cawacko
Well-known member
He may best be known nationally for "mentoring" Kamala Harris (and Gavin Newsom) but Brown is both a San Francisco, and California, legend. He broke many barriers in his life including being the first black Mayor of San Francisco. He was a through and through Democrat but he was also pro development which pissed off the progressives something fierce and later in life when he had a weekly column for the SF Chronicle he would tell it like it is, partisans be damned. He also earned the nickname 'Slick Willie'.
He was an incredible dresser (and remains so long after casual became the thing). I remember out of school I hoped to earn enough money to afford a suit where he shopped. He was a man around town, you would see him walking and out and about everywhere. I've got to meet him several time and chat with him (thousands of people have met and chatted with him). For those who call him corrupt as the day is long will have a lot to work with in backing their argument but nonetheless the guy is a treasure with a heck of a legacy.
The pictures from the party in the article are just a who's who of SF and California (politics).
Inside former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown's swanky 90th birthday party at Harris' Restaurant
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown turned 90 on Wednesday, and was celebrated both at City Hall and at Van Ness Avenue steakhouse Harris’ Restaurant. Several high-profile movers and shakers in California politics turned up for the events.
They included Mayor London Breed, one of Brown’s proteges, as well as the highest-ranking state officials in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and state Attorney General Rob Bonta were all pictured at the celebration. Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos was also in attendance.
San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer and former San Francisco 49ers executive Carmen Policy made the invite list, too, along with billionaire real estate investor George Marcus and embattled real estate mogul Victor Makras. Brown, who has long been known for his fashion sense, and his longtime companion, interior decorator Sonya Molodetskaya, both turned up in pink — a shocking neon ensemble for her, a slightly subtler plaid suit for him.
Brown, the first Black person to hold the office of mayor in San Francisco, was the city’s top executive from 1996 to 2004. Born in Mineola, Texas, in 1934, Brown moved to San Francisco in 1951 and graduated with a law degree from what is now UC Law San Francisco, KQED reported. He went to work as a defense attorney and in 1964 was elected to the state Assembly in what would turn out to be just the start of his career in politics.
When KQED asked Brown on his way in to the City Hall event what it felt like to turn 90, he reportedly replied, “Like a hundred.”
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/inside-willie-brown-s-swanky-90th-birthday-party-19364102.php
He was an incredible dresser (and remains so long after casual became the thing). I remember out of school I hoped to earn enough money to afford a suit where he shopped. He was a man around town, you would see him walking and out and about everywhere. I've got to meet him several time and chat with him (thousands of people have met and chatted with him). For those who call him corrupt as the day is long will have a lot to work with in backing their argument but nonetheless the guy is a treasure with a heck of a legacy.
The pictures from the party in the article are just a who's who of SF and California (politics).
Inside former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown's swanky 90th birthday party at Harris' Restaurant
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown turned 90 on Wednesday, and was celebrated both at City Hall and at Van Ness Avenue steakhouse Harris’ Restaurant. Several high-profile movers and shakers in California politics turned up for the events.
They included Mayor London Breed, one of Brown’s proteges, as well as the highest-ranking state officials in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and state Attorney General Rob Bonta were all pictured at the celebration. Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos was also in attendance.
San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer and former San Francisco 49ers executive Carmen Policy made the invite list, too, along with billionaire real estate investor George Marcus and embattled real estate mogul Victor Makras. Brown, who has long been known for his fashion sense, and his longtime companion, interior decorator Sonya Molodetskaya, both turned up in pink — a shocking neon ensemble for her, a slightly subtler plaid suit for him.
Brown, the first Black person to hold the office of mayor in San Francisco, was the city’s top executive from 1996 to 2004. Born in Mineola, Texas, in 1934, Brown moved to San Francisco in 1951 and graduated with a law degree from what is now UC Law San Francisco, KQED reported. He went to work as a defense attorney and in 1964 was elected to the state Assembly in what would turn out to be just the start of his career in politics.
When KQED asked Brown on his way in to the City Hall event what it felt like to turn 90, he reportedly replied, “Like a hundred.”
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/inside-willie-brown-s-swanky-90th-birthday-party-19364102.php
Last edited:
