When Harvey Milk was sworn in as a San Francisco Supervisor on January 8, 1978, he was the first openly gay person to hold elected office in the City … but not the last. Milk’s legacy can be measured in many ways; one important one is his impact on getting LGBT people elected to public office.
After Milk’s assassination on November 27, 1977, there was an almost six-week lag before newly-elevated Mayor Dianne Feinstein announced that she would appoint Harry Britt to Milk’s old seat. That six week gap has been the only period since Milk’s inauguration that an openly lesbian, gay, or bisexual person hasn’t served on the Board. (Although transgender candidates have run for the Board, none have yet been elected.)
Two of his successors, Harry Britt and Tom Ammiano, have served as President of the Board. In addition, three have served in the California State Assembly (Carole Migden, Mark Leno, and Ammiano), a seat that Milk campaigned for but lost the nomination to Art Agnos. A fourth, David Campos, is currently running for the seat. Two (Migden and Leno) have served in the California State Senate. And four (Roberta Achtenberg, Ammiano, Susan Leal, and Bevan Dufty) have run for Mayor of San Francisco, but were not elected.
Here’s the list we’ve pulled together. Please help us make any necessary corrections.
Color-Coded Legend
- Left office midway through the year due to death or resignation
- Appointed that year to a vacant seat on the Board
- Served as Board President that year
LGB Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
- 1978: Harvey Milk
- 1979: Harry Britt
- 1980: Harry Britt
- 1981: Harry Britt
- 1982: Harry Britt
- 1983: Harry Britt
- 1984: Harry Britt
- 1985: Harry Britt
- 1986: Harry Britt
- 1987: Harry Britt
- 1988: Harry Britt
- 1989: Harry Britt
- 1990: Harry Britt
- 1991: Roberta Achtenberg, Harry Britt, Carole Migden
- 1992: Roberta Achtenberg, Harry Britt, Carole Migden
- 1993: Roberta Achtenberg, Susan Leal, Carole Migden
- 1994: Susan Leal, Carole Migden
- 1995: Tom Ammiano, Susan Leal, Carole Migden
- 1996: Tom Ammiano, Leslie Katz, Susan Leal, Carole Migden
- 1997: Tom Ammiano, Leslie Katz, Susan Leal
- 1998: Tom Ammiano, Leslie Katz, Susan Leal
- 1999: Tom Ammiano, Leslie Katz, Susan Leal, Mark Leno
- 2000: Tom Ammiano, Leslie Katz, Mark Leno
- 2001: Tom Ammiano, Mark Leno
- 2002: Tom Ammiano, Mark Leno
- 2003: Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty
- 2004: Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty
- 2005: Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty
- 2006: Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty
- 2007: Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty
- 2008: Tom Ammiano, David Campos, Bevan Dufty
- 2009: David Campos, Bevan Dufty
- 2010: David Campos, Bevan Dufty
- 2011: David Campos, Scott Wiener
- 2012: David Campos, Christina Olague, Scott Wiener
- 2013: David Campos, Scott Wiener
- 2014: David Campos, Scott Wiener
Again, please let me know if you spot anything that should be corrected.
