Other Names Floated For SFO

Yesterday we learned about a proposal to rename San Francisco International for Harvey Milk.  The Bay Area Reporter notes that some folks have other ideas.

While many LGBT leaders and community members, unsurprisingly, have expressed support, others have floated the names of a variety of people as alternative choices. The suggestions include the late lesbian astronaut Sally Ride, the late gay black civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, lesbian pioneers Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, murdered transgender teenager Gwen Araujo, or the late disco star Sylvester.

Backers of any number of the city's political leaders, such as former Mayor Willie Brown, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein , would likely love to rename SFO on their behalf and could work to squash the Milk naming proposal. It also remains to be seen if the Milk idea will fly with the city's Asian community, whose voting bloc is significant and increasingly a force citywide. SFO bills itself as "the gateway to the Pacific," and the names of several Chinese leaders have already been put forward as naming choices.

Those in favor of renaming SFO on behalf of Milk acknowledge the proposal will likely encounter strong head winds against it. "I am supportive of the idea, but people need to understand this isn't necessarily a slam dunk," said Cleve Jones , who was an aide and close confidante of Milk. "Powerful forces, I suspect, will attempt to derail this."

Ladies and gentleman, we are about to begin our descent to Sylvester International Airport. Please turn off your electronics and prepare to feel mighty real.