December 19, 2024 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

SFMTA’s Tumlin departs

by Matthew S. Bajko

The first major change of leadership at a city agency ahead of Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie taking office January 8 is coming at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Jeffrey Tumlin is stepping down, ending a controversial five-year helm of the agency that oversees everything from the city’s bus and subway service to streetscape designs and parking restrictions.

The Bay Area Reporter had been told under embargo December 12 that Tumlin would announce his departure at the December 17 meeting of the SFMTA board and could publish a story shortly thereafter. Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum, who first joined the SFMTA in 2007, is stepping in to lead the agency on an interim basis as of January 1.

But Tumlin let the news slip early himself in a December 12 interview with the SF Standard, telling the news site, “The opportunity to serve the city is the greatest honor in my life. We have made great progress and achieved more than we expected, including a more frequent and reliable Muni.”

A December 13 news release from the SFMTA noted that Tumlin’s five-year contract is set to expire at the end of the year. Tumlin acknowledged the “many challenges” the agency experienced since his hiring and also pointed to the “historic progress” it has made.

“Muni is better than it’s ever been and is experiencing record-high customer satisfaction. San Francisco is one of the safest larger cities in the U.S. for walking and biking. And we have one of the strongest paratransit programs in the country,” he noted. “There is still far more to be done but I have full faith that our talented and highly motivated staff and leadership, working alongside city and state partners, will shepherd the agency into a successful new chapter.”

Tumlin, a gay man who resides with his husband in Noe Valley, was named by Mayor London Breed in 2019 as the city’s director of transportation, overseeing the SFMTA. He started in mid-December that year just months prior to the start of the COVID pandemic that would upend the SMFTA’s operations and budget.

Ever since, his tenure has been rocky, with Tumlin and his agency enmeshed in one controversy after another. He came under attack for how the SFMTA handled its response to the global health pandemic, facing criticism over everything from safety protocols for Muni operators to the cancellation of bus routes.

See page 9 >>

Hanukkah comes early to Castro

Cforce

by Matthew S. Bajko

In May, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced his office was accepting applications from those interested in serving on an LGBTQ+ Statewide Advisory Task Force to help ensure the needs of LGBTQ students in California are being met. It was created by the enactment of state legislation that Governor Gavin Newsom had signed into law last year.

In the news release from Thurmond’s office, the advisory body referred to by its acronym the LGBTQ+ SAT was to “meet virtually approximately six times between July 2024 and January

See page 9 >>

SF Mayor-elect Lurie taps gay man for major role in administration

by John Ferrannini

San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie announced the first appointments to his upcoming administration December 12. They include a longtime gay politico as his deputy chief of staff.

Matthew Goudeau, who was a senior adviser to Lurie’s campaign, is currently director of the office of the mayor-elect. The University of San Francisco alumnus has held roles under five San Francisco mayoral administrations, including 15 years as director of the mayor’s office of protocol beginning in 1999 under then-mayor Willie L. Brown Jr.

He also served as deputy chief of protocol, director of appointments, and director of Grants for the Arts, which he left in 2020.

Goudeau also formerly served on the board of the GLBT Historical Society. As one of the first, and few, prominent LGBTQ community leaders to endorse Lurie’s mayoral bid, Goudeau was widely expected to be tapped for a prominent role in the new administration at City Hall.

In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter on December 11, Goudeau said his new role will utilize some of the skills from his previous positions.

“Some of the areas I will be working in my portfolio of work include appointments – when [Gavin] Newsom was mayor, I was director of appointments – as well as office events and protocol, which

is where I was for a number of years,” Goudeau said.

“Things like scheduling the mayor’s briefings and the schedule of the office are things I was involved with in my other roles as well.”

Goudeau said he’s “super excited to go back to City Hall.”

“So many people have been talking about this as a new day for San Francisco,” he added. “The Lurie

administration … is committed to change, and you can already see that reflected in the structure that he announced. … My whole life has been committed to public service and making life better for the people of this city.”

Lurie announced a restructuring of the mayor’s office December 11. The current situation has 56 agencies reporting to the mayor through a policy director who reports to the chief of staff, currently former supervisor Sean Elsbernd, who has largely fulfilled his promise of being an unseen partner in the administration of the city to Mayor London Breed.

Under Lurie’s new structure, there’d be one chief of staff and four separate policy chiefs, covering housing and economic development; infrastructure, climate, and mobility; public health and wellbeing; and public safety.

“The current way of doing business at City Hall is outdated, ineffective, and lacks focus on outcomes,” Lurie stated in a news release. “I am restructuring the office of the mayor so that your government is coordinated and accountable in delivering clean and safe streets, tackling the fentanyl crisis, rapidly building housing and ensuring a full economic recovery. The changes we’re making at the top will help break down barriers to effective governance that impact every San Franciscan.”

See page 9 >>

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond marched in this year’s West Hollywood LGBTQ Pride parade.

Courtesy Thurmond’s governor campaign

Matthew Goudeau, left, will be deputy chief of staff for Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie’s administration.

Courtesy Lurie transition office

ongregation Sha’ar Zahav Rabbi Mychal Copeland, left, and Supervisor Rafael Mandelman lit the menorah during the Hanukkah observance in Jane Warner Plaza

December 16. The celebration was early this year, as the Jewish holiday starts December 25. For more, see story, page 4.

Rick Gerharter

Jeffrey Tumlin has resigned as San Francisco’s director of transportation.

Ex-GGBA prez pleads guilty to fraud charges

by John Ferrannini

T

he former president of the Golden Gate Business Association pleaded guilty in federal court December 11 as part of a plea deal on two charges stemming from the alleged embezzlement of over $1 million from law firms he worked for. He faces a likely sentence of three to four years in prison.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Tony ArchuletaPerkins, a gay man, had been the president of the Golden Gate Business Association from 2022 to when he was arrested over the summer following an indictment by a federal grand jury.

The GGBA, which was founded in 1974, is the San Francisco Bay Area’s LGBTQ chamber of commerce. The association, which Archuleta-Perkins has been with in a volunteer position since 2018 (when he was treasurer for four years before his time as president, according to his LinkedIn profile), was not mentioned in the indictment.

Shortly after the arrest, the GGBA’s board told the B.A.R. there’d be a full audit and investigation of GGBA’s finances “out of prudence and cau-

Tony Archuleta-Perkins, center, conferred with his attorney, Kenneth White, right, in federal court December 11. Seated at left is Archuleta-Perkins’ husband, Timothy Archuleta-Perkins.

tion.” The audit, to be conducted by an outside third party, was expected to take several months, according to a July statement.

On December 10 in advance of Archuleta-Perkins’ hearing at the Phillip Burton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown San Francisco, the B.A.R. asked the GGBA board via email if it had conducted an investigation. Acting GGBA President Nancy Geenen stated to

the B.A.R. that. “We don’t have any comment today on any of the issues you mentioned” and recommended reaching out again the following day.

“We do not believe that the finances of the GGBA were implicated in any way,” Geenen stated in response to that inquiry. “Our internal investigation will be completed by the end of the year. When complete the board will communicate the results first to our members.” Though the events

that transpired in court December 11 were stated in the email upon her request, Geenen declined to comment on that matter, stating, “We have not seen the plea agreement so we have no comment.”

At the hearing, in the courtroom of Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, Archuleta-Perkins, 48, pleaded guilty to two counts of the indictment –count one, bank fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years imprisonment; and count 11, commonly known as money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment. He will likely serve much less time as part of his plea agreement.

Corley said Archuleta-Perkins will have to pay restitution of $1,321,752.72 – the amount he said he had stolen. Corley said that the recommended sentence will be somewhere between 37 and 46 months but that she has ultimate discretion at the hearing, which will be March 26.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikhil Bhagat explained that Archuleta-Perkins ran a nonprofit entitled Murrieta Valley High School 1994, or MVHS 1994, which he started in 2013.

From 2017-2023, he worked for two law firms in various roles, even-

tually becoming the chief financial officer of the Veen Firm, named as “law firm b” at the hearing. (The other firm was not named.)

During that time, prosecutors say he used the access he had as an employee to falsely endorse checks made out to the firms – including an IRS refund – and deposit them into the MVHS account, which he used for his personal purposes. One $41,663.69 IRS refund was deposited into the MVHS account before he wrote a check to himself in the same amount.

Prosecutors say Archuleta-Perkins used the stolen money for the purchase, renovation, and improvement of at least three California properties, as well as for Best Buy and Home Depot credit line payments.

One of the firm’s principals was frequently absent due to health issues, and Archuleta-Perkins took advantage of that for his surreptitious financial dealings, Bhagat said.

Archuleta-Perkins is out of custody on bond. His attorney is Ken White of Brown White and Osborn LLP.

“We look forward to getting the judge a full picture of his whole life. … We believe the judge will do the right thing,” White told the B.A.R. after the hearing. t

Breed names Leal to airport commission

by Cynthia Laird

Mayor London Breed has appointed lesbian former San Francisco supervisor Susan Leal to the powerful airport commission.

Leal, who also previously served as city treasurer and general manager of the city’s Public Utilities Commission, said she’s pleased with her new role.

Leal was sworn in November 18, she said in a recent phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter. According to an announcement from San Francisco International Airport, her term runs until August 31, 2028. She filled a vacancy created by the departure of Everett A. Hewlett Jr.

Leal’s appointment also increases out representation on the policymaking body. Jane Natoli, a transgender woman, was appointed by Breed in 2021 and now serves as vice president of the commission.

“I’m pleased to be appointed,” Leal told the B.A.R. “It’s a good way to put a lot of my past experience around infrastructure and finance  – and almost 15 years on climate – to use.”

Leal said the appointment happened “very fast.” She said she has already attended two meetings.

Breed praised Leal in a Facebook post announcing her swearing in.

“Yesterday, we welcomed Susan Leal as San Francisco’s newest Airport

Commissioner,” the mayor stated in the November 19 post. “Her deep commitment to public service and leadership will play a vital role in shaping the future of our world-class airport. Congratulations, Commissioner Leal!”

Leal pointed out that the airport, being near the shoreline of San Francisco Bay, will need to address various climate issues in the coming years. The commission, she noted, offers guidance and sets policy. It does not run day-to-day operations. That is handled by the airport director.

And related to that, Breed announced last month that she has hired Mike Nakornkhet to succeed retiring director Ivar Satero, who will step down in early 2025. Nakornkhet’s appointment follows a nationwide search, a news release from Breed stated.

Nakornkhet most recently served as the chief financial officer and executive vice president of the Denver International Airport, the nation’s third busiest airport, where he was responsible for the financial operations and a $12 billion capital improvement plan. Prior to joining the leadership of

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the Denver airport, Nakornkhet spent 13 years at SFO, including eight years as SFO’s director of financial planning and analysis and acting managing director of finance. He holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Business Administration from the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University, the release stated.

Leal said that Nakornkhet was already on the ground in San Francisco.

“He’s here,” she said, adding that he lived in the area for a long time when he worked at SFO.

“He’s very familiar with SFO – he knows where things are,” Leal said.

Leal also said that she is getting to know Natoli.

“She’s super sharp and knows what she’s doing,” Leal said. “It’s great to have a couple of queers on the commission.”

Leal was appointed to the Board of Supervisors 31 years ago in 1993 by then-mayor Frank Jordan, as the B.A.R. noted in an article last year.

