George Moscone
George Moscone | |
---|---|
Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors | |
In office 1963–1966 | |
Personal details | |
Born | George Richard Moscone November 24, 1929 Holy Cross Cemetery |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Gina Bondanza (m. 1954) |
Children | 4, including University of California, Hastings (LLB) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1953–1956 |
Battles/wars | Korean War |
George Richard Moscone (
Early life
Moscone was born in the
Moscone attended St. Brigid's, and then St. Ignatius College Preparatory, where he was a noted debater and an all-city basketball star. He then attended College of the Pacific on a basketball scholarship and played basketball for the Tigers. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1953.[4]
Moscone then studied at
Career
As a young man playing basketball and as a young lawyer, Moscone became close friends with
California State Senator
In 1966 Moscone ran for and won a seat in the
Moscone also was an early proponent of gay rights. In conjunction with his friend and ally in the Assembly, Willie Brown, Moscone managed to pass a bill repealing California's sodomy law. The repeal was signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown.[7]
Mayor of San Francisco
On December 19, 1974, Moscone announced he would run for Mayor of San Francisco in the 1975 race.
Moscone ran a grassroots mayoral campaign which drew volunteers from organizations like Glide Methodist Memorial Church, Delancey Street (a rehabilitation center for ex-convicts) and the Peoples Temple which was initially known as a church preaching racial equality and social justice but turned into a fanatical political cult.[9] For the rest of his life, Barbagelata maintained that the Peoples Temple had committed massive election fraud on behalf of Moscone by busing people in from out of town to vote multiple times under the names of deceased San Francisco residents.[10]
Moscone passed legislation reducing marijuana sentences, granting abortion rights, establishing a school meals program and overturning the state's anti-sodomy laws.[1]
The Peoples Temple also worked to get out the vote in precincts where Moscone received a 12 to 1 vote margin over Barbagelata.[11] After Peoples Temple's work and votes by Temple members were instrumental in delivering a close victory for Moscone, Moscone appointed Temple leader Jim Jones as chairman of the San Francisco Housing Commission.[12]
Moscone's first year as mayor was spent preventing the
In April 1977, Moscone stood up to officials in Washington by supporting 25-day occupation of San Francisco's Federal Building by a group of over 100 people with disabilities demanding their civil rights in what would become known as the 504 Sit-in. While federal officials hoped to starve out the protesters, the mayor visited them and arranged to have portable showers and towels brought in. Thanks in part to Moscone's support, the occupation was successful, and helped pave the way for passing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) thirteen years later.[13]
In 1977 Moscone, Freitas and Hongisto all easily survived a
Refusal to investigate Peoples Temple
In August 1977, after Housing Commission Chairman
After the massacre, Temple members revealed to
Assassination
Late in 1978, Dan White resigned from the board of supervisors. His resignation would allow Moscone to choose White's successor, which could tip the board's balance of power in Moscone's favor. Recognizing this matter as such, those who supported a more conservative agenda and opposed integration of the police and fire departments talked White into changing his mind. White then requested that Moscone appoint him to his former seat.[18]
Moscone originally indicated a willingness to reconsider, but more
Dianne Feinstein, president of the board of supervisors, was sworn in as the city's new mayor and in the following years would emerge as one of California's most prominent politicians.[citation needed] Six thousand mourners attended a service for Moscone at St. Mary's Cathedral.
Dan White later turned himself in at the police station where he was formerly an officer. The term "Twinkie defense" has its origins in the murder trial that followed. White was convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter, due in part to his claim of severe depression, which White's attorneys argued was evidenced by his consumption of Twinkies and other junk foods. Outrage over White's lenient sentence provoked a mass riot in San Francisco, during which police cars were set on fire by angry protestors. White was released from prison and then shortly afterward committed suicide in 1985.[21]
Legacy
Moscone is interred at
Moscone Center, San Francisco's largest convention center and exhibition hall, is named in his honor. Moscone and Milk also have schools named after them: George Moscone Elementary, Harvey Milk Elementary and Harvey Milk High School.[citation needed]
Moscone's main political legacy is his opening up San Francisco City Hall to be a more diverse and inclusive place with political appointments that represented the full spectrum of the population, including minorities and the growing gay community. Despite a backlash from the political old guard and conservatives, and despite the double assassination of Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, both leading progressives, the city never retreated from Moscone's more inclusive view of politics.[citation needed]
In 1980, sculptor
Moscone was portrayed by
See also
References
- ^ a b "Remembering George Moscone, 'The People's Mayor' of San Francisco". November 27, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sward, Susan (November 26, 1998). "Moscone's Time Was Anything But Quiet". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "George Moscone". www.fontanarossa.net.
