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Committee forwards renaming of Willow Street to honor Earl Gage Jr.
Summary
The Land Use & Transportation Committee voted 3-0 to forward a resolution to the full Board recommending renaming the section of Willow Street between Buchanan and Laguna to Earl Gage Jr. Street, honoring the first Black firefighter in San Francisco and his role advancing diversity in emergency services.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee on Monday voted to forward to the full Board a resolution to rename a block of Willow Street in honor of Earl Gage Jr.
Supervisor Dean Preston, the item’s sponsor, said the renamed stretch — between Buchanan and Laguna, bordering Rosa Parks Elementary School — recognizes Gage’s role as a pioneer and his decades-long impact on the city’s firefighting community. “We are looking forward to renaming its section of Willow Street, between Buchanan and Laguna, that borders Rosa Parks Elementary School in honor of Earl Gage Jr.,” Preston said.
Vice Chair Asha Safaei put the renaming in a broader context of department recruitment and diversity, saying Gage “was also very much part of the consent decree that happened with the fire department” and announcing she had called a hearing for July 30 in the Government Audit and Oversight Committee to review diversity and hiring across first-responder departments.
Chair Aaron Peskin thanked the San Francisco Black Firefighters Association and named Sherman Tillman, the association’s president and a captain at Station 2, for working with supervisors on the item. Peskin also noted the timing of the measure amid recent public discussions about race and inclusion in policing and emergency services.
There was no public testimony on the item at the committee. Supervisor Preston moved to forward the resolution with the committee recommendation; the motion passed by roll call vote, Preston, Safaei and Peskin voting aye. The clerk noted items acted on in committee are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda on July 21 unless otherwise stated.
The full Board will consider the renaming; the committee’s vote was a recommendation to the Board.