She is so far the only Latina lesbian to serve on the board.

Supervisor-elect Jackie Fielder, who will represent the Mission in District 9 when she takes office next month, identifies as queer. She is also a Latina and will be the board’s first Native American member. (Another out Latina supervisor, Christina Olague, who is bisexual, was appointed to the

then-vacant District 5 supervisor seat in 2012 only to be defeated by Breed that November.)

In 1997, Leal campaigned for the open treasurer-tax collector’s seat and won. She served in the position until 2004, when then-mayor Gavin Newsom appointed her as general manager for the SFPUC. (José Cisneros, a gay Latino man, was appointed by Newsom to succeed Leal and was just reelected to a historic sixth term November 5.)

The SFPUC board terminated Leal’s contract four years later and voted in closed session to fire her. That was the year she’d been hit by a car and suffered a brain hemorrhage, as the B.A.R. reported. Leal ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2003 when Newsom won. Newsom is now California’s governor.

Bevan Dufty, a gay man who is also a former San Francisco supervisor, praised Leal’s appointment to the airport commission.

“Susan has an accomplished career delivering major infrastructure projects during her tenure at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission,” Dufty told the B.A.R. “SFO will soon have a new director as Ivar Satero, its outstanding leader, is retiring, and Susan will be important to that transition.”

Dufty just completed his eightyear tenure as an elected BART board member, he said, and his last meeting was December 5. Edward Wright, a gay man, won the District 9 seat that covers part of San Francisco and now succeeds Dufty on the board of the regional transit agency, which has a station at SFO.

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Leal, who did not back Breed in her first race for mayor in 2018, following the death of mayor Ed Lee, nonetheless said she will miss Breed when she leaves office January 8. (Leal supported gay former supervisor and state legislator Mark Leno, who fell short in that race.)

Over time, however, Leal came to support Breed. “I watched her and I was impressed,” she said.

“It’s going to be sad to see her go. She was very dedicated to our community,” Leal said. “As a lifelong San Franciscan, I am going to miss someone who is very tough, very smart, and very dedicated.”

Leal said she does wish Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie well.

“I know him. He’s also a San Franciscan,” she said. “I wish Daniel well.” t

Susan Leal, left, was sworn in by Mayor London Breed to the San Francisco Airport Commission November 18.

from mayor’s Facebook page

Christy Martyholdt

January 22-26, 2025

LGBTQ synagogue celebrates Hanukkah

by David-Elijah Nahmod

Around 75 people braved the cold temperature to celebrate Hanukkah with Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, San Francisco’s synagogue for LGBTQ Jews, their families, friends, and allies.

The celebration took place at Jane Warner Plaza in the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood Monday, December 16.

It was an early celebration, as this year Hanukkah doesn’t begin until the evening of December 25, coinciding with the start of the 12 days of Christmas. Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, lasts for eight days, during which time observant Jews light candles.

The evening included speeches by Sha’ar Zahav’s Rabbi Mychal Copeland, a lesbian, and by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, while music was provided by Sha’ar Zahav Cantor Sharon Bernstein. Attendees were invited to bring more light to the party by lighting tea candles, which were set up on a table in the plaza. Around 25 such candles were lit.

The atmosphere was joyous as people gathered around.

“I’m here to show up as a Jewish person,” Nancy Levin, a lesbian who did not give her age, told the Bay Area Reporter. “I’m here to see my friends and meet new people. Mostly this is a fun, celebratory atmosphere.”

Members of the Castro Community Benefit District and other local organizations were present and co-sponsored the event.

“I’m one of the Castro ambassadors,” said David Hyman, a gay man who said he was over 70. “We like to have all kinds of events to make locals and tourists feel welcome in the Castro. We had the wonderful Christmas tree lighting a week ago. It’s fun to get together. I have a menorah in my own window, but it’s not the same without a group to celebrate with.”

Copeland stepped up to the microphone at 6 p.m.

“It is so important in our tradition that we do this in public,” she said. “If you

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only have money for kiddush (blessed) wine or oil for your Hanukiah (menorah), you have to go with the Hanukiah, it’s that important. Even though kiddush is every week, even though kiddush is so important in our Shabbat (Sabbath) practice, this supersedes.”

The crowd stood in rapt attention as she spoke.

“Why is it that important?” the rabbi continued. “It’s that important because we have two miracles that we’re celebrating in this holiday, a victory over a seem-

ingly unbeatable foe, and this little bit of oil that was not supposed to last a day but lasted for eight long nights.”

The rabbi was referring to the defeat of the Greek-speaking Seleucid Empire by the Jews of ancient Jerusalem, led by Judas Maccabeus, after they had desecrated the Second Temple and outlawed Judaism. She was also referring to the small amount of oil that was lit by the Jews that burned for eight days.

“Because of these miracles we’re supposed to come out here and shout that to the world and play our music and rejoice,” said Copeland.

She asked the crowd to think of something that brings them joy about being Jewish, and to hold on to that joy for the entire holiday season.

“We bring our pride, the fullness of who we are to this public triangle, and we celebrate all of that, we celebrate who we are with such great pride,” she said.

The rabbi thanked Andrea Aiello, a lesbian who is the executive director of the Castro Community Benefit District, who helped make the evening possible. She also thanked the Castro Merchants Association, the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza, and the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District as the spectators applauded. At that point Mandelman was introduced.

“Happy Hanukkah everybody,” said Mandelman, who is Jewish. “It’s a little on the early side, but it’s never too early to celebrate Hanukkah.” The supervisor also thanked Aiello for her service, and thanked the police officers who stood by, making sure the evening proceeded safely.

“This is the holiday of miracles,” he said. “As we approach the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, who knows what all that entails? I would say that some miracles are in order and I’m looking forward to them. Hanukkah tells us that miracles do happen, that even in the darkest times, there’s light and hope for the future. So let’s try to have a little bit of that spirit. May your latkes be crispy and may your sufganiyot (holiday pastries) be sweet, and may your lights be illuminated and may you have a wonderful start to 2025.”

Bernstein also addressed the crowd.

“We are here to bring in the light,” said Bernstein. “So we are going to turn on all the lights of the electric menorah. Let our light shine.”

After the lights were turned on, Bernstein sat at a portable keyboard, leading the crowd in the singing of Hanukkah songs, mainly in Hebrew, though her set concluded with Tom Lehrer’s classic English-language novelty song, “Hanukkah in Santa Monica.” Jelly doughnuts were handed out during the music.

Izzy Brody Kaplan, a queer 21-yearold, enjoyed being part of the celebration.

“I’m visiting my moms,” she said. “We sort of go for anything Jewish-related to compare West Coast Judaism to East Coast, and to possibly meet other Jews of San Francisco.”

The evening ended with recorded Hanukkah music and dancing. t

El Cerrito makes history with new mayor, council

by Cynthia Laird

El Cerrito City Councilmember Carolyn Wysinger, a Black lesbian, made history Tuesday when her colleagues voted for her to be the East Bay town’s mayor for 2025, believed to be a first in California. The council also celebrated having a supermajority of LGBTQ membership by seating new members Rebecca Saltzman and William Ktsanes, who join Wysinger and longtime Councilmember Gabe Quinto as out members.

Saltzman is a lesbian mom and former longtime elected BART board member. Ktsanes is a single gay dad who is a University of San Francisco adjunct professor in the School of Management’s Master of Science in Financial Analysis program. Both won election in November, along with Councilmember Lisa Motoyama, a straight ally who began her second term.

The atmosphere was festive as the members recited their oaths of office, which took place after the council bid farewell to Tessa Rudnick, who had served as mayor this year, and Paul Fadelli. Each opted not to seek reelection.

State Controller Malia Cohen, for whom Wysinger works, swore her in.

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“I’m excited to lead a supermajority LGBTQ City Council,” Wysinger said in her remarks. “The gay agenda is alive and well in El Cerrito.”

Wysinger is a former president of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee, and is cycling off the board this year. While she noted her mayoral post is ceremonial – the position rotates among councilmembers – she said that it is only the beginning and hopes to be a role model to other Black lesbians seeking public office.

During her comments, Wysinger noted there have been only a couple of Black women on the City Council who served as mayor, the first in 2007 and the second in 2019. “There have still been no Black men on the council,” she said.

er said that was a priority for the coming year, along with youth and families.

Wysinger said that a short time ago, a friend mentioned to her that she was “so angry” when she came out years ago. That led Wysinger to look at her bio, in which she described herself as “fierce.”

“I do get angry at disrespect,” she said at the meeting. “I get very angry at racism and homophobia.”

Following her remarks, the council voted for Quinto to serve as mayor pro tem, setting him up to become mayor in 2026. (He previously served in the role in 2018 and 2022.) Quinto’s initial win in 2014 marked the first time someone known to be living with HIV was elected to public office in the Bay Area.

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She also talked about the “unspoken socioeconomic divide” that is San Pablo Avenue in the city she has long called home. People still think of El Cerrito, located north of Berkeley in western Contra Costa County, as a “bedroom community,” she said.

Saltzman was sworn in by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Victoria Kolakowski, who herself made history in 2010 when she became the first transgender person elected to a trial court judgeship. (Kolakowski is the wife of Bay Area Reporter news editor Cynthia Laird.)

“I’m so thrilled to be here,” Saltzman said during her remarks. “I thank the voters.”

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“I say, not for much longer. The population will grow and with it, our diversity,” Wysinger said.

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El Cerrito experienced a fiscal crisis in 2021, which several councilmembers mentioned. Fadelli said that the city responded to a state auditor’s recommendations that year and “tried to keep our spirit up.” The financial turnaround has left the city in a stable position now, and Wysing-

She said that over her tenure on the BART board, she has worked with El Cerrito on many projects. The city has two BART stations, with the first phase of construction on more than 740 housing units at the El Cerrito Plaza BART Station set to begin in 2025 .

Kerasa Tsokas from Congregation Sha’ar Zahav helped to pass out sufganiyot, traditional sweet pastries, as part of the Hanukkah observance in Jane Warner Plaza December 16.

Rick Gerharter

State Controller Malia Cohen, left, introduces El Cerrito Mayor Carolyn Wysinger after administering her oath of office at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Cynthia Laird

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Congressional Dems betray us – again

Congressional Democrats have a long and tortured history of betraying the LGBTQ community. And as the soul-searching over the loss of the presidential race continues – including attempts to blame transgender issues –we’ve seen just how skittish some Democrats are. Last week’s vote in the House of Representatives on the National Defense Authorization Act was just the latest betrayal. A total of 81 Democrats voted for the NDAA, which contains a provision that bans gender-affirming care for minors who receive TRICARE health insurance through their activeduty military parents. The provision in the House bill is similar to one in the Senate version that passed before the election, and the Senate passed it again Wednesday 85 to 14. Of course, prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors is a central piece of Project 2025, the authoritarian document that the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups drafted to serve as a blueprint, particularly if Donald Trump won election to a second term – he did – and Republicans took control of Congress – they did.

President Joe Biden should veto the bill.

year. House Speaker Mike Johnson (RLouisiana) inserted the anti-trans language into the bill, according to reports. We suspect it was because he knew it would divide Democrats and be used to label those who voted against it “soft on defense.” Already, Johnson has put trans people on notice by formalizing a new rule that prevents people from using Capitol restrooms that do not align with their gender at birth. That, as readers will recall, was a direct affront to Congressmember-elect Sarah McBride (D-Delaware), the first out trans person elected to Congress. (She will have her own bathroom in her office, so won’t be directly affected by the rule, but trans staff members and trans people visiting the Capitol will.)

