expressing our opposition. Campos did nothing to vet the idea by floating a trial balloon. He had no polling data. As a member of a legislative body for more than four years, he should know better.
A ballot measure to rename the airport would be divisive. It would become a referendum on the LGBT community and pit our friends against us. Why would we want that when San Francisco has been – and continues to be – so supportive of LGBTs? And it wouldn't be because people are anti-gay. Something as big as renaming SFO is very attractive to many constituencies. There are San Francisco leaders who have, unlike Milk, done a lot for the airport and have their own politically connected supporters. SFO is considered a gateway to the Pacific; there are folks in the Asian community who would dearly like the honor for one of their leaders. And on it goes.
A ballot measure to rename the airport would be expensive. It would drain financial resources out of the community when there are still urgent needs such as treatment and prevention for HIV/AIDS and affordable housing for queer youth and our elders. There is the possibility that in California, the LGBT community might need to mount a campaign in 2014 to secure marriage equality if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8 later this year or rules in such a way that same-sex marriage remains illegal. If such a ballot fight needs to be waged, we will need the support of our allies to ensure San Francisco voters turn out in large numbers to support marriage equality.
The reality is that Milk has become bigger in death than in life. President Barack Obama posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger inducted him into the California Hall of Fame. A state holiday is named after him. Milk was the subject of an Academy Award-winning film starring Sean Penn in the title role. In San Francisco Milk's name graces a public library, an elementary school, a public plaza, a recreation center, a Muni streetcar, and a job training center. There is a move under way to name a navy vessel after Milk, which makes a lot more sense since he once served in the Navy. (Interestingly, Campos removed his name as a co-sponsor of that resolution when it was before the Board of Supervisors last year, although he ultimately voted for it.) Milk is the first and only supervisor to have a bust in City Hall. In short, Milk's flame burns brightly in our history and collective memory.
Supervisor Campos may have hit upon the idea of renaming SFO after Milk to burnish his credentials in the LGBT community ahead of running for state Assembly. But there are plenty of LGBTs who think his airport maneuver is a terrible idea and gay political leaders should not be put in the position of having to support this plan just because Milk is a gay icon. In fact, they should exhibit their independence and look at the political landscape. When you have allies in the progressive community like former Supervisor Angela Alioto saying she would prefer that the airport be named after her father, the late mayor, even when such a proposal was floated previously, you know it's going to be an uphill fight, and one that is not worth the political, financial, and other intangible costs.
Campos is not doing himself any favors by trying to get his proposal off the ground. Those supervisors who have co-sponsored the plan should pull their support so that renaming SFO after Milk, or anybody else, does not appear on the ballot.