The Mayor of Castro Street Read online

  Harvey Milk’s Manhattan Years (1956–1972): Among Harvey’s friends who shared their memories about this period in Milk’s life were Joe Campbell, Tom O’Horgan, author Eve Merriam, Elmer Kline, Craig Rodwell, Jim Bruton, Ellen Steuart, Tom Eure, Joe Turner, and Scott Smith. Oliver “Billy” Sipple was contacted through his attorney and declined to be interviewed. Jack Galen McKinley had commited suicide by the time primary research began on this book. Bache and Company provided Harvey’s personnel file and helped me contact Charles Morgan, Monty Gordon, and George McGeough, Milk’s colleagues at the firm.

  Early San Francisco Gay History: Allan Berube of the San Francisco Gay History Project provided the bulk of the information on the impact of World War II on the San Francisco gay community. Among other people interviewed about San Francisco gay history were the late Terry Mangan of the California Historical Society; Jose Sarria; Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, founders of the Daughters of Bilitis; Pat Bond; Dorr Jones, Steve Kellogg and Hal Cal, former presidents of the San Francisco Mattachine Society; Bill May and Larry Littlejohn, early leaders of the Society for Individual Rights; Charles Morris, publisher of The Sentinel; Bob Ross, publisher of the Bay Area Reporter. Much of the information on gay life in the 1930s and 1940s came from Bay Area Reporter columns written by the late Lou Rand.

  Harvey Milk’s Navy Career: Determining the truth about Harvey Milk’s career in the navy proved the most difficult aspect of this book. On one hand, he freely spread the story that he had been dishonorably discharged. No one who knew Milk before his political career, however, could remember Milk commenting about anything to do with a discharge. Finally, Anne Kronenberg recalled a conversation in which Milk offhandedly mentioned he had made up the story to get votes. Tom Randol also remembered coming across an honorable discharge certificate among Milk’s effects after the assassination. The particulars of Milk’s ranks came from his 1963 job application with Bache.

  San Francisco Gay Politics (1973–1978): Jim Foster, Jo Daly, Rick Stokes, and Frank Fitch, all past presidents of the Alice B. Toklas Memorial Democratic Club; Elmer Wilhelm, past president, Stonewall Democratic Club; Bill Kraus, Chris Perry, Harry Britt, and Gwenn Craig, past presidents of the San Francisco Gay—now the Harvey Milk Gay—Democratic Club. Les Morgan, George Raya, Ken Maley, Mark Feldman, and Jack Davis also discussed various aspects of this period with me. David B. Goodstein declined to be interviewed.

  San Francisco City Politics: A number of politicians took time to discuss their analyses of the changing San Francisco politics of the 1970s for this book. Among the politicos who agreed to be interviewed on the record were Mayor Dianne Feinstein, District Attorney Arlo Smith, Assemblyman Art Agnos, State Senator Milton Marks, Board of Supervisors President John Molinari, Supervisors Harry Britt, Carol Ruth Silver, and Richard Hongisto, and former Supervisor Gordon Lau.

  Harvey Milk’s Campaigns (1973–1977): Michael Wong, Dennis Peron, Tom Randol, Arlo Smith, Rick Nicholls, Medora Payne, John Ryckman, Dick Pabich, Jim Rivaldo, Anne Kronenberg, Wayne Friday, Bob Ross, Walter Caplan, Hank Wilson, Ann Eliaser, and Bill and Tory Hartmann all discussed their roles in Harvey’s various campaigns. Among the organized labor leaders interviewed about their support of Milk’s campaigns were Stan Smith of the Building and Construction Trades Council, Leon Broschura of the Firefighters Union, George Evankovich of the Laborer’s Union, Teamster Allan Baird and Jim Elliot of the Automotive Machinists.

  Harvey Milk’s Personal Life (1973–1978): Scott Smith provided the bulk of this information with former Castro Camera employees Danny Nicoletta and Ken Denning and Harvey’s friends Frank Robinson, Hector Cacares, Carl Carlson, Tom Randol, Rick Nicholls, Dennis Seely, Ric Puglia, Don Amador, Tony Karnes, and Milk’s personal lawyer, John Wahl. Jack Lira had committed suicide by the time research on this book began. Doug Franks, Bob Tuttle, and Bill Wiegardt also candidly discussed their relationships with Harvey.

  Michael Wong’s Diary: Many of the dialogues recreated in the book come from Michael Wong’s diary. Virtually all the figures mentioned in Wong’s meticulous recording of his experiences with Harvey Milk have corroborated the journal’s accuracy.

  Castro Street: The information on the history of the Castro neighborhood was drawn from nearly one hundred interviews I have conducted on the area over the years, especially with older Castro residents. Particularly helpful in the primary research for this project, however, were Allan Baird, Rick Slick, Cleve Jones, Steve Lowell, and two past presidents of the Castro Village Association, Ernie Astin and Donn Tatum. The stories about the outbreaks of police brutality in the Castro during 1974 and 1979 came largely from news accounts in the Bay Area Reporter and The Sentinel.