- ^ Doty, Richard. "George Moscone: COP graduate ('53), S.F. Mayor, dead at 49," Pacific Review (University of the Pacific), November 1977. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "Mayor, Supervisor Killed in San Francisco Shooting", Cornell Daily Sun, November 28, 1978.
- ^ George R. Moscone, Candidate Election History. JoinCalifornia, Retrieved February 19, 2007.
- ^ https://www.unmarriedamerica.org/Archives/1975-CA-Consenting-Adults-Act/1975-CA-News-Stories-on-Consenting-Adults-Act-Passage.pdf[bare URL PDF]
- ^ a b c Nolte, Carl (November 26, 2003). "CITY HALL SLAYINGS: 25 Years Later". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Taylor, Michael (November 12, 1998). "Jones Captivated S.F.'s Liberal Elite". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Cothran, George (November 18, 1998). "Barbagelata's Return? Archived December 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine" San Francisco Weekly.
- ISBN 978-0553129205.
- ^ "Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple". American Experience. April 26, 2006. PBS. Archived from the original on March 14, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0307798329. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ Kinsolving, Kathleen; Tom (1998). Madman in Our Midst: Jim Jones and the California Cover Up – via Cult Education Institute.
- ^ Rapaport, Richard (November 16, 2003). "Jonestown and City Hall slayings eerily linked in time and memory". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ a b Crewdson, John (December 16, 1978). "Followers Say Jim Jones Directed Voting Frauds". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- Salon.
- ^ "Supe who quit takes it back". Oakland Tribune. November 16, 1978. p. 3. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ Pogash, Carol (November 23, 2003). "Myth of the 'Twinkie defense': The verdict in the Dan White case wasn't based on his ingestion of junk food". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
- ^ "Murders at City Hall: retracing the killer's steps". The San Francisco Examiner. November 28, 1978. p. 18. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ Lindsey, Robert (October 22, 1985). "Dan White, Killer Of San Francisco Mayor, A Suicide". The New York Times. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
- ^ "Portrait of George, 1981". Archived from the original on October 13, 2008.
- ISBN 978-0520914902.
- ^ Dead Kennedys. I Fought the Law lyrics. Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. Archived from the original on April 16, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
- ^ Nat Katzman, Director; Stephen Talbot, Writer (November 5, 2008). Moscone: A Legacy of Change (Television production). PBS.
- Weiss, Mike (2010). Double Play: The Hidden Passions Behind the Double Assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk. Vince Emery Productions. ISBN 978-0982565056.
- Saxon, Wolfgang (November 28, 1978). "George Moscone, a Firm Mayor Who Stressed Anticrime Effort". The New York Times. p. B12.
- Turner, Wallace (November 28, 1978). "San Francisco Mayor is Slain; City Supervisor Also Killed; Ex-Official Gives Up to Police". The New York Times. p. A1.
- "A Son Confronts Moscone's 'Ghost' On Stage". All Things Considered. September 3, 2011. NPR.
- Ghost Light - Oregon Shakespeare Festival
- LaGumina, Salvatore J.; Frank J. Cavaioli; Salvatore Primeggia; Joseph A. Varacalli (1999). The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0203801147.
External links
- Moscone: A Legacy of Change film in the George Moscone Archives, University of the Pacific
- Controversial commissioned bust of George Moscone by Robert Arneson Archived April 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- The George Moscone Digital Collection and George Moscone Collection available at Holt-Atherton Special Collections.
- Join California George Moscone