We’ve seen these machinations before from Democrats. The NDAA includes pay raises for servicemembers and other provisions. The problem lies in add-ons that are successful in targeting specific groups, like the trans community in this case. Democratic lawmakers face a tough decision, and we would argue that they should have voted against it – the NDAA would have passed anyway, as it only needed a simple majority vote.

the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013. Same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in 2015. The rest of DOMA was repealed when President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022.

Modern Military Association of America, the successor group to the old Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which works with LGBTQ service members, sent out an email this week reminding LGBTQ service members of several other anti-LGBTQ policies likely to be implemented. These include the aforementioned health care vote and reinstating the Department of Defense ban on transgender individuals from military service.

“President Trump’s previous policy only went as far as banning transgender people from joining the military and preventing those currently serving from taking steps to transition,” the organization stated, referring to Trump’s ban on trans service in 2017 during his first term. “We have concerns a new ban would attempt to go further, expanding to separate the approximately 15,000 transgender active service members from duty and/or eliminating gender-affirming care for service members and their dependents.”

In the House vote, 13 of those 81 Democrats were from California, and four were from the Bay Area. The local representatives were longtime allies such as outgoing Congressmember Anna Eshoo (Palo Alto), and Congressmembers Zoe Lofgren (San Jose), Jimmy Panetta (Santa Cruz), and Mike Thompson (Napa). Ted Lieu of Los Angeles was another longtime ally who voted for the bill. The others were: Pete Aguilar (Santa Bernardino) Salud Carbajal (Santa Barbara), Jim Costa (Fresno), Josh Harder (Stockton), Mike Levin and Scott Peters (San Diego), Raul Ruiz (Riverside), and Norma Torres (San Bernardino).

Even House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), who aspires to be speaker should the Democrats take control of the chamber in 2026, was one of the yes votes on the NDAA. He’s no Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), that’s for sure. She did not vote for the bill.

Shame on all of them.

Some of those voting for the bill were critical of the part targeting trans youth, and noted the NDAA is one of the major bills adopted by Congress each

Let’s recall that Democratic votes helped pass 1993’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. Indeed, former senator Sam Nunn (DGeorgia) was one of the main proponents of the policy, meant to be a compromise of then-President Bill Clinton’s campaign promise to allow open service. (Once Clinton got to the White House, he was made to realize that his pledge would not be attainable, hence the tradeoff: gays and lesbians could serve in the military, as long as they stayed in the closet.) That law took 17 years to repeal.

MMAA summed it up succinctly, “With a new presidential administration on the horizon, we expect a resurgence of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and policies.”

In 1996, scared of some states moving forward on allowing same-sex marriage, Congress put the kibosh on that by passing the Defense of Marriage Act, again on Clinton’s watch. There were Democratic votes for that too, though famously, then California Democratic senators Barbara Boxer and the late Dianne Feinstein opposed it. A major portion of DOMA was successfully struck down thanks to

But given the number of Democrats who voted for that defense bill, we’d add that it’s not just Republicans that the LGBTQ community needs to be concerned about. The Democratic Party does need to do a self-examination on lessons to be learned from the November 5 election. It does not need to scapegoat trans people or the wider LGBQ community as part of that process. In fact, those Democrats who hemmed and hawed about their yes vote on the NDAA should have voted no and had the wherewithal to explain that it’s not OK for Republicans to throw trans people under the bus. Instead, they themselves did just that. The election result shows that Democrats have a hard time talking about issues, especially ones favored by liberals. That’s what party leadership needs to look at – coming up with better ideas aimed at working people and communities of all kinds, including us. t

Tidings of comfort, joy, and courage

by Jim Mitulski

Picture this: A crowded church building in the Castro at midnight on Christmas Eve in the 1980s and 1990s. Three hundred LGBTQ people, many living with HIV/AIDS, along with our friends and families, crammed into the pink and purple stucco and wood frame sanctuary on Eureka Street (now a condominium building!). Each person held a candle (careful to avoid burning the hair of the people around them) as we sang “Silent Night, Holy Night.” Warmth, light, joy, hope – and acceptance – filled the room with a sound that certainly must have rivaled the angels singing on the first Christmas night. One particularly magical night it even snowed, a rare occurrence in the city.

We gathered to remember a story about an unconventional Holy Family, who had been told there was no place for them. We were lesbians separated from their children. We were gay men ostracized by our families because of our medical condition. We were friends and lovers. Many were refugees from other parts of the country who had come to San Francisco to make a new community because we were estranged from where we had come from. We were spiritual seekers from many faith traditions, our sexual orientation or gender identity rendering us unwelcome or out of place in most churches. On these special nights at the old Metropolitan Community Church-San Francisco on Eureka Street – a proudly separate church just for queer people and our allies – miracles seemed possible and sometimes were achieved. Some of my best Christmas memories are not from childhood, but from a particular period in the history of our community during the 1980s and 1990s when we were under political and religious assault. When we heard of ancient oppressors like Herod or Caesar Augustus in the Gospels, we identified current opponents of our civil rights like Ronald Reagan, Lyndon LaRouche, George Bush, and Lou Sheldon or religious leaders who were bishops or evangelists.

fied with their struggle to find a safe place to really call home, where we could nurture love and hope, just like the weary couple who sought refuge in order to give birth to love incarnate. Our church was more like a stable than a cathedral. We became our own Holy Family, our own angel choir. And the candles we lit in the darkest midnight became our own stars. I am certain I saw a star shining over our little village. We sought and found tidings of comfort and joy – to quote “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlefolk.” And, in the midst of great opposition, we also found courage. This was before legalized same-sex marriage was even a dream, and before medications gave us a future we were afraid we might never see. AIDS was like a 15-year COVID.

On Christmas Eve, when we heard about Mary and Joseph and Jesus fleeing persecution, we identi-

I’m recalling these memories to remind us collectively of our resilience and our strength. Perhaps you were born after this time, or lived elsewhere, but I want to testify that we are part of a community who never gives up or gives in. Ancient stories are valuable, not just because they recall the past but because they inspire us in the present. And, this year, we need inspiration. The Christmas story has particular resonances for our queer communities – and for any community imperiled by prejudice, and vulnerable for that matter, because they are undocumented, or transgender, or in need of reproductive health care. Mary, Joseph and Jesus become refugees and asylum seekers because Roman occupation made their lives untenable. A census displaced them and consigned

them to a district with insufficient affordable housing. After Jesus was born, they fled to Egypt fearing for their lives.

The age of tyrants is not over. Our incoming president promises mass deportations and threatens to violate the sanctuary of schools, hospitals, and even places of worship in pursuit of undocumented friends and neighbors. We found our courage in 1986 when state Proposition 64 sought to round up and quarantine people with HIV, and we expressed our commitment not to allow our friends to be taken from us. We remembered that unjust laws cannot be enforced if we refuse to submit to them. In 1994, when the majority of Californians voted for Proposition 187, which would deny health care and education to undocumented immigrants, San Franciscans voted in the greatest number in the state against this ugly provision, which was later declared unconstitutional. We were proud that people came here to find a better life, because that’s what most of us came here seeking, and we protected and encouraged the medical refugees who came here seeing HIV treatment not available in other states or countries.

In the late 1990s, when some hardened their hearts against queer homeless youth in the Castro, we banded together to provide emergency winter shelters and to provide needed social services. We need to muster that courage and activism again in the face of threatened family separation and mass deportation. That’s our best Christmas gift to each other.

This Christmas, I urge you to find a welcoming place to light candles, hear angels sing, and create chosen holy families of every configuration. When we sing about peace in ancient Bethlehem, pray for peace in modern day Palestine and Israel. And come seeking comfort and joy, and also courage for the struggle ahead. Make Christmas real by promising solidarity to immigrants and asylum seekers, so that no one feels out of place and there is room for all in the inn.t

The Reverend Jim Mitulski, a gay man, is the pastor of the Congregational Church of the Peninsula UCC (https://www.ccpeninsula.org/) in Belmont, California and was pastor during the AIDS years of Metropolitan Community Church-San Francisco.

The Reverend Jim Mitulski

Courtesy Jim Mitulski

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Talk turns to 2026 race for SF LGBTQ Castro supervisor seat

by Matthew S. Bajko

In several weeks gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman will know if he will wield the gavel at Board of Supervisors meetings during his remaining two years representing the city’s LGBTQ Castro district and adjacent neighborhoods at City Hall. He is set to seek the powerful position when the supervisors hold their inaugural 2025 meeting on January 8, with District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar also expected to pursue the board presidency.

Behind the scenes speculation is heating up on who will enter the 2026 fall race to succeed Mandelman on the board. So far, no one has filed paperwork with the city’s ethics commission to begin raising money for the supervisorial campaign.

(As of the Bay Area Reporter’s print deadline Wednesday, the only race for one of the board’s even-numbered seats that will be up in two years to draw a candidate to date is for the District 2 seat, with former supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier pulling papers with the ethics commission. She has been one of the people mentioned as a possible pick for Mayor London Breed to fill the vacant Marina-based seat vacated by Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, D-San Francisco, earlier this month.)

Nonetheless, a number of names of local leaders who are thought to be interested in the District 8 seat have been thrown around for months by political watchers. Due to the historical importance of the Castro to the LGBTQ community, and the seat held by a string of gay men since the city in 2000 reverted back to district-based elections for the 11 supervisors, the suspected field is largely made up of gay men.

tember amid a scandal over the club’s botched endorsements in several city races on the fall ballot that prompted Jeffrey Kwong to step down from the presidency position. As it happens, Temprano is a former president of the Milk club, while McCoy was a former co-chair of the more moderate Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club.

At the top of the list is Mandelman’s former legislative aide and de facto chief of staff at City Hall, Tom Temprano. He left Mandelman’s office in February 2022 due to being hired by the statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization Equality California to be its political director.

A year later promoted to EQCA’s managing director of external affairs, Temprano has built up a sizeable Rolodex of elected leaders and community officials, both LGBTQ individuals and straight allies, from across the state whom he could tap for endorsements and campaign contributions should he seek to succeed his former boss. A onetime elected member of the city’s community college board, Temprano has long been thought to want to run for supervisor ever since being tapped by Mandelman to join his staff after he first won the District 8 seat in a special election in 2022.

When Temprano then moved into the Castro, it only fueled expectations of seeing him mount a supervisorial bid. Despite his EQCA job requiring him to travel throughout the state, Temprano has remained closely tied to the city and district.

He is also keeping his electoral intentions close to his chest for the time being. In recent months, when asked by the B.A.R. about running for the supervisor seat, Temprano has repeatedly demurred from answering.

“You can ask, but I will not have an answer for you,” Temprano said in midNovember a few weeks after the November 5 election. He again said this week that he would “have no comment at this time.”

Another person widely speculated as being interested in the seat is Gary McCoy, who stepped in as interim president of the progressive Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club in Sep-

McCoy, who resides in Twin Peaks with his husband, Kory Powell-McCoy, has long worked for Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), serving as the political director for her campaigns and as a former district office staffer. He also spent stints as a legislative aide to several supervisors, including former District 8 supervisor Scott Wiener, now a Democratic state senator who represents the Castro in Sacramento.

