AEGiS-BAR: Meeting at MCC Monday to discuss HIV council

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Meeting at MCC Monday to discuss HIV council

The Bay Area Reporter - Friday, May 14, 1999
Cynthia Laird

Activists and others interested in San Francisco's HIV health services are encouraged to attend a community meeting this Monday, May 17 at Metropolitan Community Church-San Francisco. ACT UP Golden/Gate and the Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club called the meeting in the wake of last month's decision by Mayor Willie Brown to remove one outspoken member from the HIV Health Services Planning Council and leave another member uncertain about his future on the planning body.

The HIV Health Services Planning Council prioritizes and allocates the $37 million in federal Ryan White CARE Act funds that San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties receive. Although the planning council was established by federal legislation, some in the mayor's office have apparently tried to lump it in with other city boards and commissions; that is expected to come up at Monday's meeting.

At its April 26 meeting, councilmembers grilled mayoral aides Steve Kawa and Bill Barnes over the decision not to reappoint member Loras Ojeda. Co-chair Tom Calvanese was also not reappointed, although a subsequent letter from Kawa stated Calvanese could remain on the council.

During discussion at last month's meeting, the council agreed to the community meeting so that residents can debate the future of the council and the roles of the mayor's office and the Department of Public Health's AIDS Office in the federally-mandated body.

Last month Calvanese told the Bay Area Reporter that his vote last year concerning mental health services funding prompted the mayor's initial decision to remove him. "It's based on that mental health vote," Calvanese said, adding that everyone who voted against the proposal favored by the mayor has either resigned, been kicked off, or died, with the exception of Co-chair Diane Jones. "Loras [Ojeda] and I were the last ones," Calvanese said.

The May 17 meeting takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. at MCC-SF, 150 Eureka Street. For more information, call Matthew Sharp at ACT UP/Golden Gate at (415) 252-9200.
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