Bevan Dufty (born February 27, 1955) is an American politician and Director of

HOPE Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

(Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement) for the

City and County of San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of 2024, San Francisco is the fourth-most populous city in the ...

. In 2012, Dufty was elected to serve as a Member of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee. Previously, he was a Member of the

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the board of supervisors, legislative body within the government of San Francisco, government of the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California. Government and polit ...

, and was elected in 2002 to represent the City's 8th District, succeeding

Mark Leno Mark Leno (born September 24, 1951) is an American politician who served consecutively in both houses of the California State Legislature from 2002 to 2016. A California Democratic Party, Democrat, he represented the California's 11th State Senat ...

. Dufty was re-elected as Supervisor in 2006 and was termed out in 2011.

Early life

Dufty is the son of the writer

William Dufty William Francis Dufty (February 2, 1916 – June 28, 2002) was an American writer, musician, and activist. Dufty was a supporter of trade unionism and was an organizer for the United Auto Workers, wrote speeches for former UAW President Walte ...

and Maely Bartholomew, who had lost most of her family in the Holocaust. Dufty was raised in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where his mother befriended jazz musician

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

, who would later become his godmother. His voice can be heard on a recording made in the Dufty household where Holiday makes jokes about his red underpants. After moving from Harlem to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

at age 16, Dufty finished high school at

Menlo-Atherton High School Menlo-Atherton High School (known as M-A to locals) is a four-year public high school secondary school located in Atherton, California. Menlo-Atherton is part of the Sequoia Union High School District.

, south of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Dufty graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he was a student body co-president and earned a degree in Political Science.

Political career

Dufty served as Senior

Legislative Assistant A legislative assistant (LA), legislative analyst, legislative research assistant, or legislative associate, is a person who works for a legislator as a legislative staffer in a semi-political partisan capacity, in a non-partisan capacity at a th ...

for Education in the office of New York Rep.

Shirley Chisholm Shirley Anita Chisholm ( ; ; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional dist ...

. Later, he served as Chief Legislative Aide to Rep. Julian Dixon, a post in which he helped craft legislation that created the

Los Angeles Metro Rail The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system serving Los Angeles County, California, United States, consisting of six lines: four light rail lines (the A, C, E and K lines) and two rapid transit lines (the B and D lines), ...

system. In San Francisco, he worked for former Supervisor Susan Leal, served as a Senior Advisor for

Mayor Willie Brown Willie Lewis Brown Jr. (born March 20, 1934) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as mayor of San Francisco from 1996 to 2004 as the first African American to hold the office. Born in Mineola, Texas, where he g ...

and as Director of Neighborhood Services. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Dufty was elected a supervisor from the city's eighth district in 2002 before being re-elected in 2006. He served as Chair of the

San Francisco County Transportation Authority The San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) is a state chartered sub-regional transportation planning and programming agency for San Francisco County. SFCTA is a separate legal entity from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation ...

, Chair of the City Operations & Neighborhood Services Committee as well as a Representative on the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District Board.

Personal life

Dufty is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. His election campaigns have often won the backing of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. In 2006, Dufty and lesbian friend Rebecca Goldfader (an Ob/Gyn nurse practitioner and Pilates instructor) had a child, Sidney.

References

External links

Campaign websiteUnsolicited Yelp review (of Golden Gate Transit) incorporating a letter from Bevan Dufty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dufty, Bevan American gay politicians Jewish American people in New York (state) politics Gay Jews Living people San Francisco Board of Supervisors members 1955 births American LGBTQ city council members LGBTQ people from the San Francisco Bay Area Place of birth missing (living people) People from Harlem Politicians from Manhattan University of California, Berkeley alumni LGBTQ people from New York (state) 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American LGBTQ people