Proliferation Act of 2003, which was intro- duced by then-Senator Joe Biden, who is now president, and signed by then-President George W. Bush.) New York City became the first U.S. city to open government sanctioned supervised injection facilities late last month, as the See

by John Ferrannini

California cities are responding better than a couple of years ago to their scores on the Human Rights Campaign’s latest Municipal Equality Index, with two East Bay cities attaining a perfect score.

The index is the only nationwide evaluation of how inclusive city laws and services are of LGBTQ people, according to HRC. The 2021 edition, released November 18, rated 506 cities (58 of which are in California) and is the 10th. Cities are rated based on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and the city leadership’s public position on equality, among other items.

This year was the first time over 100 cities received the top score of 100, HRC stated. When the index started in 2012, only 11 cities received that score.

“For 10 incredible years, the MEI has helped guide, shape, and inspire more inclusive laws and policies in cities of all sizes in all parts of the country,” Cathryn Oakley, the founding author of the index, stated in a news release. “I am incredibly proud of this project and of the MEI team who have made this report a vehicle of enduring change and of our partners in communities around the country who have enthusiastically embraced its possibilities.”

As the Bay Area Reporter reported, in 2019, Berkeley (which scored 96/100) and Brisbane (which scored 53) challenged their scores. Berkeley public information officer Matthai Chakko said at the time that the city should have “a total of 108.”

Brisbane City Manager Clay Holstine told the B.A.R. that because fewer than 5,000 people live there “we don’t have called-out positions to deal with a variety of situations, but everything on this list we deal with as issues come up. ... We wear multiple hats and have multiple assignments.”

Aryn Fields, a press secretary with HRC, told the B.A.R. this year that the group couldn’t change the 2019 scores for Berkeley or Brisbane, because they’d already been announced. However, “this information can inform next year.” When asked via email what information she was referring to, Fields did not respond. Fields had stated earlier that the scores this year were from cities self-reporting.

This year, Berkeley received 100, joining San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

Brisbane saw its score rise, too, to 63.

Caroline Cheung, a spokesperson for Brisbane, expressed pride that the City of Stars did better this time and attributed it to efforts the San Mateo County city has taken to be more inclusive.

“We’re glad to see our MEI has increased in the last couple of years,” Cheung stated. “We have added a LGBTQ liaison in our police department, and for the past few years have flown the Pride flag year-round; we are the only city in San Mateo County to do so.

“We also have an active city staff-led working committee called EPIC, for Equity Plus Inclusion Committee, and we’re currently recruiting for volunteers that either live or work in Brisbane to serve on the City of Brisbane’s newest citizen committee, called IDEA, for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accountability,” she continued. “Those applications are due January 14.”

Cheung also stated that “as a smaller city, we may not have all the programs that larger-staffed cities do.”

Following up, Holstine reiterated his 2019 point that “small organizations by nature have many employees with multiple hats.”

“We cannot devote the dedicated resources that a bigger organization can,” Holstine stated. “Unfortunately, this rating system does not take that into account.”

One Bay Area city that saw a decline in its score is San Jose, which went from 100 in 2019 to 97 this year. In 2019, the city had an LGBTQ liaison in the city executive’s office, HRC stated in its report that year. In 2021, it did not.

Asked about the rating decline, San Jose spokesperson Carolina Camarena responded, “The city of San Jose aims to be one of the most welcoming cities in the U.S. and looks forward to accessing the Human Rights Campaign resources such as issue briefs and webinars to learn ways to improve the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in our city.”

Richmond, whose score went from 86 to 84 over the two-year period; and Santa Rosa, whose score went from 78 to 80 in the same timespan, did not respond to requests for comment. t

Courtesy city of Berkeley via Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley

The city of Berkeley received a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s new Municipal Equality Index.

<< Safe drug site From page 1

B.A.R. noted in a December 10 story. The two facilities, located in East Harlem and Washington Heights, were already operating as needle exchange sites and began allowing on-site consumption November 30, according to an announcement from New York Harm Reduction Educators, one of two nonprofits that merged to form a new organization dubbed OnPoint NYC.

The property San Francisco plans to purchase is at 822 Geary Street and 629 Hyde Street, according to Andrico Penick, the director of the real estate division of the city’s general services agency. It is currently owned by Georgios Markoulakis and Crisula Markoulakis.

At the board meeting – the last of the year – District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney announced he wanted to add an amendment to the purchase.

“This is an important acquisition we are going to make that will help to meet the needs of our community when it comes to behavioral health,” Haney said. “The amendment states that the building is not authorized for any specific use ... and that the city ... is not committed to a specific use of the site.”

District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin took exception to this.

“We all know the acquisition of the property is for a specific purpose,” Peskin said.

Peskin added that he has “long been a proponent” of supervised consumption sites, but expressed dismay that the building is being purchased without much public outreach – something Haney had been critical of during the budget and finance committee meeting last week.

“Many of the Tenderloin’s residents and small businesses are just becoming aware this project is being crammed through,” Peskin said.

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by John Ferrannini

The Castro neighborhood will soon be without a San Francisco Patrol Special Police officer for the first time in over four decades.

Cody Clements, a 29-year-old straight ally, announced that his last day will be December 31, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported (https://www.ebar.com/news/latest_ news/311048), because he has been hired by another law enforcement agency “up north.”

The Patrol Special Police were formed in 1847, prior to the San Francisco Police Department, when it was included in the city charter. Each beat is a privately-owned and -funded business (new officers do have to be hired through the SFPD and the police commission, however). Yet the Patrol Special Police have fallen on hard times in recent years – Clements was the only new officer in the past decade.

