San Franciscan Friend Retires (Press, 2 November 1981)
This is a Generative AI summary of this newspaper article. It may contain errors or omissions. Please note that the language in the summary is reflective of the original article and the societal attitudes of the time in which it was written.
Summary: San Franciscan Friend Retires (Press, 2 November 1981)
William Dauer, the president and manager of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, is stepping down after 17 years in his role. He started his tenure in 1964 when the city was grappling with a decline in its industrial and shipping sectors. Under his leadership, the chamber initiated a campaign to attract major corporations to set up their headquarters in San Francisco. This effort saw some success but sparked controversy among residents who were concerned about the increasing commercialisation and transformation of the downtown area, which some referred to as "Manhattanisation." Dauer has made significant efforts to foster ties with New Zealand, leading two trade missions there, including one earlier in 1981. He is now exploring a potential partnership with developer Warren Simmons to establish a deer farm in the Wairarapa. Simmons is currently in New Zealand to negotiate land acquisition for this joint venture. Dauer has expressed frustration with the local political landscape in San Francisco, particularly concerning the delayed initiative to establish a sister-city relationship with Wellington, New Zealand. This proposal has been stalled for six years due to a lack of serious consideration from San Francisco officials. The most recent setback was tied to a controversy involving a homosexual issue that arose during Wellington Mayor Sir Michael Fowler's visit to San Francisco in July 1981. During that visit, Fowler faced criticism from members of the local LGBTQ+ community regarding his stance on a lesbian group back in Wellington, complicating the proposal further. San Francisco's politicians are acutely aware of the influence of homosexual voters, leading to sensitivity around such topics. While Wellington has been eager to promote the twinning, San Francisco has shown indifference, with no signs of a citizens’ committee being established to facilitate a meaningful partnership. The current stance from the Mayor’s office suggests that approval will only be considered once such a committee is formed, though no efforts toward that end appear to be underway at present. Dauer remains hopeful that the sister-city agreement will eventually be realised, albeit with an uncertain timeline.
Important Information
The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact
The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand