Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk was a conservative Republican on Wall Street, a closeted gay man living with a series of male lovers. Then he became involved with Tom O’Horgan, director of Hair, and turned into a hippie. In 1973 Harvey moved to San Francisco with his lover Scott Smith and they opened Castro Camera. Very gregarious, Harvey introduced himself to all the other merchants, impressing them by not trying to sell them cameras. Soon everyone from gay teens to little old ladies began coming into his store to talk about their problems, which Harvey loved trying to solve. He soon became the unofficial “Mayor of Castro Street.”

Harvey supported all residents, even buying an ad for Castro Camera every week in the Most Holy Redeemer bulletin. When he discovered that the Eureka Valley Merchants Association wouldn’t admit gay members, Harvey joined with the nice folks at Cliff’s to start the rival Castro Village Association, which held the first Castro Street Fair in 1974, attracting 5,000 visitors.

Upset by his own problems with the city government, Harvey decided to run for the board of supervisors in 1973. He lost, but found that he loved campaigning. He ran again for supervisor in 1975 and for state assembly in 1976. While he lost both times, he garnered an impressive number of votes. On January 9, 1978, Harvey was sworn in as Supervisor on the steps of City Hall and was accompanied by Mayor George Moscone and State Senator Milton Marks.