For nearly four years now McCoy has worked as the vice president of policy and public affairs for the nonprofit medical and substance use services provider HealthRIGHT 360. A former board member for the Castro Country Club sober gathering place in the neighborhood, McCoy has been outspoken about his own substance use struggles and is a vocal advocate for harm reduction strategies.

“As a longtime District 8 resident, it’s important to me that we have a strong representative on the Board of Supervisors. I’m always looking for how I can best be of service, and am interested in exploring this role, but I’m still having conversations with the community to learn what is most needed right now and haven’t come to a final decision yet,” McCoy told the B.A.R. this month.

Another person long thought to want the District 8 seat is Emanuel Manny” Yekutiel, the owner of the eponymously named cafe and event space on Valencia Street a few blocks outside the boundaries of the supervisorial district. The Jewish business leader has been a magnet for protesters upset with his support of Israel, even prior to its war in Gaza in response to the terrorist group Hamas’ attack on the country in October 2023.

Stuck in Tel Aviv at the time for several days until international flights resumed, Yekutiel resigned from his seat on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors when he returned home. He again made headlines last December when he floated possibly running in the 2024 mayoral race against Breed, who had appointed him to the transit oversight body.

Yet Yekutiel opted against doing so and remained neutral in the contest. He co-moderated the first mayoral debate with Breed and her top four challengers held in June.

Asked by the B.A.R. this week if he was interested in seeking the supervisor seat, as Yekutiel is also a Castro resident,

he said his priorities are currently running his business and a philanthropic effort that has helped put on various events around the city to draw customers back to downtown and neighborhood businesses, such as night markets and music performances.

“I’ve got no plans to run for supervisor at this time. I’m fully focused on running Manny’s and the Civic Joy Fund,” Yekutiel told the B.A.R., adding he is “excited to work with” the incoming administration of Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie “to help with the city’s economic recovery any way I can.”

Others mentioned as possible District 8 candidates include Scotty Jacobs, a gay branding consultant who lost his bid on the November 5 ballot to be the District 5 supervisor. A resident since 2022 near the Panhandle and Divisadero commercial corridor, where he rents an apartment with his younger brother, Jacobs has been the subject of rumors that he could be looking to move into Cole Valley, which was added to District 8 during the last redistricting process, or another area of the district in order to seek the seat.

Jacobs didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time.

The lone straight candidate often mentioned as possibly getting into the race is Carrie Barnes, who just stepped down as president of the Noe Valley Democratic Club. She won election last March to a seat on the commit tee that runs the San Francisco Demo cratic Party, on which she serves as its second vice chair.

A married mom, Barnes has an un cle who is gay and has long had an in terest in politics. She worked on Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful presidential bid in 2016 then earned a master’s degree in public affairs from UC Berkeley’s Gold man School of Public Policy.

When asked by her neighborhood newspaper the Noe Valley Voice about her political aspirations for a profile in its February issue, Barnes acknowl edged being interested in seeking pub lic office one day. But she didn’t think she would run for supervisor.

Barnes didn't return the B.A.R.’s request for comment this week. t

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http:// www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on the ongoing search for a new leader of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.

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Gay District 8 residents Tom Temprano, left, and Gary McCoy have been mentioned as possible supervisorial candidates in 2026.

Temprano, courtesy the subject; McCoy, Sari Staver

Gay Navy veteran Robert Dockendorff dies

by Cynthia Laird

Robert Dockendorff, a gay man, Navy veteran, and longtime supporter of LGBTQ causes, died Monday, December 9, at his home in San Francisco. He was 85.

Mr. Dockendorff had fought chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, for several years, his caregiver Joey Jones told the Bay Area Reporter. Mr. Dockendorff had been hospitalized shortly before his passing but returned home, Jones said in a phone interview.

“He went the way he wanted to,” Jones, a gay man, said.

Byron McQuarters Norris, a gay Black man who had been Mr. Dockendorff’s longtime friend and roommate until last year, told the B.A.R. in a phone interview that Mr. Dockendorff “made sure he was home.”

Gay former San Francisco supervisor Tom Ammiano, who went on to serve in the state Assembly, honored Mr. Dockendorff for his contributions to the LGBTQ community around 2009, he wrote in a message to the B.A.R. Norris recalled that he and Mr. Dockendorff went to Sacramento for the ceremony.

“Bob was a behind-the-scenes activist, one of the rare ones who didn’t care for the spotlight,” Ammiano stated.

“An unsung hero whose generosity to just causes knew no bounds. Visiting with him these past months was a real privilege. Sharing many memories and laughs. One I remember was how he took the bus with Harvey Milk after meetings and their conversations. Rest in power my friend.”

Over the years, Mr. Dockendorff gave of his time and financial donations to various LGBTQ groups. These included several organizations that no longer exist, such as the Cable Car Awards, Operation Concern, and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. He was active in arts causes as well, helping finance a documentary on lesbian pioneer Sally Gearhart, Jones said.

He was also active in local politics, donating to candidates. Mr. Dockendorff served as president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club in 1990. He also served on the San Francisco Ethics Commission, said gay attorney Paul Melbostad, who served with Mr. Dockendorff on the panel.

Ed Harrington, a gay man who’s a former San Francisco controller, said that he appointed Mr. Dockendorff to the ethics panel, which was established by voters in 1993. (The controller was one of several elected officials responsible for naming its members at that time.)

“Bob was a wonderful guy,” Harrington said in a brief phone interview.

“He had a real sense of integrity. Bob was my first appointee.”

Harrington added that ethics commission staff may not have always enjoyed working with Mr. Dockendorff because “he pushed to get stuff done. He wanted staff to get stuff done.”

Mr. Dockendorff’s professional career was spent at the Pacific Maritime Association, which he went to work for after leaving the Navy. He rose through the ranks to be president of communications and research and worked there for

33 years until his retirement, according to an obituary published by a mortuary in Iowa, where he grew up.

In a video interview made in June 2015 by gay filmmaker David Weissman, Mr. Dockendorff said he was forced to retire from the military because he was gay. He said that he received an honorable discharge in 1981.

Norris confirmed that account, saying at the time of his retirement Mr. Dockendorff was a captain in the Naval Reserves, where he served for 22 years.

“He loved the military and would have stayed,” Norris said.

Mr. Dockendorff served for three years on active duty in Vietnam. He said in the video that he first arrived in San Francisco in 1965 to “reactivate a ship that was going to Vietnam.” The first place he went to was a gay bar, he said.

“I was aware of San Francisco’s reputation when I saw the Life magazine article about the decadence in the South of Market area,” he laughingly told Weissman, referring to the infamous 1964 “Homosexuality in America” article the magazine published that grabbed attention at the time.

LA Blade publisher Troy Masters dies

by Los Angeles Blade staff

Troy Masters, a gay man who was publisher of the Los Angeles Blade, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, December 11, according to a family member. He was 63.

The Los Angeles County coroner said the cause of death was suicide.

Mr. Masters was a well-respected and award-winning journalist and publisher with decades of experience, mostly in LGBTQ media. He founded Gay City News in New York City in 2002 and relocated to Los Angeles in 2015. In 2017, he became the founding publisher of the Los Angeles Blade, a sister publication of the Washington Blade, the nation’s oldest LGBTQ newspaper.

His family released a statement to the Blade.

“We are shocked and devastated by the loss of Troy,” the statement read.

“He was a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ community and leaves a tremendous legacy of fighting for social justice and equality. We ask for your prayers and for privacy as we mourn this unthinkable loss. We will announce details of a celebration of life in the near future.”

The Blade management team also released a statement.

“All of us at the Los Angeles Blade and Washington Blade are heartbroken by the loss of our colleague,” it read. “Troy Masters is a pioneer who championed LGBTQ rights as well as best-in-class journalism for our community. We will miss his passion and his tireless dedication to the Los Angeles queer community.

“We would like to thank the readers, advertisers, and supporters of the Los Angeles Blade, which will continue under the leadership of our local editor, Gisselle Palomera, the entire Blade family in D.C. and L.A., and eventually under a new publisher,” the statement read. Michael Yamashita, a gay man who is publisher of the Bay Area Reporter, stated he would miss his colleague.

“It was shocking to receive the sad news this morning,” Yamashita wrote in a December 12 email, “I have known Troy as a fellow publisher and friend for over 20 years. He was smart and accomplished. More than a few times, he started gay publications – in New York City and Los Angeles. I will miss working with him.”

The Blade newspapers are part of the

News is Out collaboration, along with the B.A.R. and other legacy LGBTQ publications Dallas Voice, Philadelphia Gay News, Tagg magazine, and the Windy City Times.

Dana Piccoli, a lesbian who is News is Out’s managing director, stated the organization was “devastated.”

“The team at News is Out is devastated to learn of the passing of LGBTQ+ media legend, colleague and friend, Troy Masters,” Piccoli wrote in an email.

“Troy was a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and pioneer in queer media,” she added. “We were lucky to work with him as a member of News is Out and will forever be grateful for the barriers he broke down for the queer community. Our hearts are with our colleagues at the Los Angeles Blade and the Washington Blade.”

Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ rights organization, issued a statement on Mr. Masters’ passing.

“We at Equality California are heartbroken by the unexpected passing of Troy Masters, a trailblazing journalist, publisher, and tireless advocate for the LGBTQ+ community,” stated Executive Director Tony Hoang, a gay man.

Robert Dockendorff, right, congratulates then-assemblymember Tom Ammiano, at his wedding to Carolis Deal at their reception on September 20, 2014.

Rick Gerharter

Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff, left, then-congressmember David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island), Ariadne Getty, and Los Angeles Blade publisher Troy Masters attended the Washington Blade’s 50th anniversary gala in 2019.

Vanessa Pham/Washington Blade

Los Angeles Blade publisher Troy Masters

LA Blade file

Its decision to turn streets in certain neighborhoods into outdoor spaces for pedestrians and cyclists – dubbed Slow Streets due to restricting vehicle usage of the thoroughfares – to use as a safe way to get exercise and fresh air during the pandemic inflamed heated debates throughout the city. A number of the Slow Streets remain to this day, beloved by some and derided by others who contend they are no longer needed.

As COVID waned, Tumlin came under attack by several supervisors who complained about the slow return of bus service in their districts. Residents also harangued SFMTA leaders for rerouting certain Muni lines, cutting off service they had relied on for decades, with riders in one hilly section of Noe Valley particularly upset with being cut out of the service area for the 48-Quintara/24th Street line.

Tumlin had defended his agency and staff for being upfront about the need to rethink Muni service due to the crash in ridership brought about by the global health crisis and people no longer commuting to their offices on a daily basis. It was only this past September that Muni saw its average weekday ridership surpass 500,000 riders for the first time since the start of COVID in February 2020.

Nonetheless, Tumlin last month warned that the SFMTA’s fiscal picture was in such dire straits that it could lead to shuttering the city’s famous Cable

<< Thurmond

From page 1

2026.” According to the legislation authored by gay state Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), Thurmond was to convene the task force by July 1, as the Bay Area Reporter had noted in an article last December.

Thurmond, running to be elected in 2026 the state’s next governor, had noted when Newsom signed Laird’s bill and several others he had supported in 2023, “Dangerous trends have emerged recently. A small group of extremists have continued to levy attacks on California’s schools, targeting LGBTQ+ students. These measures will protect all members of the LGBTQ+ community and provide the resources needed to support all California students.”

