Political Notebook: Gay SF historic preservation commissioner departs

Held over for seven months after his term expired, gay San Francisco Historic Preservation Commissioner Jason Wright will now depart after the Board of Supervisors confirmed his replacement this week. Incoming commissioner Eleanor R. Cox will now serve in the oversight body’s Seat 3 meant for an architectural historian.

Cox, a senior preservation specialist at MIG Inc., where she manages cultural landscape projects, was tapped by Mayor Daniel Lurie to serve on the prominent oversight body. A straight ally, she earned her master’s degree in historic preservation from Columbia University.

“As an architectural historian, I take a holistic approach to my work that focuses on character, context, and access. Maintaining this perspective within the framework of our ever-changing urban environment allows for a sustainable strategy that prioritizes preservation while allowing for sensitive growth and change,” wrote Cox in a statement to the supervisor’s Rules Committee.

Back in 2021, Wright had been approved by the supervisors after they rejected a straight female mayoral nominee for the preservation commission due to then-mayor London Breed's decision not to reappoint its two gay members, which would have left it without LGBTQ representation. It led to Breed nominating Wright, a conservation and preservation specialist, to serve in a term through the end of 2024.

He has remained on the commission as Lurie sought someone to nominate to his seat. Wright did not respond to the Bay Area Reporter’s request for comment this week about his tenure on the oversight body.

In an emailed reply to the B.A.R., Cox said she had inquired after being approached by Lurie’s office about serving as a historic preservation commissioner to ensure she wouldn’t find herself in a similar situation of replacing the lone LGBTQ voice on the oversight body and was told she wouldn’t be. She will serve alongside gay commissioner Robert “Bob” Vergara, appointed two years ago by Breed to the preservation panel's Seat 4 designated for a historian.

His term runs through the end of 2026. A longtime social studies teacher at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School, where he was the former athletic director, Vergara told the B.A.R. he will miss serving alongside Wright, noting he has been “a wonderful public servant” while in the role.

“Jason has brought so much to the commission. He is both a historian and an architect – the perfect combination for the Historic Preservation Commission. When he asks questions at hearings, I find myself taking notes,” wrote Vergara in an emailed reply. “I have learned so much from him. No one is more conscientious than Jason. Jason’s love for the city as an adopted San Franciscan has strengthened my own love for it as a native. I am sorry that Jason is leaving the commission.”

Shayne Watson, a lesbian and local LGBT historian who this month stepped back from her advocacy work around preserving the historic Noe Valley home of late lesbian couple Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, told the B.A.R. she was “extremely disappointed” that Wright wasn’t renominated to another term. Nonetheless, she praised his replacement, noting that she knows Cox “well and believe she’ll be an outstanding addition to the commission. She has deep knowledge of preservation issues in San Francisco and a demonstrated commitment to community-centered preservation.”

And Watson added, “It’s reassuring to know that the LGBTQ community is represented through the work of Commissioner Vergara.”

Traveling this week, Cox was unable to attend the Rules Committee’s July 28 meeting where it voted 3-0 to recommend the full board confirm her to the historic preservation panel. She is to serve on it through December 31, 2028, as the supervisors voted July 29 11-0 to seat Cox.

Gay Board President Rafael Mandelman, who represents District 8, twice voted in support of seating Cox, as he also serves on the Rules Committee. Speaking to the B.A.R. post the hearing Monday, he said he had no qualms about doing so without having had a chance to meet her in person based on her qualifications and support from historic preservationists. He plans to sit down with Cox once she is back in town.

“She seems to have earned a lot of respect from a lot of people I rely on. I didn’t feel I needed to meet her in order to vote on her nomination,” said Mandelman, noting that the board has a narrow window of time to vote on mayoral appointments and is about to take its summer recess later this week, prompting the expedited approval process for Cox and several other city oversight body nominees this week.

Mandelman made the motion in committee to forward her nomination on to the full board with a positive recommendation. Rules chair District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton and fellow committee member District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill also voted to do so without comment.

Noting he had worked with Cox on past issues, Mandelman called her a “good candidate” and said, “I think we can feel good naming her to this body.”

Speaking during public comment, San Francisco Heritage President and CEO Woody LaBounty thanked Lurie for bringing Cox’s nomination forward. He added she has the qualifications needed for that seat on the commission.

“San Francisco Heritage heartedly endorsed her nomination for this seat and ask that you endorse it,” said LaBounty.

Jon Haeber, field services director for the California Preservation Foundation, noted he has worked with Cox for nearly a decade and that she had done “exceptional work” with his organization and others. Like LaBounty, Haeber noted Cox is “certainly qualified” for the commissioner role.

“She has done plenty of work in the arena of historic preservation work that merits attention,” said Haeber.

Stacy Farr, an architectural historian and preservation planner, noted in an email to the supervisors that she has turned to Cox for advice on National Register and local historic register nominations that she had written. They’ve worked together on conference presentations and historic resource documentation, noted Farr.

“From our earliest experiences working together and into her later and present career endeavors, my strongest impression of Eleanor Cox has always been as someone with a critical and analytical mind. Based in her thorough understanding of the principles of historic preservation, I find that Eleanor raises clarifying questions and seeks out all available information before making decisions. She is both rigorous and practical, and I have observed that her intelligence and enthusiasm inspire everyone in her orbit,” wrote Farr, who nearly a decade ago assisted advocates behind the creation of San Francisco’s historic Transgender District in the Tenderloin.

As for seeing the commission go from having two to now one out commissioner, Mandelman told the B.A.R. he did have concerns about the decreasing roster of LGBTQ people serving on various city oversight bodies. Similar to the historic preservation panel, the city’s planning and health commissions have gone from having multiple out members to each having just one known LGBTQ community member serving on it, while the police commission is without any LGBTQ representation.

“There has certainly been a decline in the number of queer people on commissions and it is something I am concerned about,” Mandelman acknowledged.

In terms of the historic preservation commission, it plays an important role in various issues related to LGBTQ history. It reviews proposals for landmarking LGBTQ historic sites and other matters concerning historic districts in the city, three of which are connected to LGBTQ history.

“I strongly encourage Mayor Lurie to consider the importance of representation in future appointments,” Watson told the B.A.R., since “our histories and built environments are deeply intertwined, and diverse perspectives are essential to preserving them equitably.”

Asked about the matter of having LGBTQ representation on oversight bodies, mayoral spokesman Charles Lutvak told the B.A.R. it is something that the Lurie administration takes under consideration in vetting candidates for commission appointments made by the mayor. (Certain oversight bodies have seats designated to just the mayor to fill or have a minority of seats filled by the Board of Supervisors, with its president moving forward the nominees.)

“Our administration is always looking for qualified appointees who can serve our city and represent our diverse communities. And we will continue working closely with the Board of Supervisors to identify those individuals and fill these important roles,” stated Lutvak.

As for Cox, it is unclear if she will be seated in time for the historic preservation commission’s August 6 meeting.

“I haven't spoken with the mayor's office about the swearing in ceremony yet, so I'm not sure how the August schedule will shape up,” Cox told the B.A.R. 

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column reported on LGBTQ community reaction to Kaiser’s pausing surgical procedures for transgender youth.

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