January 6, 2022 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

Page 1

07

SF sex venue update

Jock Talk signs off

ARTS

02

10

Q-Music

Since 1971

The

www.ebar.com

Serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities since 1971

Vol. 52 • No. 01 • January 6-12, 2022

New SFAF CEO breaks barriers by John Ferrannini

T Courtesy LGBTQ Victory Fund

Assemblymember Alex Lee

Assemblymember Alex Lee reflects on 1st year by Matthew S. Bajko

U

ntil this fall the farthest east Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San Jose) had traveled was South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore with a friend. Then Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Los Angeles) tapped him for a legislative delegation to lobby officials in Washington, D.C. at the White House and on Capitol Hill. During the late September trip Lee, one of the Legislature’s most liberal members, caught a glimpse of progressive Congressmember Cori Bush (D-Missouri) and was able to meet another progressive political idol of his, Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York). Photos he posted to Twitter show the two talking and smiling for the camera. “It was amazing to see someone I consider a personal inspiration and talk to them. She was really humble and nice,” recalled Lee. “I did not expect to be taller than her. In my mind I wasn’t taller than her. Certainly a highlight of the trip.” It capped for Lee, who stands at 5 feet, 8 inches, his first year serving as a legislator. Now 26, Lee won election in 2020 as the first out bisexual to serve in the Legislature and as its youngest member since 1938. Gay state Senator John Laird (D-San Jose), at 71 the oldest member of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, ribbed Lee for having never seen the sitcom “Designing Women” during the affinity groups’ meetings. “I have a double whammy on this side, as I am not very good at keeping up with popular things like movies and TV shows,” said Lee, born two years after the CBS show had ended its run. Speaking by phone to the Bay Area Reporter about the first half of his freshman two-year term, Lee said it had been both “extremely challenging but rewarding most of the time.” It also reinforced for him “why I ran in the first place, to make real tangible changes in people’s lives,” he added. Just as his campaign for the open Assembly District 25 seat was thrown a curveball by the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting his ability to interact with voters face-to-face, so too were his first eight months in office. Much of the legislative session, which ended in August, was conducted remotely. Luckily, Lee to date has not tested positive for the coronavirus. When the legislators did convene in person, they did so with masks on and heard from the public largely via call-in lines rather than physically in the hearing rooms of

he San Francisco AIDS Foundation announced a new CEO January 4 – only the second in the organization’s 40-year history who is HIV-positive. Tyler TerMeer, Ph.D., will also be the first nonwhite leader of the nonprofit health services provider. TerMeer, who is Black, starts February 14. He gave a phone interview to the Bay Area Reporter shortly before the new year, in which he said he has a lot to learn about San Francisco and is eager to do so as he takes the helm of the city’s largest provider of HIV/AIDS and other health services. “I think as a person who’s been working in this field and has been living with this disease for 18 years, I do hope a day arrives when we can end HIV – and I hope it’s within my lifetime,” TerMeer said. The 39-year-old gay man brings 17 years of experience in nonprofit leadership to the organization. He was most recently CEO of the Cascade AIDS Project and Prism Health in Portland, Oregon. “It is an honor to be selected for this role at such a pivotal moment in the HIV movement, and I am looking forward to contributing my leadership to best serve people living with and at risk for HIV in the Bay Area and

Courtesy SFAF

Incoming SFAF CEO Tyler TerMeer, Ph.D.

beyond,” stated TerMeer in a news release. TerMeer succeeds Joe Hollendoner, a gay man who stepped down in May to lead the Los Angeles LGBT Center. The position was held for most of 2021 in an interim capacity by Kevin Rogers, previously the foundation’s chief financial officer. “The board search committee was tasked with finding a leader that could oversee the complex and multi-faceted strategy and service delivery of SFAF,” stated Douglas Brooks, the co-chair of the organization’s board of

directors who chaired the CEO search committee. “We have found that leader in Dr. TerMeer. We have every confidence that he will guide the organization toward even greater progress on achieving the transformational goals of racial equity and health justice outlined in our strategic plan.” TerMeer, who holds a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from Walden University in Minneapolis, has also previously served as director of public policy and government relations at AIDS Resource Center Ohio, and as the director of the Ohio AIDS Coalition. He was honored by the White House twice during the Obama administration – first in 2012 as one of America’s “emerging LGBTQ+ leaders” and again the next year as part of America’s “emerging Black leadership.” Local leaders praised the hiring decision. Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who has worked on sexual health issues in the state Legislature, told the B.A.R. that although he doesn’t personally know TerMeer, what he has “seen about him seems fantastic.” His hiring is a historic choice, added Wiener, that will be globally impactful. “I am really excited to get to know him and continue our work with the AIDS foundation on so many critical issues,” said Wiener. “It is historic and having someone in such a really See page 8 >>

Tenderloin linkage center to open mid-January, city says

by John Ferrannini

connect people to services. We’ve made a commitment to this neighborhood and its residents and businesses, and we will follow through.” The news release touted the accomplishments of the emergency period, stating that 58 people have been placed in shelters, 23 were transported to the hospital or into behavioral health programs; 33 were arrested for dealing drugs (among drugs seized were over 3,164 grams of fentanyl); and Public Works responded to 1,044 requests for service, resulting in 463 tons of waste being removed from the neighborhood.

T

he city signed a lease for a linkage center at 1170 Market Street near United Nations Plaza January 4 shortly before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors continued until February a vote on whether to again ratify Mayor London Breed’s state of emergency declaration in the Tenderloin. “The purpose of this center is to be a safe, welcoming location for people who suffer from substance use disorder in the Tenderloin where they can access hygiene resources and social space as well as to provide a single location for those who are ready to access city health and human services to link to those programs easily and quickly,” a news release states. “Food, water, hygiene supplies, dignity services, and social space will be available at the center.” The center will include referrals to behavioral health care and treatment; substance use treatment; temporary winter shelter; transitional housing; the Homeward Bound program; food coordination; vocational support; therapy and mentoring; and child and family care. It is expected to open in mid-January. Authorized by Breed’s emergency declaration, which the board approved in an 8-2 vote during a dramatic hourslong meeting that ended the morning of Christmas Eve, the linkage center is

See page 6 >>

Supervisors discuss emergency declaration Screengrab

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton opened the January 4 hearing on the emergency declaration in the Tenderloin.

next to the Orpheum Theatre, less than a block from the Civic Center BART station. “We are coordinating all our city departments to do everything they can to support everyone living in the Tenderloin,” Breed stated. “These initial efforts will continue everyday as we add more resources, like opening up a new linkage center that will allow us to more quickly and directly

During the supervisors’ first meeting this year, they considered whether or not to approve the emergency declaration for a second time, but eventually voted 8-3 to continue the item till February 8. Three board members — Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani, and District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar — voted against continuing the discussion to next month. Mandelman stated to the B.A.R. that it’s time the board move forward. “Today was the second many-hours-long committee of the whole on the emergency declaration in less than two weeks,” Mandelman stated. “I think See page 2 >>

Did You Overspend During the Holidays? With a Debt Consolidation Loan, all your outstanding bills are combined into ONE single monthly payment, which helps you to lower your monthly expenses! For more information or to apply, stop by a branch, call 415-775-5377 or visit SanFranciscoFCU.com/no-more-debt

SFFCU Holiday Overspend BAR Strip Ad 9.75x2.25 v01.indd 1

All loans subject to approval. Rates, terms and conditions may vary based on qualifications. Financially insured by NCUA.

12/10/21 3:20 PM


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.