Supervisor says Ouija board comment on Harvey Milk vote was a joke

The San Francisco supervisor who drew national media attention Wednesday after reportedly consulting a Ouija board before a recent vote now says he was just kidding.

Supervisor John Avalos told the San Francisco Chronicle he contacted gay rights activist Harvey Milk through the spirit board before deciding whether to recommend that the Navy name a ship after the slain San Francisco supervisor.

The proposal drew debate among the city's leaders. Supporters said a ship named after Milk would show support for LGBT soldiers in the post-"don't ask, don't tell" era, while opponents said Milk opposed war and it would be inappropriate to name such a ship after him.

Avalos said he consulted Milk and got the answer he needed.

"We asked Harvey, and Harvey gave us these letters: 'Good riddance don't ask, don't tell,'" Avalos said.

As the quip went viral, Avalos contacted the Chronicle again with a different set of letters: "I w-a-s j-o-k-i-n-g."

Avalos said he intended to tease his fellow supervisors, who he said "were searching high and low for Harvey's surviving family members, friends and former colleagues for an opinion on what Harvey would have wanted."

"I thought I'd make light of that with a little farce," he told the newspaper. "Now the media, eager to prove attitudes about wacky San Francisco, is saying an SF supervisor consults with the spirits to make decisions. The closest I've gone to the occult is reading all seven Harry Potter books."

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-- Kate Mather
twitter.com/katemather

Photo: Harvey Milk in front of his camera shop in San Francisco in 1977. Credit: Associated Press