Tom Ammiano
Tom Ammiano | |
|---|---|
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 13th district | |
| Assumed office December 1 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Leno |
| Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 9 | |
| In office 1994–2008 | |
| Preceded by | district created in 2000; prior terms were on city-wide seat |
| Succeeded by | David Campos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 15, 1941 Montclair, New Jersey |
| Nationality | United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Domestic partner | Tim Curbo (deceased) |
| Residence(s) | San Francisco, California |
| Alma mater | Seton Hall University San Francisco State University |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Schoolteacher, stand-up comedian |
Tom Ammiano (born December 15, 1941) is an American politician and LGBT activist from San Francisco, California. Ammiano is a Democrat and a member of the California State Assembly, representing the 13th district.
Personal life
Ammiano was in a 16-year domestic partnership with a fellow schoolteacher, Tim Curbo, who died of complications from AIDS in 1994. He has one daughter and is now a grandfather.
Political career
In 1977, Ammiano founded the movement (No on 6) against the Briggs Initiative, started by John Briggs to ban all gay people from teaching in California, with activists Hank Wilson and Harvey Milk. The anti-Briggs movement, supported by people as diverse as Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, was successful in defeating the initiative in 1978.
San Francisco Board of Education
In 1980 and 1988, Ammiano ran for the San Francisco Board of Education, and was elected in 1990. He was subsequently elected its vice-president in 1991, and then president in 1992.
As president of the Board of Education, Ammiano was successful in his efforts to include a gay and lesbian sensitivity curriculum for all students in the San Francisco Unified School District. He helped to make San Francisco public schools' sexual education curriculum, which begins diversity and sensitivity training in kindergarten, one of the most diverse and inclusive in the United States.
San Francisco Supervisor
Among his accomplishments on the Board of Supervisors is the creation of the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance, which was passed by a unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors and signed by Mayor Gavin Newsom on August 7, 2006. This makes San Francisco the first city in the nation to provide universal healthcare access.[1][2][3] Ammiano is also the main architect of the city's Domestic Partners Ordinance, which provides equal benefits to employees and their unmarried domestic partners. It also requires companies that do business with the City and County of San Francisco to provide the same benefits. Ammiano was the first Supervisor ever to participate in Bike to Work Day.
1999 mayoral campaign
In the San Francisco mayoral race of 1999, Ammiano mounted a successful write-in campaign in the November election, preventing the incumbent Willie Brown from achieving a victory without a run-off. While he lost that second election in December, Ammiano's campaign galvanized progressive voters in San Francisco and had a major impact on the composition of the new, more liberal Board of Supervisors the next year. Ammiano ran for mayor again in 2003, but did not win enough votes to make that run-off after Superversior Matt Gonzalez entered the race, taking progressive voters from him.
Marijuana legalization
On February 23rd, Amnmiano introduced a bill to the California legislature that if passed would legalize cannabis in the state. The proposal would regulate marijuana like alcohol, with people over 21 years old allowed to grow, buy, sell and possess cannabis - all of which is barred by federal law.
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
In 1999, Ammiano came into conflict with some in San Francisco's Catholic community when the Board of Supervisors, at Ammiano's request, granted the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a charity group of drag queen nuns, a street-closure permit for Castro Street for their 20th anniversary celebration on Easter Sunday.[4][5][6][7][8]
Fictional portrayals
Tom Ammiano portrayed himself in the 2008 film Milk.
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Further reading
- Kevin Fagan and John Wildermuth. "Ammiano's Long Road From Jersey Kid to Mayoral Candidate," San Francisco Chronicle, November 13, 1999.
- Erin McCormick. "Ammiano's career as an 'inside outsider,'" San Francisco Examiner, December 7, 1999.
References
- ^ The Bay Area Reporter Online | Mayor signs healthcare measure
- ^ San Francisco Leads Nation with Health Care For Uninsured - NAM
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "Catalyst". Retrieved 2006-10-08.
- ^ "Catholic San Francisco". Retrieved 2006-10-08.
- ^ "Sistory (history on The Sister's main site". Retrieved 2006-10-29.
- ^ Editors (1999-03-29). "Supervisors’ vote: Reactions varied, passionate and in large numbers". Catholic San Francisco.
- ^ Editors (1999-04-10). "Mock Nuns Hold Easter Party Despite Protests". Catholic World News.
External links
- State Assembly Website
- Campaign site
- Campaign Without Precedent: Tom Ammiano's Run for San Francisco Mayor
- Articles with dead external links from May 2008
- 1941 births
- Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area
- Current members of the California State Assembly
- Gay politicians
- Italian-American politicians
- LGBT comedians
- LGBT state legislators of the United States
- Living people
- San Francisco Board of Supervisors
- San Francisco State University alumni
- Seton Hall University alumni