Clements patrols the Mission, Castro, and Noe Valley neighborhoods. He told the B.A.R. he bought the beat in 2018 from the widow of John Fitzinger, who died the previous October. Fitzinger succeeded the late Jane Warner, after whom the plaza opposite Harvey Milk Plaza was named.

“When I leave, there will be three guys left,” Clements said of the Patrol Special Police. The other currentlyoperating beat of the Patrol Special Police covers the Marina and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Patrol Special Police beat owners have to pay out of pocket for medical insurance and retirement savings. Clements said that city bureaucracy prevented his beat from being financially viable.

“I have to do what’s best for my future,” Clements said.

Specifically, Clements said that he has tried to make hires but has been stifled by the police department.

“If I want to hire new officers, I have to put them under a hiring process the SFPD puts forth,” Clements said. “I have to pay out of pocket and over the last three years, I’ve put forward three background checks and submitted them to the SFPD for review. Historically – when it gets to the police department – they take their time but our background [checks] are not selected. … If I can’t hire employees, I can’t expand my business; I can’t grow my business.”

The SFPD did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

Clements has three assistant officers, however. He said that he works “five, six, seven days a week, depending on what my other guys do.”

“They work other jobs,” he said.

Clements said that Patrol Special Police officers have citizen’s arrest powers.

“We have limited police powers while on duty. We are peace officers,” Clements said, adding that after he makes an arrest, an SFPD unit “comes out and takes statements, and decides if [the arrested person] faces charges.”

Clements wanted to thank the Castro community.

“We’ve had great support from businesses, the merchants, Rafael Mandelman, and the SFPD’s [LGBTQ+] Pride Alliance,” Clements said, referring to the Castro Merchants Association and the gay District 8 supervisor.

The Castro community thanked Clements during a goodbye party the afternoon of December 12 in the rectory of Most Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church on 18th and Diamond streets.

Mandelman was one of many people who attended.

“Cody has been a great resource for neighbors and merchants and surely will be missed,” he stated.

The merchants and Pride Alliance did not respond to requests for comment.

Clements said he enjoyed the sendoff, adding he was grateful for having received “a lot of support.”

Andrea Aiello, a lesbian who is the executive director of the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District, stated that “yes, the Castro will miss the Patrol Special Police.”

“The businesses in the Castro have hired the Patrol Special Police for over 40 years, relying on them for many issues small and large,” Aiello said. “Their absence will create a void in the nighttime Castro and will bring more 911 and non-emergency calls into SFPD, at a time when the police department is struggling with staffing issues.”

Aiello stated that “the Castro Community Benefit District has been a significant funder of the Patrol Special Police, paying them to have a public presence patrolling the district, keeping an eye on our public plazas, intervening and de-escalating situations.”

“Many of the situations the Patrol Special has addressed are issues that don’t rise to a police response, but still are important to address,” Aiello stated. “Without the Patrol Special, these many smaller issues will go unaddressed until they escalate to warrant a police response.”

Aiello said that the Patrol Special Police officers were “unique” for being “compassionate yet ... firm when necessary.”

“They really cared about the neighborhood,” Aiello said. “With them leaving, we are seeing the end of an era.” t

New “Below Market Rate” ownership home at The Oak 55 Oak Street, San Francisco, CA 94122

1 studio, 9 one-bedrooms and 3 two-bedroom homes priced from $312,812 – $409,435 with parking and $283,812 – $366,434 without parking.

Applicants must be first-time homebuyers and cannot exceed the following income levels:

100% of Area Median Income 2021

One person - $93,250; 2 persons - $106,550; 3 persons - $119,900; 4 persons - $133,200 etc.

Applications must be received by 5PM on Thursday, January 6, 2022. Apply online through DAHLIA, the SF Housing Portal at https://housing.sfgov.org. Due to COVID-19, applicants will apply online as we are not accepting paper applications. Applicants must complete first-time homebuyer education and obtain a loan preapproval from an approved participating lender. For more information or assistance with your application, contact HomeownershipSF at (415) 202-5464 or info@homeownershipsf.org. For questions about the building and units, contact The Oak’s sales team at (833) 800 – 5777 or info@theoaksf.com.

Units available through the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development and are subject to monitoring and other restrictions. Visit www.sfmohcd.org for program information.

Christopher Robledo San Francisco Patrol Special Officer Cody Clements, third from left, greeted well-wishers at a farewell event held in his honor at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in the Castro December 12.

Foundation donates $158K to LGBTQ groups

compiled by Cynthia Laird

The Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation recently donated $158,000 to several LGBTQ nonprofits after what organizers called a successful year despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The foundation concluded its 2021 fundraising season of events with the December 5 check presentation. After two years of virtual and several postponed events due to COVID, the foundation’s events committee and board of directors were able to reconnect their guests on the dance floor for REAL BAD 32, its signature fundraiser.

See page 9 >>

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50 years in 50 weeks: 2007: Navy’s Dunning retires

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FD 1306 / COA 660

U.S. Navy Commander Zoe Dunning retired during a formal ceremony on the flight deck of the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda on June 2, 2007. Dunning served 22 years in the military and went through a two-year ordeal in the mid-1990s to remain in the Navy after publicly declaring herself a lesbian at a rally for Keith Meinhold, who was kicked out of the Navy after he outed himself on “ABC World News Tonight.” A federal court later reinstated Meinhold, who returned to work and retired in 1996. Dunning fought her discharge and won, using a defense that her sexual orientation was not conduct but was status. After her retirement, Dunning was active in the effort to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the compromise policy that then-President Bill Clinton instituted after promising on the campaign trail to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces. DADT was repealed in Congress in December 2010 and officially ended in September 2011.

Courtesy B.A.R. Archive