Yet, for months this fall, Thurmond’s office was unresponsive to the B.A.R.’s inquiries about who was on the LGBTQ+ SAT and if it had met. It has yet to disclose the names of the people selected to serve on it, or how many times it has met and the dates for when it did so.

Nor does it appear to have been very communicative with LGBTQ leaders about the work of the task force. Equal-

From page 1

Asked if he’d be overseeing any particular areas of interest, Goudeau said he won’t be overseeing any agencies. There will be an LGBTQ liaison announced later, but it won’t be him, he said.

Thomas E. Horn, a gay man who is the former publisher of the B.A.R. and is president of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center Board of Trustees, has been friends with Goudeau for decades.

Cars next summer. It prompted Lurie to say the beloved tourist attraction would remain running on his mayoral watch.

Despite receiving majority support from voters, Proposition L on the November 5 ballot that would have generated an estimated $25 million for transit service via a tax on ride-hailing services failed due to receiving fewer total votes than a competing measure that will take effect and change how the city taxes all businesses. Muni, with an annual budget of $1.4 billion, is projecting it could have a deficit of $239 million to $322 million by fiscal year 2026-2027.

On the positive side, Tumlin has been credited with improving customer satisfaction with Muni’s performance. The agency reported in August that 72% of passengers rated Muni as “excellent” or “good,” the highest score it has received since it began surveying riders in 2001.

And Tumlin won praise for his being direct about the issues confronting the SFMTA and the decisions it took. He acknowledged that the SFMTA “can’t be all to all people,” as one transit leader noted to the B.A.R.

“Change can be hard, but Jeff was not afraid to make those decisions necessary to allow people to move safely and efficiently across this city,” stated Breed.

“The SFMTA is a challenging department to run, and I want to thank Jeff for leading this Department and serving our city through the difficult years of the pandemic and after to get us where we are today.”

Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (DSan Francisco), often seen riding Muni, credited Tumlin for making Muni ser-

ity California, the statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, had supported Laird’s Senate Bill 857, which requires the statewide task force to issue a report on its work by January 1, 2026.

A spokesperson had told the B.A.R. in October in response to a question that it was “unaware” if the LGBTQ+ SAT had met and suggested contacting an LGBTQ+ schools health education consultant for the California Department of Education.

The person did not respond to an emailed interview request. Since midOctober, the B.A.R. has sought answers from the state agency’s public affairs office about the task force’s makeup and meetings. Spokesperson Alia Cruz-Jauregui had replied in an October 24 email that she would “get right back to you on the commission” but never did.

Unresponsive to several follow-up emails until last week, Cruz-Jauregui emailed the B.A.R. on December 6 that they would “follow up with my team and get right back to you.” It wasn’t until December 10, after the B.A.R. had contacted Laird for an interview about the status of the task force, that Cruz-Jauregui provided the paper with limited details about the composition and work to date

Francisco city government for 25 years,” Horn said in a phone call. “He will bring very useful institutional knowledge to the new administration.”

vice the best he has seen in over 27 years of using the system.

“Service is faster and more reliable due to Jeff’s focus on making Muni work, and as a result Muni rider satisfaction surveys are at historic highs,” stated Wiener. “Jeff has also focused like a laser on making our streets safer, which saves lives. Jeff’s leadership for San Francisco has been extraordinary, and I wish him only the best going forward.”

Valencia bike lane

Perhaps no issue has bedeviled Tumlin and the SFMTA more than its decision to install a center bike lane along Valencia Street in the Mission District. While meant to better protect bicyclists, it has been derided by bike riders and drivers for its confusing design and resulted in a public campaign by merchants along the commercial corridor to see it be ripped out.

Store and restaurant owners blame the center bike lane and the loss in parking spaces it resulted in for decimating their businesses. They created the group Valencia Association of Merchants, Artists, Neighbors and Organizations, which in May had called for Tumlin to resign and continues to object to the SFMTA’s latest bike lane proposal.

After defending the center bike lane for months, contending it improved safety on the street, Tumlin relented earlier this year and announced it would be replaced with a bike lane on the side of the road; the SFMTA board signed off on it last month and construction is slated to begin early in 2025.

Last year, it was bike advocates who

of the LGBTQ+ SAT.

It is larger than the 15 members it was originally anticipated to have, with 31 people from across the state named to it. Eight are public high school students, six are public school teachers, and five are local education agency administrators. Another five are mental health practitioners, six are community advocates, and one represents the Office of Health Equity at the California Department of Public Health.

Cruz-Jauregui also reported that the LGBTQ+ SAT “has convened regularly” since July and “is on track to provide a report of their findings and recommendations to the Legislature, the Superintendent, and the Governor, on or before January 1, 2026.”

Coincidentally, her email arrived as the B.A.R. was interviewing Laird’s chief of staff, Richard Stapler, about the LGBTQ+ SAT. He said his office had been provided the same information as that given to a reporter for the newspaper.

“Part of the thing is there is a lot of sensitivity around having too much focus on it because of the sensitive nature of the work they do, and add to it fully half the school district members are minors,” said Stapler. “As we understand it,

Partners and a board member of Bay Football Club (Bay  FC), a new National Women’s Soccer League franchise.

were disgruntled with Tumlin after a video surfaced of comments he made at a neighborhood meeting in the Richmond district in which he said, “Part of the rise in incivility is absolutely people on bikes who are behaving like arrogant, horrible people.” The influential Streetsblog SF in a headline about it accused Tumlin of stereotyping cyclists and fanning “anti-bike hate.”

When former mayor Mark Farrell entered the mayoral race to return to Room 200 at City Hall, he pledged to replace Tumlin at the SFMTA. When asked by the B.A.R.’s editorial board if he would do so as mayor, Lurie was noncommittal about keeping Tumlin in charge of the agency but didn’t refrain from expressing his dismal view of the agency’s leadership.

“Too often in the city, things are done to communities instead of being done with communities. Muni is one of the most notorious agencies for failing to adequately communicate with residents and small businesses to design solutions that work for everyone,” Lurie stated in his B.A.R. questionnaire. “SFMTA leadership has failed to adequately communicate with and listen to community concerns throughout our city. As I’ve said before, on day one of my transition I will interview every major department head and they will need to justify why they should stay in the job.”

As of 2023, Tumlin’s salary with the city agency was $400,725. Prior to coming to the SFMTA, Tumlin was director of strategy at Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates, a San Francisco-based transportation planning and engineer-

you won’t be seeing a public posting of all the members of the commission.”

Thus, there is very little information provided publicly on the makeup of the task force at the website for it at https://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/ap/lo/ lgbtqswatf.asp. A note on the page says it was last reviewed in early May and makes no mention of the advisory body’s 31 members or any meeting information for it.

As of press time, Cruz-Jauregui has not responded to the B.A.R.’s follow-up inquiry for more details about who is serving on the LGBTQ+ SAT, the dates it has met, and if there are shareable notes from when it has convened. California students, school staff, mental health professionals, and community advocates were to comprise the LGBTQ+ SAT, as the state education office had noted in its spring news release. It is to identify “the needs of LGBTQ+ students and make recommendations to assist in implementing supportive policies and initiatives to address LGBTQ+ student education and well-being,” per Thurmond’s office.

The idea for the advisory body had been suggested to Laird by youth-led nonprofit California Association of Stu-

ing firm that focuses on sustainable mobility. Before that, he served as interim director at the Oakland Department of Transportation.

The news release announcing Tumlin’s appointment to lead the SFMTA noted he came to the position with 25 years of experience working in cities around the world. His predecessor, Ed Reiskin, had resigned amid criticism from Breed over Muni’s poor performance, plagued by slow service on its bus and rail lines and hammered by critics for the yearslong delays in opening the new Central Subway with a terminus in Chinatown.

Tumlin earned a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Stanford University. He has been with his artist husband, Huib Petersen, an immigrant from Holland, for 25 years.

It remains to be seen if several other out department heads in the city will also depart or remain as part of the Lurie administration. Dr. Grant Colfax, a gay man, is the health director; Shireen McSpadden, a bi woman, is executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing; Carol Isen, a lesbian, heads the Department of Human Resources; Mawuli Tugbenyoh, a gay man, is acting director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission; and Elaine Forbes, a lesbian, is port director. Honey Mahogany, a trans person who heads the Office of Transgender Initiatives, has told the B.A.R. she looks forward to working with the Lurie administration. t

dent Councils. His legislation had sailed through the Legislature amid conservative-led school boards across the state adopting anti-LGBTQ policies, from banning curriculum materials related to LGBTQ topics to requiring school employees out transgender and queer students to their parents or guardians.

“It is high time that we ensure California’s students have a rightful place at the table when it comes to matters of equity and inclusion,” stated Laird after Newsom had signed his bill into law creating the LGBTQ+ SAT.

The interim executive director for the statewide student councils association hasn’t responded to the B.A.R.’s emailed questions regarding the LGBTQ+ SAT and if it had been given representation on it.

Stapler said Laird’s office is pleased to see that the task force has begun its work and plans to ask the state education office for periodic updates going forward.

“As it stands, we are quite happy with the initial implementation of the commission. Obviously, we will be monitoring their work closely,” said Stapler. “We really hope this is a solid avenue for students who don’t often have a voice on really significant issues to have a voice.” t

“San Francisco has immense challenges, but they are greatly outweighed by our unique and enormous opportunities,” Slaughter stated in the release. “I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to serve the city I love and to help Mayorelect Lurie execute his vision for a safer and more affordable San Francisco.”

Goudeau said he’s worked with Slaughter in the past.

excited to be working with Staci. When she was at the San Francisco Giants, I was at City Hall, so there were lots of opportunities for us to work together in those capacities. We worked on two World Series parades together, but there were a number of issues that came up in my time at City Hall where we had to work closely with the San Francisco Giants and my point of contact there was Staci.”

“I’m humbled by the opportunity to serve the mayor-elect and the people of San Francisco,” Zou stated. “Having seen how hard he worked on the campaign, I know how hard he will work for the people of this great city, and I’m grateful to be a part of the team that’s going to turn around San Francisco.” t << Lurie

“Matthew has been involved in San

Dockendorff

From page 8

But he soon left for Vietnam, where he said it was “challenging trying to keep a bunch of screwball boats operating.”

He was at one point sent to Sydney, Australia for rest and relaxation, or R&R, but returned to Vietnam just before the Tet Offensive in January 1968. That operation involved a series of coordinated attacks by the North Vietnamese and Viet Kong forces against South Vietnam.

“It was an ugly time,” Mr. Dockend-

Lurie also announced December 12 that Staci Slaughter, the previous longtime executive vice president for the San Francisco Giants, will be his chief of staff. Slaughter played a key role in the construction and development of Oracle Park, where the ballclub plays on the city’s waterfront.  Slaughter left the Giants in 2023; until earlier this week, she was an adviser to global investment firm Sixth Street

orff recalled of the war in the video, adding that he and fellow servicemembers did get newspapers, including the military’s Stars and Stripes, and learned that support for the war was quickly eroding in the U.S.

