LGBTQ San Franciscans can count themselves fortunate that for decades the city's mayors have been allies to the community. Former mayors Joseph Alioto, George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein, Art Agnos, Frank Jordan, Willie Brown, Gavin Newsom, Ed Lee, and Mark Farrell have included us, in one form or another, in the political fabric that makes up this city. As times changed and the LGBTQ community made itself more vocal and active, political leaders took notice. The late Feinstein, who took over after the assassination of Moscone (and gay then-supervisor Harvey Milk), led San Francisco out of the darkness. Newsom, now California's governor, made history when he jump-started the same-sex marriage movement. To us LGBTQ people, San Francisco has always been the shining light, the beacon that welcomes us.
Now, London Breed, the city's 45th mayor who will depart Room 200 on January 8, leaves her own legacy, and it is a rich one. A protégé of Brown, Breed is a political moderate who nevertheless had bold ideas when it came to services and policies for the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender people.
Breed's decision to include $6.5 million in the city's budget in 2022 to end trans homelessness by 2027 will go down as a bold move to effect real change for a community that has long been subject to discrimination. Though the situation is better today — we'll see if that continues after former President Donald Trump is inaugurated to his second term January 20 — transgender and gender-nonconforming people have had trouble getting hired for jobs, which in turn often leads to unstable housing, food insecurity, and access to health care. Those three factors are critical for one's success and well-being in our society.
"Transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming San Franciscans are 18 times more likely to experience homelessness compared to the general population, and we know that the rates are even higher for our minority trans communities," Breed stated at the time. "With one of the largest TGNC populations in the country, we not only must ensure that all San Franciscans have access to housing and essential resources through continued investments, but we can show the country that we continue to be a leader on supporting and protecting our trans communities."
More recently, Breed championed the city buying the property at 2280 Market Street for the future LGBTQ history museum. Working with the mayor's press office, we were able to break that story in late September, as we'd been reporting on Breed's commitment to the museum for several years. She budgeted money for that too, $12.5 million back in 2021.
"The Castro is the heart of LGBTQ culture in this city and this country, and it is the perfect place for a museum that will preserve and celebrate LGBTQ history, culture, and arts for generations to come," said Breed in a statement shared exclusively with the B.A.R.
Then there's the renovation of Harvey Milk Plaza, long considered the front door to the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood. It was Breed who included $25 million for the project in the $390 million infrastructure bond that voters approved in November. While the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza do need to raise another $7 million or so before construction can begin, the bond money is crucial to the project's completion.
In a recent exit interview, Breed told us that the museum project is the accomplishment she's most proud of in terms of her legacy with the LGBTQ community. Once the GLBT Historical Society gets it up and running, we expect the museum to be a draw not only for tourists, but for local community residents. It should definitely improve the Castro neighborhood, which is slowly but surely emerging from the slowed economy brought about by the COVID pandemic. Taken together, the museum, the plaza, and the top-to-bottom renovation of the Castro Theatre are three landmarks that will really reinvigorate the Castro when they are completed.
All this is not to say we always agreed with Breed. In fact, we recall one stinging editorial in 2021 that elicited a phone call from the mayor. It was about a straight nominee to the Historic Preservation Commission that, had it been successful, would have resulted in no out people being on the important cultural panel. This was after she had nominated four straight people over a period to the panel, and chose not to reappoint two gay men. Ultimately, the nominee withdrew and Breed appointed another gay man, whom the Board of Supervisors approved.
Truth be told, Breed and her appointments were kind of a mixed bag. In addition to the historic preservation commission dustup, Breed chose not to appoint an LGBTQ parent when she made her three picks for school board after the successful recall of three members in 2022. All were straight women. Two years later, only one of Breed's appointees remains on the Board of Education. One was rejected by voters and the other quit earlier this year, resulting in Breed naming a gay man to the post, though he is not a parent. To her credit, Breed did appoint many LGBTQ people to boards and commissions over her tenure, and we're not downplaying that in any way.
Overall, Breed's time as mayor was a net positive for LGBTQs. While San Francisco has its share of challenges, Breed's efforts to mitigate them sometimes came up against a Board of Supervisors that wasn't supportive, or residents who were in sharp disagreement. That happens.
As Breed packs up her office and returns to the private sector, she will know that the various projects and initiatives she started have made life better for the city's LGBTQ residents.
Thank you, Mayor Breed.
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