WI Milk Lived

I'm not an expert on US politics, but AFAIK there are no openly gay congressmen even now, so how should this guy have any chance for getting to Congress 30 years ago?

are 4 today, Barney Frank (MA-4) elected in 1981 came out 1989, Tammy Baldwin (WI-2) elected 1998 as openly gay, David Cicilline (RI-1) elected 2010 as openly gay, Jared Polis (CO-2) elected 2008 as openly gay.
 
, there are several scenarios: He would have most likely stood for the Governership of California, and maybe, just maybe, might have gained enough support to stand for President and win, although only on a Democrat ticket: which year this would have been is an open question; also bearing in mind the emergence of HIV/Aids by 1980.

I can see Governor of California, but President of the United States? Milk might have been well known among the LGBT community and/or within California, but for the most part, a lot of people know of Milk by his assassination. Without said assassination, he would lack the name recognition outside of the LGBT community. On top of this, attempting a LGBT candidate for President would be difficult due to the views on homosexuality within minority groups that consist of a large chunk of Democrat support.
 

FDW

Banned
I might be able to enlighten people a little bit on possibilities of the aftermath of Milk's survival. I generally agree that Milk and Feinstein would've been at each other's throats on several issues, though they would've definitely had common ground in seeking out federal funding for the direly needed rebuilding of the Cable Car system. Another butterfly that could result from this is San Francisco keeping the neighborhood-based District system for supervisors (pre 1976 and 1980-2000 supervisor seats were voted for at large). Also, Milk was very pro-public transit, he played a role in the development of San Francisco's monthly fast pass and wanted to move towards making public transit completely free. He'd probably also be supportive of efforts to expand and upgrade the city's public transportation system (since he was a regular user of it), so things like the F-Market, the electrification of several bus lines, and LRT for the Richmond and Bayview districts would probably happen ITTL (most of it, with the exception of the Richmond LRT line on Geary happened OTL, though it would be on a greater scale ITTL). The best possible moment for him to become mayor would be after Feinstein leaves office in 1987, a house seat or the governor's mansion might be possible after that, depending on how things go (Like how he would handle the ATL Loma Perita earthquake Feinstein's OTL successor, Art Agnos was killed politically by his move to demolish the Embarcadero freeway), though he'd be getting up in years (he was born in 1930 after all).
 
So, are we talking that HM is shot and survives or that Dan White doesn't even get to him after shooting Moscone?

Former... Milk recovers, and then goes for the mayoral office, I think. With having already taken a bullet for the cause, he's definitely got cred with other communities; and their sympathies. I'd like to think that would make him America's first openly gay mayor of a major city. Though that would be REALLY tough during the 80's and with a conservative President from Cali.

Latter... He continues as Supervisor and is most likely re-elected. Possibly challenges Feinstein for Mayor, but probably wouldn't win. SF is far more business-friendly, than it is gay-friendly, even today.

A lot of it also depends on how quickly Feinstein can move on to the next big thing... For example, Rep. Phillip Burton retired in 1982 OTL, maybe, with Milk waiting in the wings, she could run for his seat? I can see a political deal leading to an alliance toward this effect...
 
The mayoralty of SF is a springboard to the Senate seat being vacated by Sam Hayakawa (which as per OTL in 1990 means taking on Wilson) or the governorship against Deukmejian, not a congressional seat. Burton was vacating that seat for his wife, who was then supposed to retire in Pelosi's favour due to illness in 1988 but whose premature death gave Pelosi the seat 18 months early. Remember that Pelosi was CA party chairman in 1981, DSCC finance chair in 1985 and only narrowly lost out on the DNC chair that same year. Milk's influence pales in comparison to those 2.
 
She's from SF, he's from LA, but both are New Democratic big-city mayors and there's no regional balance there either. Maybe, but the Senate seems a safer bet than LG- especially if it gives the Dems a major coup in the '82 midterms in Reagan's home state. Down the line she can run for the governorship in 1994 or 1998. CA's economy and budget sure as hell wouldn't go to hell in a handbasket with DiFi at the helm.
 
He'd likely have faded to obsurity by the mid 1980s, if not died/been infected with HIV. He was a small fish in the long term even after he got shot... with out his death, I don't see him being widely known outside of a few SF area circles.
 
He continues on as a Supervisor and is re-elected in 1980 and probably is defeated in a second re-election attempt given the GOP swing in 1984. With this in mind, he becomes a prominent AIDS activist and attempts a further run for State Assembly in 1986 but fails. I'd say with a good amount of campaigning he can win the 1987 Mayoral campaign if he can get the LGBT vote out in force. Depends on how he does as Mayor of SF if he can be Governor or a Senator so you can't really predict the rest of his career.
 

FDW

Banned
Milk is not losing his own district -- period. However far he had to go, he was still the Mayor of Castro Street...

Yeah, no Harvey Milk getting shot means San Francisco will keep the geographical-based districts established in 1976. A run at mayor after Dianne Feinstein leaves for greener pastures would be a definite possibility. As I said before, Milk might do as Agnos did and authorize tearing down the Central and Embarcadero Freeways after the ATL version of Loma Perita. He also wouldn't let MUNI go to the dogs like Agnos and Jordan did OTL, so we would see no MUNI meltdown ITTL.
 
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