Mr. Dockendorff’s forced exit from the Navy later led to his involvement in SLDN, which was established to fight for repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that Congress passed in 1994 during the Clinton administration. SLDN also assisted those who were discharged from the military for being

“She’s incredible and the mayor-elect is really lucky,” Goudeau said. “I’m super

gay or lesbian. Unlike Mr. Dockendorff, many received other than honorable or dishonorable discharges. Congress finally repealed DADT in December 2010. President Barack Obama signed the legislation, which went into effect a year later, in 2011.

Mr. Dockendorff celebrated the repeal in San Francisco, joining other veterans and activists.

Civic life

Mr. Dockendorff enjoyed his life in San Francisco. Gwenn Craig, a Black

Finally, Lurie announced Han Zou will lead his office of public affairs. Zou, a strategist, formerly led successful political campaigns on behalf of Con-

lesbian, former city police commissioner, and longtime Milk club member, told the B.A.R. in a phone interview that she served with him on the board of the Cable Car Awards. Those awards, handed out at what was then the event of the season, recognized LGBTQ leaders in an array of categories, from sports to elected officials to activists and more, Craig said. The awards ran from 1979 to 1993.

“They were highly prized,” Craig recalled of the awards. Then, Mr. Dockendorff decided to

gressmember-elect Lateefah Simon (DOakland) and Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco). He worked in Haney’s office as a legislative aide from 2019-2022. In 2020, Zou unsuccessfully ran for the San Francisco Community College District Board of Trustees.

get more politically active.

“Bob had an interest in politics and surprised us by throwing his hat into the ring for president of the Milk club,” Craig said. “He turned out to be highly effective. Under his tenure the club’s Black Caucus was formed. He helped diversify the club.”

Norris, who was inspired by Mr. Dockendorff’s idea for the Black Caucus, decided to join the club. Norris said that he and other new Black members of

See page 10 >>

by Jim Gladstone

Sometimes revisiting a time-honored tradition lends the perfect twinkle to holiday season theater productions; sometimes not. One sugarplum and two lumps of coal, coming in hot!

The cast has a habit of throwing candy from the stage at “Peter Pan: Panto in the Presidio.” It goes flying over the heads of the kids in the audience, as do fistfuls of cheeky innuendo. As a treat for little ones in your life, an offbeat date night, or some much-needed quality time with your inner child, the fourth annual edition of this glitzy camp extravaganza delivers a shot of 100-proof seasonal cheer.

Blending fractured fairytales, slapstick humor, and audience participation, Christmas pantos are a British holiday tradition which producer Peggy Haas, a longtime fan, first brought to San Francisco four years ago. Like its Presidio predecessors, “Aladdin,” and “Sleeping Beauty,” “Peter Pan” plays fast and loose with its source material.

Writer/lyricists Stephanie Brown and Richard Ciccarone give us Wendy (Abigail Esfira Campbell) as a hard-driving corporate tool, Peter (Corey Bryant) as a dimwit twunk, and Captain Hook (Rotimi Agbabiaka) as a swishbuckling casualty of the “Great British Baking Show” (Don’t ask, just go).

The suave crocodile (William Schmidt) frequents a reptiles-only Neverland disco, and the mermaid (Renée Lubin) makes like Ethel Merman, belting barn-burning parody versions of Earth, Wind and Fire and Gloria Gaynor classics.

In the show’s 14 silly song-and-dance numbers, pop hits become Dad jokes as garlands of groan-worthy wordplay are grafted onto instantly

Holiday triple plays

recognizable melodies. Chappell Roan and Bruno Mars are among the desecrated, but the show’s apotheosis is a pirate rave in which Madonna’s “Vogue” becomes the gloriously dopey “Boat.”

Such pop culture pastiche borrows as much from San Francisco’s late, great “Beach Blanket Babylon” revue as from UK panto. And, indeed, cast members Lubin and Curt Branum, who plays elastic-faced emcee Dolores, as well as music director Bill Keck, are emeriti of that yuk-yuk juggernaut.

Spectacularly embellished costumes, bold makeup and gargantuan technicolor wigs by a team led by Alina Bokovikova, Calli Carvajal, and Lindsay Saier gleam like Christmas ornaments. And the endlessly clever production, lighting, and projection design by Sean Riley, Andrea Schwartz and Peter Crompton provide

by Brian Bromberger

2024

was forecast as a potentially poor year for movies due to last year’s Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes that delayed set productions for six months, moving movie release dates into 2025. However, a slew of superb films coming at the end of the year (“Anora,” “A Complete Unknown” (with Timothy Chalamet’s early Bob Dylan, his best performance since “Call Me By Your Name”), “A Real Pain,”(Jesse Eisenberg’s superb odd couple post-Holocaust road trip to Poland with a devastating Kieran Culkin as a dysfunctional cousin), “September 5,” “Babygirl,” “Wicked,” “Conclave,” “The Brutalist,” and “Nickel Boys”) has transformed a mediocre slate into a top-drawer one.

As far as 2024’s LGBTQ films, it’s been a slightly above average year, with streaming platforms, indie projects, and international cinema the source of almost all queer movies, with more higher quality narrative features than documentaries. Perhaps in reaction to the anti-trans attitude sweeping the nation in the last two years, trans films were the highlight this year, encompassing four out of the ten films selected as the best of 2024.

These lists are highly subjective, but a common theme appears to be the importance of

Sizzling

Disneyland-worthy delights.

Director Liam Vincent keeps the show moving along at a brisk clip, and, in something of a showbiz holiday miracle, manages to consistently hit a tonal sweet spot that will simultaneously engage impatient preschoolers and jaded queers. Bring the fam.

‘Peter Pan: Panto in the Presidio,’ through Dec. 29. $33.90-$67.80. Presidio Theatre. 99 Moraga Ave. www.presidiotheatre.org

Judging by the thin gruel served up as holiday fare at “Deep Inside Tonight!”, it may be time to 86 the Kinsey Sicks.

From its San Francisco beginnings back in 1993, the Dragapella® Beauty Shop Quartet, blazed a valuable trail, using smart parody songs to fight back and lift queer spirits in the face of

queer folk fearlessly expressing themselves even when others object. As we shakily approach a new administration in 2025, it will be artists fearlessly expressing their visions, who could lead any cultural/political resistance.

1. Emilia Perez. This wild ride plays like an opera, or more fittingly a telenovela that’s a mix of genres from crime caper to musical to lesbian romance, makes the film unpredictable and exhilarating. Rita (Zoe Saldana), a disillusioned lawyer, is asked by a drug cartel boss, Manitas, (trans Karla Sofia Gascon) to help him fake his own death, arrange to have gender-affirming surgery so he can become the woman he always felt himself to be, then relocate his wife Jessi (Selma Gomez) and children to Switzerland.

Part two occurs four years later when Rita again encounters Manitas as Emilia Perez, who asks her to help make amends for the suffering she caused in her former criminal life, but also to reunite her with her children. The film is filled with hit or miss songs. All three actresses are standouts, especially Gascon who creates a capacious, enigmatic, contradictory character.

A French film made in Mexico, it’s already been nominated for ten Golden Globe awards and a likely Oscar Best Picture contender. Yes, it is a hodgepodge of styles and moods with some ar-

guing the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts, but its enthralling audaciousness compels one to forgive its flaws and embrace its originality as a twisted, tragic fairy tale complete with life affirming social commentary.

2. Sabbath Queen. The compelling story recounts the 20-year journey of gay Amichai Lau-Lavie, descendant of 38 generations of Orthodox Jewish rabbis. Outed by the Israeli press, he emigrates to New York where he gets involved with the Radical Faeries and develops a hilarious stage drag persona. He establishes a God-optional, pop-up experimental Jewish synagogue (Lab/Shul), enacting his religion as performance approach that welcomes everyone. He’s ordained a Conservative Jewish rabbi, criticized by his family, but gets in trouble when he performs a same-gender marriage. This must-see thought-provoking documentary is a piercing critique on how divisive queer voices are marginalized in institutional religion today.

3. National Anthem. A dynamic visionary film on America’s LGBTQ rodeo subculture focuses on Dylan (Charlie Plummer), a 21-yearold unskilled day laborer in rural New Mexico, who starts working at a queer dude ranch. He develops a crush on the free-spirited, flirty trans

the AIDS crisis, intolerant conservative politics, and antisemitism. They were a hit off-Broadway, in Las Vegas, and even overseas.

But the registered trademark symbol long ago added to the group’s self-description has proven a harbinger of present-day circumstances. “Deep Inside Tonight!” seems more like a ritual trotting out of intellectual property than the angry, angsty artistry that were the Kinseys at their keenest. Like the Four Tops and the Temptations, the band plays on without any of its original members, banking on nostalgic appeal. Group founder Ben Schatz, a Harvard-educated lawyer who developed AIDS policy for Bill Clinton, still keeps a hand in their management (and wrote many of their parody lyrics).

barrel racer Sky (Eve Lindley), who’s in an open polyamorous relationship with owner Pepe (Rene Rosado).

Dylan finds a real sense of belonging so he can explore freely his identity. Rather than a parody of hetero-cowboy machismo, the film depicts a safe space for those victimized by toxic masculinity. Anchored by Plummer’s whatshould’ve been-a-star-making performance, the film presents an inclusive fantasy of what America could become, where disruptive binaries separating us from one another are dispelled, and we live in harmony with each other.

4. All Shall Be Well. This gem from Hong Kong concerns a successful lesbian couple, Angie and Pat, together for 30 years. Pat dies unexpectedly, leaving Angie at the mercy of Pat’s family. Because there’s no same-sex marriage in Hong Kong, Angie must cede to the wishes of Pat’s surviving brother, which might include kicking Pat out of her apartment. It’s about grief and maintaining dignity in the face of family opposition, especially what can happen when you don’t have legal rights or a will. A tender, beautiful but heartbreaking film, it seeks acceptance amid the sustaining power of memories of love.

Corey Bryant and Rotimi Agbabiaka in ‘Peter Pan: Panto in the Presidio’

New versions of old favorites

Netflix

cinema Best LGBTQ films of 2024

Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofia Gascon in ‘Emilia Perez’ ‘Sabbath Queen’

‘National Anthem’ ‘All Shall Be Well’

Sandi DuBowski

LD Entertainment

by Evelyn C. White

Memo to “Milk” director Gus Van Sant and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black: You’ve been cold-busted.

For Sally Gearhart, the firebrand lesbian feminist who played an irrefutable role in the ascent of San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk, was summarily scrubbed from your 2008 Academy Award-winning biopic.

The evidence? Check the footage in “Sally!” that depicts Gearhart’s takedown of then-California State Senator John Briggs (of failed anti-gay Prop. 6 fame) while Milk, laughing, revels in her mastery.

In a brilliant split-screen editing move, director Deborah Craig juxtaposes shots from the 1978 televised debate against a clip from Van Sant’s film in which Sean Penn, in his Oscarwinning role as Harvey Milk, is shown debating Briggs solo.

Moreover, screenwriter Black appropriated Gearhart’s powerful oratory from the debate and gave her lines (ventriloquist style) to Penn.

Not surprisingly, Gearhart, who died in 2021 at age 90, had a ready response to her erasure in Van Sant’s Hollywood feature. “It happens to women all the time,” she declares in Craig’s magnificent documentary.

