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Hamburger Mary's finally opens
New Pride event at the River
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Vicki Lawrence
Tommy Tune
The
www.ebar.com
Since 1971, the newspaper of record for the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community
Vol. 48 • No. 11 • March 15-21, 2018
Few policy differences between AD 15 candidates David Munoz Diaz
Courtesy SFPD
Diaz faces no-bail hearing in arson case
by Cynthia Laird
S
an Francisco prosecutors will ask a judge next week to detain convicted arsonist David Munoz Diaz without bail following his arrest after he was allegedly captured on video lighting a homeless person on fire. Diaz, 28, has been charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and arson-related charges, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s office. He has been held without bail in San Francisco County Jail since his arrest March 8. Diaz appeared in court Tuesday but his arraignment was continued to next week. Court documents filed March 13 stated that the homeless person’s sleeve caught fire and his arm was burned. It is not known how severe the victim’s injuries were; sources told the Bay Area Reporter that the person refused medical aid. Passersby woke up the victim and helped extinguish the fire, the documents said. It is not known where or when the alleged incident occurred, though the court filing states that the victim was sleeping in a doorway. Because Diaz is a registered arsonist, the DA’s office has filed a motion to detain him without bail. Prosecutors are also seeking to revoke Diaz’s felony probation, which stemmed from earlier convictions. A judge will hear both of those items March 20, when Diaz is also expected to be arraigned on the current charges. Last year, Diaz was sentenced to five years probation after a November 2016 incident in which police said Diaz handcuffed and bit a chuck out of another man’s scalp while impersonating a cop. He pleaded guilty to false imprisonment in exchange for assault and other counts in the case being dismissed. Diaz was ordered to comply with a midnight curfew and wear an ankle monitor. See page 13 >>
The crowded field for the 15th Assembly District race includes, from left, Andy Katz, Owen Poindexter, Rochelle Pardue-Okimoto, Ben Bartlett, Jovanka Beckles, Dan Kalb, Judy Appel, Buffy Wicks, and Cheryl Sudduth. Jane Philomen Cleland
by Matthew S. Bajko
T
hey all support California offering universal health care to its residents. They all pledge to advocate for LGBT rights in Sacramento. Education issues rank high on their list of priorities. And all agree another top prerogative would be addressing the state’s lack
of affordable housing and growing ranks of homeless individuals. There are few policy differences, in fact, between the candidates running for the open 15th Assembly District seat, which stretches from Richmond south into parts of Oakland. The incumbent, Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (DRichmond), is running to be the state’s superintendent of public instruction after serving two
two-year terms in the Legislature. The East Bay contest is the only competitive legislative race in the Bay Area with out candidates this election year. Heading into the June primary, where the top two voter-getters will advance to the November election, any of the leading candidates has a chance of winning the seat. See page 5 >>
Gay German diplomat settles into SF by Heather Cassell
S
itting in his office overlooking San Francisco Bay, German Consul General of the Pacific Northwest Hans-Ulrich Suedbeck is casual and genuinely pleased to be in the city. Suedbeck, 56, who prefers to go by Uli, is the second gay man to hold the German consul general position in San Francisco. His friend and colleague, Rolf Schutte, who was the first gay German consul general to be appointed to the post here, served from 2005 to 2009. Times were different when Schutte served in the diplomatic post. Schutte’s late partner, Bertolt Schmidt, wasn’t recognized by the U.S. State Department, forcing him to travel back and forth on a visitor’s visa. Domestic partnerships were recognized in Germany, but not across borders. At the time, Schutte took a controversial position, publicly denouncing Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage, in 2008. He was unapologetic, despite some critics who didn’t believe a foreign diplomat should weigh in on state matters. (The U.S. Supreme Court later tossed out Prop 8 on a technicality.) He also established good relationships with the Jewish community and spoke at several of the pink triangle ceremonies held every June for Pride Month. Schutte is currently the German ambassador to Latvia.
Rick Gerharter
German Consul General Hans-Ulrich Suedbeck stands beside a map of Germany.
Nearly a decade later, same-sex marriage is legal throughout the U.S., and last summer, just as Suedbeck and his family were packing to move to San Francisco, same-sex marriage became legal in Germany. Suedbeck’s family, which includes his domestic partner, Frank Vollbehr, a landscape architect, and their two young children, is recognized by the State Department, a policy implemented by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2009.
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The couple, who have been together for 16 years, don’t plan to marry, Suedbeck said, though he refers to Vollbehr as his husband. Germany doesn’t automatically convert domestic partnerships to marriage. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter last month, Suedbeck offered his thoughts on a wide range of topics. See page 13 >>