  Fundamentalists: The information and analysis of the fundamentalist movement in the late 1970s is drawn largely from my own travels through Dade County, Wichita, St. Paul, and California during the various gay-rights controversies of that period. All the statements from the ministers and born-again Christians quoted come from this research. The archetypal fundamentalist profiled in Chapter 13, Pat of Central Pomona Baptist Church, was the subject of a television special I produced and anchored in 1978 on the emerging political clout of fundamentalists for KQED-TV. Because the interview was granted for purposes of the television documentary and since she would object to having her name in a book about a major gay figure, I did not use Pat’s full name in this account.

  Harvey Milk, The Clown: The paragraphs from Letting Their Clowns Out by Ira Kamin, which appeared in the August 20, 1978 issue of California Living Magazine of the San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle, copyright © 1978 by the San Francisco Examiner, are excerpted with permission.

  The Hillsborough Murder: The background information on John Cordova, murderer of Robert Hillsborough, came in part from a team investigation conducted for New West magazine by Francis Moriarty, Nora Gallagher and Randy Shilts.

  Background Information on Dan White: The information concerning Dan White’s life was drawn largely from the trial transcript, the probation report drawn up by the California Adult Authority for use in his sentencing, and interviews with Chronicle reporters Warren Hinckle and Maitland Zaine. Details of the FBI investigation of White came from files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

  The Trial: Neither Dan White nor his attorney Doug Schmidt responded to interview requests. Prosecuting attorney Tom Norman initially indicated he would be interviewed for this book. He never made himself available for an interview, however, despite repeated attempts to contact him. Many of the details are drawn from contemporary news accounts.

  The Assassinations: The killings were reconstructed from information contained in the Dan White trial transcript and photographs presented as exhibits at the trial. The anatomical aspects of the assassination were verified with a forensic pathologist. The account did not include the sketchy details offered by Dan White during his taped confession, since that statement contains various contradictions which make its truthfulness doubtful.

  City Hall: Bill Roddy, former director of the Mayor’s Visitors Assistance Bureau, and Gladys Hanson of the library’s San Francisco History Room helped in my research on City Hall.

  Journalists: A number of reporters shared their experiences and memories with me, providing a wealth of background material that made this account much richer. They included Chronicle staffers Jerry Burns, Jerry Roberts, Maitland Zane, and Warren Hinckle, Examiner reporter Jim Wood, Bay Area Reporter editor Paul Lorch and free-lance journalists Francis Moriarty, David Israels, and Mike Weiss.

  The following people and news organizations gave me access to video- and audiotapes of Harvey Milk: KQED-TV, KTVU-TV, Jack Davis, Paul Bentley, Tom Randol, Elmer Wilhelm, George Osterkamp, Walter Caplan, and N.A. Diaman of the Queer Blue Light Collective.

  Index

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eR
eading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Achilles, Nancy

  Adler, Kurt Herbert

  Adrian, Rev. Ron

  AFL-CIO

  Agnos, Art

  Albany State College

  Alcohol Beverage Control Commission (ABC)

  Alfred, Randy

  Alice B. Toklas Memorial Democratic Club

  Alioto, Joseph

  Amador, Don

  American Psychiatric Association

  Amos, Sharon

  Aparicio, Richard

  Apcar, Denise

  Arkansas, anti-gay legislation in

  Asmussen, Al

  Astin, Ernie

  Atlantic-Richfield oil company

  Bache & Company

  Baez, Joan

  Baird, Allan

  Baird, Helen

  Bank of America

  Barbagelata, John

  Barcelona, gay demonstration in

  Barcus, Rev. William

  Barnum & Bailey’s circus

  Barry, Bob

  Bars

  See also specific bars

  Batema, Rev. Ray

  Bay Area Committee Against the Briggs Initiative (BACABI)

  Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGL)

  Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)

  Bay Area Reporter

  Bay Guardian

  Bayshore High School

  Beach, Scott

  Beer distributors, strike against

  Berube, Allan

  Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce

  Black Cat Bar, The

  Blacks

  Blinder, Martin

  Blum, Richard

  Board of Permit Appeals

  Board of Realtors

  Bond, Julian

  Bradley, Don

  Bradley, Tom

  Briggs, Jessie Rae

  Briggs, John Vern

  Briggs Initiative (Proposition 6)

  Britt, Fran

  Britt, Harry

  as supervisor

  Brody, Doris

  Broschura, Leon

  Broshears, Rev. Ray

  Brown, Dick

  Brown, Jerry

  Brown, Willie

  Bruce, Lenny

  Bruton, Jim

  Bryant, Anita

  Buchman, Paul

  Building and Construction Trades Council

  Burton, John

  Burton, Phil

  Caen, Herb

  California Democratic Council

  Call, Hal

  Campbell, Jack

  Campbell, Joe

  Carlson, Carl

  Carter, Jimmy

  Castro Camera

  closing of

  rent increases for

  Castro

  Castro Street Fair

  Castro Street neighborhood

  1978 demonstrations in

  Castro Village Association (CVA)

