Rick Stokes, 'the other gay man' who ran against Milk, dies
Rick Earl Stokes, famously "the other gay candidate" who ran against Harvey Milk for San Francisco supervisor in 1977, died May 3.
He was 87.Mr. Stokes died in San Francisco after a brief battle with congestive heart failure, according to an obituary prepared by Curtis Jensen, director of marketing and graphics for Steamworks, the gay bathhouse location in Berkeley of which Mr.
Stokes was one of the founders.Rick was a role model, leader, activist, philanthropist, and business owner who dedicated most of his life to LGBTQ equality and was an early pioneer in the LGBTQ civil rights movement, Jensen stated.In that pivotal District 5 supervisors race, which Milk won, Mr.
Stokes was viewed as the more establishment candidate."Rick was from the older school of activism," Jensen said in a phone interview. "Harvey and his group were more cutting-edge."In the Bay Area Reporter's archives, the paper endorsed Milk in its October 13, 1977 issue.
