Daly (Jo) Papers, 1968-1997

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Scope and content:: The Jo Daly papers document the professional life of the longtime San Francisco lesbian political activist and community leader. When Daly (1946-1997) was appointed a staff member of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission in 1975, it was noted that she was the first government official anywhere whose salaried job was to serve the gay community. She was the first out lesbian appointed to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, serving from 1980-1986. Daly was also the city’s first lesbian Police Commissioner, serving from 1979-1986. A longtime member of the Alice B. Toklas Gay and Lesbian Democratic Club, Daly was active in local, statewide and national Democratic politics. During her long battle with cancer, Daly actively campaigned for legalization of the medical use of marijuana. The bulk of the collection covers the years 1975-1997. It includes materials related to Daly’s work with the San Francisco Police and Human Rights Commissions; her interest in Democratic Party politics; her work at the Consensus Bureau, the consulting firm she and her partner Nancy Achilles owned; materials related to the campaign to legalize medical marijuana; appointment books and notebooks; subject files; photographs and a very small amount of personalia. GSSO Linked Terms: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_000381; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_003201
Acquisition information:: Gift of Clinton Kramer on March 20, 1998.

Subjects:: Lesbians
Politics and elections
Politics
Crime and Law Enforcement
Civil Rights
San Francisco (Calif.)

Collection Guide Author:: Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff.
Date Prepared:: 1968-1997
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research though it is unprocessed. Some material may include restrictions. Please contact the archivist for more information regarding access to the collection.

Location of this collection:: GLBT Historical Society

989 Market Street, Lower Level

San Francisco, CA 94103, US