Petrelis Files

Dufty: NY Flag to Fly
at SF Milk Plaza for 5-Days?

Late this afternoon, only by chance, I happened up a news conference about to start at the SF LGBT Community Center about President Obama certifying the end to the ban on open gays in the military. Among the folks getting ready to speak was my friend and mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty.

I told him it was so wrong and divisive that the Merchants of Upper Market/Castro screwed the community, from coast to coast, in raising hopes that a New York flag donated by Sen. Tom Duane would flutter in the wind at Harvey Milk Plaza over the weekend to celebrate gay marriages in the Empire State.

Bevan heard my complaint about the lame excuses offered by MUMC's obstreperous president Steve Adams, preventing the Duane-donated flag from proudly flying in the heart of the SF gay Castro district.

When Bevan said a new MUMC board member told him last night that not only would a New York flag be hoisted at Milk Plaza, and for five days, but that MUMC also has a new policy about the rainbow flag and pole at the public plaza.

My response was that these are all good developments and the onus is on Adams and MUMC to stop screwing the community around with their control queen issues, especially because we're talking about an important piece of municipal property that should be the source of bringing the community together and not divided by Adams' petty games.

Once I got home, I called Bevan to inform him this post was in the works and that I would tell readers to contact him for more details. He was fine about that and said to give out this addy as the best method of contacting him: Bevan@BevanDufty.com.

Let us hope what Bevan heard from the new MUMC board member is the truth, that a New York flag will flutter proudly in the wind at Harvey Milk Plaza this weekend, and a better policy regarding the flag and pole is in the works.