The blatant misstep in “Milk” is also

underscored by Craig’s riveting footage of Gearhart as she tries to calm the enraged throng of gay activists (and their supporters) who flooded the streets to protest the voluntary manslaughter sentence (seven years) that Dan White received for his November 27, 1978 assassination, in cold blood, of Harvey Milk and then-San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. Had White been convicted of firstdegree murder, his sentence likely would have been, at a minimum, 25 years to life.

5. Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story and Merchant Ivory (tie). Both are absorbing and revealing documentaries on two high culture icons. Coward (1899-1973) was a playwright (“Private Lives,” “Blithe Spirit”), songwriter (“Mrs. Worthington”), director, Las Vegas cabaret star, and actor, a gay mid-20th-century Renaissance performer. The film looks at his life through a queer lens, told through his own inimitable words, proclaiming Coward was his own greatest invention as a closeted, witty, sophisticated English playboy. Merchant/Ivory was the long-running, gay independent film production team that created such elegant Oscar-winning costume period dramas as “A Room with a View,” the gay romance “Maurice,” “Howard’s End,” and “Remains of the Day.” An open, interracial couple, their private dramas rivalled anything they made for the screen. Neither in the closet or openly out, James Ivory, at 96, for the

With megaphone in hand, a visibly distraught Gearhart implores the crowd to vent their anger peacefully:

“Harvey would not want violence,” she says, repeatedly, as the irate “White Night” rioters hurl rocks, smash windows, and torch police cars throughout the city.

Aside from Gearhart’s passion for lipstick (“I’ve never been without it,” she quips in the film), the native of rural Virginia routinely defied the norms for women of her generation. She eschewed marriage, earned a doctorate

first time discusses his sexuality and partnership with Ismail Merchant, who died in 2005.

6. Luther: Never Too Much. An affectionate appreciation of singer Luther Vandross (1951-2005), this documentary recounts the life of the composer, arranger, producer, nominated for nine Grammys, winning once. Pidgeon-holed as R & B, he never hit # 1 on the pop Billboard charts. A victim of racism, homophobia, and cruel jokes about his weight, he was probably gay but wouldn’t deny or confirm it. He never found one person to love. His final song, “Dance with My Father,” was his biggest hit right before he died of a stroke. This is a sad story of a vocal virtuoso artist who didn’t receive the respect his music deserved.

7. Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story. Shane was a dynamic Black trans soul/R & B vocalist in the 1960s, poised to become a big star. She toured throughout Canada and the U.S., scoring a modest hit, “Any Other Way.” Worn out by the daily pressures

at age 23, and secured college teaching positions in Texas. There, after being gay-baited, she bid farewell to the Lone Star state and landed in San Francisco where she soon emerged as “a radical lesbian lighthouse,” as noted in the film.

Indeed, as the first openly lesbian to score tenure at San Francisco State University, she helped to launch the first women’s and gender study programs in the country. Gearhart was also among the ass-kicking Amazons who appear in “Superdyke” (1975) the iconic com-

and cruelties of being her true trans self, she left the industry in 1971, becoming a virtual recluse.

Shortly before she died in 2019, she approved a CD-box set retrospective, nominated for a Grammy, with talk of a comeback tour. She left her nieces a storage room of memorabilia and a handwritten unpublished autobiography. Absolutely terrific film that is a tragic story, but a posthumous victory, since Shane will now not be forgotten.

8. High Tide. Brazilian immigrant Lourenco (Marco Piossi) finds himself alone and heartbroken in Provincetown after being dumped by his American boyfriend Joe. He’s staying in a cottage owned by Joe’s sympathetic widower friend. He survives by cleaning houses, but his tourist visa is about to expire. He meets Black tourist/nurse Maurice (James Bland) on the beach, starting a brief affair that can only last through the end of the week. This melancholy under-the-radar romance shows two drifting souls trying to make a solid connection, with a lovely performance by Marisa

edy by pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer (1939-2019). Craig includes engaging clips from the release in “Sally!” Ditto for Gearhart’s appearance in the landmark documentary “Word Is Out” (1977).

Gearhart’s acclaimed novel “The Wanderground” (1978) features a group of women who’ve fled the city to live together in the wilderness. The book has been hailed as an early ecofeminist text and reportedly influenced Gearhart’s purchase (with several other lesbians) of a large property in Mendocino County where they built homes and formed a community.

“Sally!” features engrossing footage of the women working on the land and is especially noteworthy for its candid discussions about the sexual liaisons that strengthened and strained the group. It also highlights Gearhart’s polyamorous relationship with her long-time partner, Jane Gurko, also a distinguished SF State professor, who died in 2010 at age 69.

At a time of growing racial divisions in the country, all praises to Deborah Craig for including the voices of women of color activists such as Gwenn Craig, Jewelle Gomez and Cherrie Moraga, in her outstanding documentary.t

www.sallygearhartfilm.com

Tomei as a queer advocate/friend. Handsome Pigossi as Lourenco is a star in the making, with P’town never looking more visually sumptuous.

9. My Old Ass. The lesbianish “All of Us Strangers” asks, if you could go back to an earlier time in your life, would you correct any mistakes? Elliott (Maisy Stella), celebrating her 18th birthday by tripping on psychedelic mushrooms, encounters a 39-year-old woman (Aubrey Plaza) who claims to be the person she will become in twenty years. She warns her to stay away from anyone named Chad. The next day she meets student Chad, who’s hired as a summer worker on Elliott’s family farm. She’s attracted to him, despite identifying as a lesbian. It’s poignant, but not sentimental, reminding us it’s the small moments of life that matter most.

10. I Saw the TV Glow. A surreal, mind-bending, claustrophobic fantasy by trans, non-binary writer/director Jane Schoenbrun features Owen (Justice Smith), who becomes obsessed with his favorite TV show, “The Pink Opaque” and its grotesque imagery. The film details how his continued fixation affects his life as he feels like an outsider in his

own world. Probably trans, Owen has a sense he’s someone other than himself, searching for a true self he can’t identify. Among the most debated films of 2024, this provocative, inventive movie’s message, don’t be scared of being who you are because secrets and lies are soul-killing, seems even more relevant post-election than it did back in May.

Honorable Mentions: “Queer” (a surreal film on gay obsessive desire marred by addiction in the repressive 1950s, but elevated by Daniel Craig’s tour de force performance as a standin for William S. Burroughs); “Sally” (documentary on Sally Gearhart, the lesbian San Francisco State professor, fantasy writer, and political activist, who joined forces with Harvey Milk to defeat 1978’s Briggs Amendment attempting to ban LGBTQ people from teaching in California schools); “Sebastian” (a young, ambitious gay British journalist freelancing as a sex worker to obtain research for a book, but really avoiding intimacy); and “Linda Perry: Let It Die Here” (documentary on the lesbian singer/ songwriter and former 4 Non Blondes band member, revealing her emotionally raw and ruthlessly honest creative process).t

<< Best LGBTQ films From page 12

Left: Sally Gearhart in the documentary, ‘Sally!’

Right: Sally Gearhart at a 1970s rally against Prop. 6

Both photos: Baytree Productions

‘Mad About the Boy: The Noel Coward Story’

‘Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story’ ‘Luther: Never Too Much’ ‘High Tide’

Playgirl’s pages

by Jim Provenzano

For gay and bisexual men of a certain age, Playgirl provided the first in-hand periodical that featured full-frontal male nudity. More explicit gay content was usually relegated to under-the-counter sales or in adult sex shops.

Initially started in the 1970s as a women’s version of Playboy, the magazine was an instant success. Briefly rivaled by Bob Guccione’s lesser softfocus publication Viva, it remained the most popular form of women-focused editorial on health, feminism, sexuality, and, of course, male nudity.

For the editors to call it a ‘cult’ magazine is a bit of a misnomer, since any horny American teenager could buy (or shoplift) a copy of the magazine at their mall bookstore, which sold 14 million copies in its early years.

Nudes and news

Playgirl’s gay fandom is acknowledged, but the majority of the book’s contents include multiple nudes, celebrity interviews, and essays about the magazine from its editors and contributors.

Gay filmmaker Bruce LaBruce writes in the introduction, “What really matters about the advent of Playgirl – a feisty feminist corrective to those big-titted juggernauts Playboy and Penthouse, whose outsize popularity seemed to imply that only men could get their rocks off by perusing the nude human form – is that feminists finally got to eat their cake, so to speak, and have it.”

Bruce praises the publication not only for its “jerk-off material,” but for interviews with the likes of Maya Angelou, Dolly Parton and Sandra Bernhard.

<< Holiday Shows

From page 12

But while the quartet’s performances once had a sharp underbite of activism, “Deep Inside Tonight!” just feels like an act. The current quartet of Spencer Brown, Jeff Manabat, Nathan Marken and J.B. McLendon are strong harmonic singers, but they feel like they’re playing fictional characters called the Kinsey Sicks rather than embodying their own deep-seated alter egos. They’re cute, cartoonish, and largely toothless. Today the sort of smart, politically-

Daniel McKernan, a gay man, would spearhead the website Playgirl TV out of the company’s 1990s2000s rut and into online popularity by 2007.

“To many a gay,” he writes, “it is a coming-of-age experience – an introduction to their sexuality – to find a stack of Playgirls under a bed. Plenty have told me they’d stolen a Playgirl magazine as a teenager because they weren’t old enough to buy it or because they were too embarrassed to be seen purchasing it.”

The magazine initially sought lesser celebrities for its centerfolds, but shied away from full frontal nudity, only discreetly showing a bit more with the late gay actor, George Maharis, and later the unforgettable big talent of straight actor Peter Lupus.

Nicole Caldwell, Editor-in-Chief from 2006 to 2016, writes, “Feminists latched on to [the] explora-

conscious drag that Kinsey pioneered can be seen on a regular basis at Oasis shows like Princess and Reparations (where the bodies that do the embodiment are markedly more diverse).

Sure, the barbershop harmonies have been left by the wayside. But the lessons of the Kinsey’s old school pedagogy have been learned and passed along.

A heartfelt thanks for a job well done. Now it’s time to get on with the show. ‘The Kinsey Sicks: Deep Inside Tonight’ through Jan. 5. $41-$62. New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness Ave. nctcsf.org

tion of male voyeurism in traditionally Western art and media, in which nude women are presented as disempowered subjects of male desire. Enter Playgirl, inviting women (and, winkingly at first, gay men) to look – and in so doing, to flip the antiquated script on who is beholding and who is being beheld.”

While acknowledging its gay readership, other contributors steer away from the fact that many of the models had been featured in, or would go on to pose in, explicit photo shoots and videos elsewhere. For example, popular 1970s model Rock Pamplin also worked with Colt Studios. By the 1990s, many other models had performed in gay porn with their names changed to confuse readers. By the 1990s, Caldwell writes, Playgirl “was a much more explicit nod to the magazine’s gay audience –an ironic move, as sexual content for the gay market was exploding while similar content for straight women

There’s a moment late in “A Whynot Christmas Carol,” American Conservatory Theatre’s sleighwreck of a holiday show, when a character turns to the playgoers at the Toni Rembe Theatre and asks, “Can we not in this moment find some reason for hope?”

It’s a set-up for the crowd to shout a plucky, “Why not?”

On opening night, it got crickets at first. (The bit isn’t well teed-up by Craig Lucas’ script, which sets no expectation for audience participation.)

But, after an awkward pause, a sole patron in the orchestra seats uttered his reply: “Nope.”

