Wednesday, March 29, 2017

George Moscone

George Moscone

Introduction:
George Moscone was born in November of 1929, shortly after the beginning of the Great Depression. He was an Italian-American lawyer, was the 37th Mayor of San Francisco, was the father of four children, served in the United States Navy, and was assassinated in 1978, along with San Francisco Supervisor, Harvey Milk.

Political Life:
George Moscone would begin his political career by running to be a member of the California State Assembly in 1960, though he lost this election. He managed to be elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors three years later, however. Moscone would also be elected to the California State Senate and became aligned with a group known as the Burton Machine, a group of progressive politicians. He soon became the Majority Leader of the Democratic Party, and in 1975 ran and was elected to be the mayor of San Francisco. Moscone did receive some public scrutiny from the People’s Temple in San Francisco Investigations.

Assassination:
Former Board of Supervisors member, Dan White, assassinated Harvey Milk and George Moscone on November 27th, 1978, after Moscone refused to appoint Dan White to an appointment in the city. Dan White was convicted of manslaughter, due to the infamous “Twinkie defense,” and Dianne Feinstein replaced Moscone and would become a notable politician.

Impacts:
While serving on the Board of Supervisors, Moscone would use his power to assist a variety of people, notably racial minorities. Though Moscone was a heterosexual, he was a proud supporter of gay rights, and passed a bill that repealed a sodomy law. Moscone was also responsible for the San Francisco Giants baseball team staying in the city, and was the first mayor to appoint numerous minorities to office positions. Moscone also played a key role in paving the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act bill to be passed. Moscone Center and Moscone Recreation Center in San Francisco are named after George Moscone and he served as the Mayor of San Francisco for more than two years.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Moscone

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