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In reply to the discussion: Denny Heck Wow [View all]calimary
(81,238 posts)Watched it on TV. Then-mayor George Moscone was killed that night, too, along with Harvey Milk. I think she was the chair of the county supervisors or city council or something. She was the ranking member of whatever body it was. So she was, in effect, next in line for mayor. And she assumed the mayor's job because of what had happened.
I still remember that impromptu news conference - I think it was on the steps of City Hall, or in the hallway of City Hall. She was surrounded by this huge gaggle of reporters and camera crews, with other city officials clustered around and behind her. You could just barely see her face sticking out from the midst of that crowd. And she was so damn calm and composed. So in control. She provided a real tower of strength - for real, not just a cliche - during a stunningly tumultuous, maddening, horrifying time in San Francisco. The whole city was jolted as if from an earthquake - and man do they understand earthquakes up there.
I remember being so impressed by her demeanor. She was utterly unruffled. And in that kind of situation, somebody HAS TO be. You NEED that image or metaphor for a steady hand on the wheel. And she was IT. She really stepped up. She made her bones, politically, that night, for sure. I remember watching her and thinking she was surely going to move up to bigger things from that.