While this fellow’s response may have reflected his cynical take on the potential for societal generosity and respectful shared humanity on the eve of Trump II (Lucas draws a few too-obvious connections between Ebeneezer Scrooge and the Donner), it also spoke to the chance that this production might somehow achieve coherence before the final curtain.

Playwright Lucas and director Pam Mackinnon have created a hectic headscratcher of a replacement for A.C.T.’s traditional staging of Dickens’ classic novel. It’s an everything-everywhere-all-at-once Chrismishmash.

A contemporary community theater in a village called Whynot is producing “A Christmas Carol,” which means many A.C.T. cast members take on bi-layered roles. (For example, company stalwart Dan Hiatt plays Phil, who plays Scrooge).

In wedging both a backstage drama and an abundance of play-within-aplay sequences into a production that runs just over two hours, Lucas doesn’t leave himself room to flesh out the provincial thespians.

I can tell you virtually nothing about townsfolk Jess (Jomar Tagatac) and Simone (Jenny Nelson) other than the fact that, when they take the stage as Marley’s Ghost and The Ghost of Christmas, they’re terrific.

As stick figures alternate with ro-

was nearly impossible to find. Playgirl’s marketing still addressed women, but more and more its advertising content seemed not to.”

Most amusing is contributor Mickey Boardman’s essay, “Playgirl Made Me Gay,” in which, despite the current culture of OnlyFans and infinite porn websites, he considers Playgirl “the OG.”

“In society at the time, women were usually disrespected like gays were, so it was nice to see them treated well and catered to by a popular publication,” Boardman writes. “And it was a treat to see hot men presented in a sex-positive way. These guys were happy to show off their physiques and be celebrated by readers.”

Overall, the book is the celebration of the publication’s five decades, including celebrity interviews, shots by numerous prominent photographers, pages of cartoons, and reproductions of a few too many covers and promotional items, like the

now-campy 1980s Steve Rally workout videos “on VHS!”

Playgirl’s later shift to explicit online photos and videos gets short shrift, but many of those can be found on adult websites, including their own.

For a naughty stocking stuffer, any fan of vintage male erotica will be pleased by the book. However, it’s far from comprehensive in terms of the male nudity that brought such popularity.

Toward the end, the more recent version of the publication’s website shows a more underwhelming demure style. A majority of the more explicit erection-filled layouts in the 2000s are hinted at, but not displayed very prominently. At 240 pages, it’s saucy and deservedly celebratory, but not too sexual.t

‘Playgirl: The Official History of a Cult Magazine,’ $35. Available at bookstores and at https://playgirl.com/

bust interpretations of familiar characters, you may find yourself wishing for a Whynot-ostomy. There is plenty of impressive, expensive stagecraft, including David Zinn’s presto-change-o set design, visually dazzling illusions by Skylar Fox, and a looming metallic Ghost of Christmas Future puppet, elegantly designed by Amanda Villalobos.

There are also inexplicable dance breaks to electronic music; jokes about

gender pronouns; a random cameo by carolers, identified as coming not from London or Whynot, but from A.C.T.’s Young Conservatory; and a hot take on able-ism vis a vis Tiny Tim.

Your head will spin, but your heart will feel zip. This Christmas Carol is all busyness, no pithiness.

‘A Whynot Christmas Carol,’ through Dec. 24. $25-$148. Toni Rembe Theatre, 415 Geary St. www.act-sf.orgt

Popular models Rock Pamplin, Brian Buzzini, and Steve Rally are featured in the ‘Playgirl’ history book.

Left: The Kinsey Sicks (L-R) J.B. McLendon (Angel), Nathan Marken (Trixie), Jeff Manabat (Winnie) and Spencer Brown (Trampolina) Right: Dan Hiatt (left) in A.C.T.’s ‘A Whynot Christmas Carol’

Above: Lois Tema Below: Kevin Berne

Mala Kumar’s ‘What It Meant to Survive’

by Laura Moreno

“What it Meant to Survive” by Mala Kumar is an insightful novel that transcends class, race, religion, language, and nationality to find love and healing. It is a powerful work and a must-read for people overcoming post-traumatic stress, and survivor’s guilt in particular.

Inspired by the author’s own personal experience during her senior year at Virginia Tech University, the novel poignantly illustrates the longterm social and emotional effects of such an event in a person’s life, and how she overcomes the effects. Kumar previously published the novel “The Paths of Marriage” (2014).

In many ways, the most difficult piece of the puzzle was recognizing the toll the events had taken on her. Years later, when Ramya begins to experience memory loss, she has no idea that it may be related to a shooting massacre. The young protagonist realizes she must grapple with survivor’s guilt despite having long believed the murders had a negligible impact on her; after all, she was not present during the shooting.

But she was not altogether absent.

Ramya had, in fact, just left the exact room where the shooting would take place just 20 minutes later, causing a huge commotion that she witnessed from the parking lot.

It didn’t help that her parents had forced her to attend that university, pushing her into chronic depression that she was not able to carry out her own plans for her education.

Finding real love on Tinder

A few pages in, despite the potential risk, the protagonist takes a chance and meets someone very special on Tinder. The story is told alternately from each woman’s perspective, allowing us to see the dance Juliet does behind the scenes with her Tinder profile. She at first lists that she is hetero, then later adds that she wants to meet women, but only for friendship. It turns out she needn’t have worried.

When Ramya and Juliet finally meet up in person, they hit it off right from the start despite their many differences.

Ramya is an American with roots in India, temporarily on assignment in Ghana as part of her job with the UN. Juliet, a Nigerian, and has a flair for fashion design, but has yet to secure a job in Ghana, a country that is less prosper-

The gift of books

by Gregg Shapiro

There’s no question that books are the kinds of gifts that keep on giving. These titles by queer (and queerfriendly) authors featuring queer lives belong on your 2024 holiday gift list. As colorful and clever as it is informative and imaginative, “Gay Science” (DK/Penguin Random House), by gay comedian Rob Anderson, creator of the viral internet series of the same name, proves that you can laugh while you learn. Subtitled “The totally scientific imagination of LGBTQ+ culture, myths, and stereotypes,” the book separated into three parts – Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Formal Sciences –with sections touching on biology, anatomy, chemistry, physics, anthropology, history, linguistics, psychology, sociology, and forensics, among others. www.heartthrob-anderson.com

Winner of the 2023 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize, the non-fiction novella “The Mary Years” (TRP: The University Press of SHSU) by multi-awardwinning poet and essayist Julie Marie Wade celebrates the unexpected parallels between a young lesbian living in a restrictive home setting and

ous but also far less homophobic than her native Nigeria. For the moment, she is struggling financially.

Actually, “What it Meant to Survive” incorporates technology into the story right from the opening page. Chapter headings include three computer icons indicating: (1) which character is narrating the chapter, (2) the date, and (3) the country location.

This innovation is very helpful in clueing the reader in on shifting points of view and setting changes since the novel is set in Ghana, Nigeria, Dubai, and the US.

The novel includes occasional text messages written in computer-speak, leaving me scrambling for definitions of some of the more obscure (to me) abbreviations.

Diverse reading for the winter holidays

the triumphs and tribulations of Mary Tyler Moore and her beloved sitcom character Mary Richards. Wade tells this coming of age/coming out story with grace and insight. As she writes, “Everything we read, everything we write – all of it turns out to be an ongoing investigation – into the world and into ourselves.” The book’s sensational middle section alone, “Lamonts Might Have Been My WJM,” makes “The Mary Years” a fabulous gift. www.juliemariewade.com

The late, gay photographer Peter Hujar, who passed away from AIDS complications at 53 in 1987, is experiencing a kind of renaissance. Originally published almost 50 years ago by De Capo, Hujar’s black and white photography book “Portraits in Life and Death” (Liveright/W.W. Norton, 1976/2024), featuring new digital scans of the original negatives, has been rereleased with a new foreword by Benjamin Moser. Featuring portraits of John Waters, Divine, Fran Lebowitz, John Ashbery, William S. Burroughs, Charles Ludlam and others, as well as photos of mummified corpses in the Palermo catacombs, the book is essential for the photography fan on your list. www.peterhujararchive.com

“Rage: On Being Queer, Black, Brilliant…and Completely Over It” (Tiny Reparations Books), the title of the debut book by Entertainment Weekly and former Out Magazine editor Lester Fabian Brathwaite, almost says it all. But those deserving readers on your holiday gift list won’t want to miss out on how he says it in essays such as “Fucking White Boys,” “I Hate The Gays,” “Memoir of a Blouse,” and “Gifted,” to mention a few. www.lesterfabian.com

Winner of the Barrow Street Editors Prize, “Brutal Companion” (Barrow Street) by queer Latine poet Ruben Quesada features glowing blurbs from Jericho Brown, Laurie Ann Guerrero, and Spence Reece. The poems are in constant motion from Los Angeles, Lubbock, SLC, Chicago, Manhattan, Roswell, and Ireland, with references to performers Helen Reddy, Grace Slick, Buddy Holly, Rock Hudson, and visual artists, as well as tributes to the late gay writer Paul Monette. www.rubenquesada.com

Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng has been long- and short-listed for the Booker Prize for his books, including “The House of Doors” (Bloomsbury), newly released in paperback. Set in 1921, the novel is a fictionalized telling

Here’s the problem

In time, the couple decides to begin a new life together in New York City, where they can live freely as a couple.

But one thing threatens their plan. In the course of their relationship, the two women realize they have something very important in common stemming from past trauma. For Ramya, it’s nightmares and occasional bouts of memory loss. And Juliet periodically struggles with time-lapse episodes. For her to be able to get through the immigration process, she will need to come to terms with its root causes.

How the pair successfully work through the difficulties will keep readers engrossed in this heartfelt international page-turner.

“What it Meant to Survive” fits into other genres, too, including selfhelp literature, migrant literature, and the new genre of hi-tech literature with a touch of surrealism as the author makes peace with all that has happened.t

‘What It Meant to Survive’ by Mala Kumar, Bywater Books, $21.95. www.bywaterbooks.com www.malakumar.com

of Somerset Maugham, his marriage, his hidden homosexuality, and a lifechanging experience while visiting friends in Penang. www.instagram. com/tan.twan.eng

The past few years have been all about Joni; Mitchell, that is, both in terms of music and books. The same can be said for Dolly; Parton, that is. Dolly was celebrated in the 2023 poetry anthology “Let Me Say This,” and this year, her acclaimed 1989 album “White Limozeen” (Bloomsbury) gets the 33 1/3 treatment from queer author

Steacy Easton. www.instagram.com/pinkmoose4eva

In their latest book, “Who’s Afraid of Gender?” (FSG), groundbreaking queer theorist Judith Butler, who has become one of the leading voices in feminist and gender studies, creates an “urgent and imperative work” offering “rigorous analysis, hope, freedom and solidarity” while “confronting the reactionary politics” seeking “to intensify marginalization and inequality.” www.instagram.com/_judithbutler Jami Attenberg is one of a growing list of straight female writers, including Rebecca Makkai, Hanya Yanagihara, Meg Wolitzer, Chloe Benjamin, and Ann Patchett, who incorporates authentic queer characters in their novels. Attenberg’s acclaimed new book, “A Reason to See You Again” (Ecco), follows the lives of sisters Nancy and Shelly, the daughters of Rudy, a secretly queer Holocaust survivor, over the course of 40 years. www.jamiattenberg.comt

Author Mala Kumar