LGBTs react to Mayor Lee's death
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Makers promote their wares
ARTS
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Call Me by Your Name
Nightlife events
The
www.ebar.com
Since 1971, the newspaper of record for the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community
Vol. 47 • No. 50 • December 14-20, 2017
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee dies at 65
Rick Gerharter
Mayor Ed Lee
by Seth Hemmelgarn
S
an Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee died suddenly Tuesday, December 12 at the age of 65. While the news shocked city officials, residents, and political leaders around the region, many LGBTs and allies praised his efforts to help the community, especially people living with HIV and AIDS. Mr. Lee died at 1:11 a.m. after falling ill
Bloody scene described in murder case by Seth Hemmelgarn
A
gay San Francisco man faced a hearing this week in which authorities alleged he brutally killed another man, leaving a bloody scene and stealing thousands of dollars from the victim, who Defendant had cancer. Michael John Phil- Michael John lips, 64, has been Phillips charged in the August death of James Sheahan, 75, a gay man whose body was found in his Nob Hill studio apartment. Prosecutors and police say surveillance footage shows Phillips repeatedly coming and going from Sheahan’s building in the hours after he was last seen alive, at times carrying Sheahan’s belongings with him. Video also shows Phillips trying unsuccessfully to use Sheahan’s ATM card, and authorities suggested he forged numerous checks from Sheahan to himself. Phillips’ attorney noted that with such a See page 2 >>
Rick Gerharter
Acting Mayor London Breed addressed reporters at a City Hall news conference Tuesday, following the sudden death of Mayor Ed Lee.
at about 10 p.m. Monday while shopping at the Safeway on Monterey Boulevard. He was rushed to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Dr. Susan P. Ehrlich, the hospital’s CEO, said Tuesday at a City Hall news conference. Several news outlets are reporting that Mr. Lee had a heart attack. Ehrlich said that Mr. Lee’s family “has asked that we share no further medical information at this time,” but the medical examiner’s
office will perform an investigation. Board of Supervisors President London Breed, who was sworn in as acting mayor immediately after Mr. Lee’s death, recalled at the news conference how, like her, Mr. Lee had grown up in public housing. On his way to becoming the city’s first Asian-American mayor, he worked as an attorney at the Asian Law Caucus, where he helped protect people from evictions. Among
other posts, he then served as the city administrator before the Board of Supervisors appointed him mayor in 2011 after then-Mayor Gavin Newsom left to become the state’s lieutenant governor. Breed said that Mr. Lee, who was “surrounded by his family and by his friends” when he died, “lived a life of service cut far too short,” and he was “an advocate See page 19 >>
Roem wows SF LGBT crowd by Cynthia Laird
D
anica Roem, the transgender woman who made history last month when she defeated an anti-LGBT state lawmaker in her race for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, received an exuberant welcome from community leaders during her first visit to San Francisco. At a reception and campaign fundraiser at Beaux in the Castro, Sunday, December 10 Roem, wearing her trademark rainbow scarf, patiently posed for selfies with well-wishers and talked about the historic nature of her victory. In the November 7 election, Roem became the first out transgender person to win and serve in a state legislature and the only out transgender state legislator in the U.S. During a brief interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Roem said she will be sworn in January 10, and looks forward to working with her legislative colleagues on a variety of issues. “I want to support hate crimes and health care issues,” Roem said. She also plans to tackle infrastructure problems, which were a signature of her campaign. A former journalist, Roem said that she will fight to pass freedom of information request legislation and a shield law for journalists in the commonwealth, which does not have such protections. Shield laws protect reporters’ privilege, which includes such things as the right to refuse to testify as to sources of information. Roem, 33, a Democrat, was a political novice when she entered the race for the 13th Delegate District, which includes Prince George County
Rick Gerharter
Virginia Delegate-elect Danica Roem (D), gave a thumbs up during a reception Sunday, December 10 at Beaux in the Castro as she was greeted by San Francisco Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, left, and Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco).
and Manassas Park City. The longtime incumbent, Delegate Bob Marshall (R), waged a bitter fight and tried to make the race about Roem’s trans identity, including misgendering her. Campaign mail and TV ads attacked Roem. Those attacks were one of a “whole list” of things that happened during the campaign that made Roem realize she would win the race, she said. “We decided early on that when hit with a negative, I’d flip the script,” Roem said during her remarks, adding that young trans children living in the district “deserve representation, too.”
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The House of Delegates has made one change in the wake of Roem’s impending arrival at the Statehouse. It was recently reported that lawmakers would be addressed with the gender-neutral title “delegate” instead of “gentlelady” or “gentleman.” “It was the right thing for the wrong reason,” Roem told the B.A.R., referring to stories that said the change was made so that conservative lawmakers wouldn’t have to refer to Roem as a woman. See page 18 >>