1961-11-07Jose Sarria Runs for San Francisco Board of Supervisors

In the election for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Jose Sarria, who worked as a waiter at the Black Cat, a well-known gay bar in San Francisco, and was a much beloved drag entertainer in the city, comes in 9th. Although not enough to get elected, he received over 5600 votes, and was the first openly gay candidate to run for public office in the United States.