  Catholic Church

  Champion, Dale

  Chavez, Cesar

  Chicago Sun-Times

  Chignell, Paul

  Chinatown

  Chinese-Americans

  Christian, Meg

  Christopher, George

  Citizens for Decency and Morality

  Civil Service Commission

  Cochran, John

  Cockettes

  Collin

  Concerned Voters of California (CVC)

  Cone, Russ

  Conspiracy theories on Milk-Moscone Assassination

  Coors, Joseph

  Coors, William

  Coors beer, boycott of

  Copertini, Cyr

  Cordova, John

  Costanza, Midge

  Council of District Merchants

  Council on Religion and the Homosexual (CRH)

  Craig, Gwenn

  Crocker, Templeton

  Dade County, repeal of gay rights law in

  Dallas, Texas

  Daly, Jo

  Daughters of Bilitis (DOB)

  Davis, Jack

  Defend Our Children Committee

  Democratic National Convention (1972)

  Denman, Jim

  Denver Post

  District elections

  District

  1977 elections in

  Dog feces bill

  Dymally, Mervyn

  Elections

  1969

  1973

  1975

  1976

  1977

  1979

  1980

  Elephant Walk bar

  Eliaser, Anne

  Elliot, Jim

  Erdelatz, Ed

  Eugene, Oregon

  Eure, Tom

  Eureka Valley Merchants Association

  Evankovich, George

  Fallek, Max

  Falzon, Frank

  Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

  Feinstein, Dianne

  as acting mayor

  appointment of successor to Milk by

  assassination of Moscone and Milk and

  elected mayor

  gay rights law and

  Kronenberg opposed as successor to Milk by

  in 1969 elections

  riot after White verdict and

  Filmore neighborhood

  Fire Island

  Firemen

  Fitch, Frank

  Folsom, Fred

  Foran, John

  Ford, Gerald

  Foster, Jim

  Franks, Doug

  Freitas, Joe

  Friday, Wayne

  Fundamentalists

  Gain, Charles

  Garland, Judy

  Gay Freedom Day Parade(1977)

  Gay Freedom Day Parade (1978)

  Gay Liberation Front

  Gay rights laws

  repeal of

  Germany

  Golden Gate Democratic Club

  Goldwater, Barry

  Goodstein, David

  Gordon, Monty

  Gowan, Jim

  Greenwich Village

  Haight-Ashbury neighborhood

  Hair

  Hallinan, Terrance “Kayo,”

  Halloween

  Harris, Fred

  Hartmann, Tory

  Hayden, Tom

  Hearst Corporation

  See also San Francisco Examiner

  Hibernia Bank

  Hillsborough, Helen

  Hillsborough, Robert

  Himmler, Heinrich

  Hinckle, Warren

  Hilter, Adolf

  Hollonzine, Steve

  Holocaust (Nazi)

  Hongisto, Richard

  Hunter, Tab

  Hymnal, The (newsletter)

  Inner City (play)

  Irish-Americans

  See also Castro Street neighborhood; Warren Hinckle; Dan White

  Irwin, Joan

  Joe the Pig

  John, Elton

  Jones, Cleve

  Jones, Rev. Jim

  Jonestown, Guyana

  Judge, Goldie

  Kamin, Ira

  Kelly’s Bar

  Kennedy, John F.

  Kilduff, Marshall

  Kopay, Dave

  Kopp, Quentin

  Korean War

  Kowalski, George

  Kraus, Bill

  Kronenberg, Anne

  as successor to Milk

  Laborers Union

  Lau, Gordon

  LePlatney, Clifton

  Liberals

  Lievestro, Christian

  Lira, Jack

  suicide of

  Los Angeles Times

  Lowell, Steve

  Lyon, Phyllis

  McCarthy, Leo

  McGovern, George

  McKinley, John (Jack) Galen

  suicide of

  Maley, Ken

  Market Street

  Marks, Milton

  Martin, Del

  Matlovich, Tech. Sgt. Leonard

  Matt
achine Review

  Mattachine Society

  Media

  See also Press, the

  Melia, William

  Merman, Ethel

  Merriam, Eve

  Mexican-American Political Association

  Miami, repeal of gay rights law in

  Military, the

  Milk, Audrey

  Milk, Harvey Bernard

  as acting mayor

  ashes scattered

  assassination of

  autopsy of

  birthday party in memory of (1979)

  as Board of Permit Appeals commissioner

  California Senate resolution honoring

  childhood and adolescence of

  as circus clown

  as co-alcoholic

  as college student

  death threat against (1976)

  dog feces bill of

  forebodings of early death

  hate mail received by

  hope speech of

  inauguration as supervisor

  mayorship as goal of

  memorial services for

  in the navy

  in 1973 election

  in 1975 election

  in 1976 assembly race

  in 1977 election

  at 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade

  political legacy of

  sex life of

  speeches of

  successor to

  as supervisor

  tape of political will of

  See also specific events, topics, and individuals

  Milk, Minerva (Minnie)

  Milk, Morris

  Milk, Robert

  Milk, William (Bill)

  Minnelli, Liza

  Mission Street district

  Mitchell, John

  Molinari, John

  Mondale, Walter

  Moore, Jimmy

  Moore, Sarah Jane

  Moriarty, Francis