A Closer Look; Moscone/Milk Assassinations Aftermath

It was a closer look reported TWA 170 did it. You don't. Yeah. Good evening and welcome once again to a closer look I'm the Davis. Tonight Roland Post reports

on who wants to be the next mayor of San Francisco. Randi has the list of people that Harvey wants to take his place on the board. And our guest in the studio is Debbie Blakey a former Peoples Temple member who's charging the State Department didn't do its job. And then Phil Bronstein will tell us who was on that People's Temple hit list. California's Commission on Judicial Performance is going to investigate recent charges against the state Supreme Court the Court's chief justice Rose Bird ass that the asked for that pro but rumors that the court withheld the decision that could have affected the reconfirmation of four justices in last month's election. That decision supposedly and no one knows because it hasn't yet been handed down reverses a state law making jail sentences mandatory if a gun is used in a crime. Well right now there is no information on when that probe will start. Well all of us may soon be taking a closer look at California courts including the Supreme Court at least some trials may be televised under an experiment proposed

today. George Duke has the story. A committee of the California Judicial Council today voted to recommend a year long experiment with television and still cameras in the court. The recommendation will be laid before the full council headed by Chief Justice Rose Bird tomorrow. The committee members will consider the matter today all had qualms about introducing cameras into the court. But three of them felt the development is enough. The chairman of the committee Justice Thomas W. Caldicott of San Francisco outlined the plan. What do you say. The alternative to action by the courts themselves is that the legislature will probably mandate it. Justice Bernard Jefferson of Los Angeles wonders Colly the experiment if approved by the full council tomorrow will have the consent of the judge and the opposing parties will be required and the committee may even lengthen the

consent to include attorneys witnesses and jurors. Justice Judge Brown of Sacramento was the lone holdout. He raised a number of actions including a fear that any experiment can never be reversed.

Sure he feared that the media might destroy the story. Guys I have tried to explain that I believe that the justices see the handwriting on the wall more than a dozen states already allow cameras and television equipment and courts under some circumstances. And State Senator George Deukmejian still to mandate courtroom photography died at the last session of the legislature only because of the press of time. The Canadian had the votes he said at that time and now he is attorney general of

California. Chief Justice Rose Bird favors the experiment and that many of California's eleven hundred judges are bitterly opposed to televising car trials while the council usually follows the recommendations of its committees especially with the endorsement of the chief justice. It remains to be seen if that will be true in this very controversial issue. Just how destructive do you think it will be to have television cameras in the courtroom. I think television cameras won't be disruptive because they're more sensitive they can use lower lights and you're not aware of the where in sound of them of a movie camera we used a movie camera today and it was rather disruptive and we also had to light the thing. I think one of the major problems is going to be the sound problem unless you make everybody have a microphone and everybody in the courtroom the sound is going to be rather distant and reverberant as we heard just now. But I think technically the problems can be overcome. The real problems are political. You know Willie attorneys posture

Maher because the television cameras are on will witnesses be more nervous that sort of thing. But experiments in other states have suggested that that's not a serious problem. Thank you very much. Well last night here on a closer look Supervisor Dianne Feinstein talked like a candidate for mayor. Tonight we have another supervisor who says that he wants to replace George Moscone supervisor Bob Gonzales post has those details. Well didn't take long after Mayor Moscone funeral for San Francisco's political world to start functioning again. In fact there are many indications that it never really stopped. But today seemed to be centered around blocking Dianne Feinstein from getting the votes on Monday to become the next mayor of San Francisco. The first official candidate to jump into the mayor's race to try and stop supervisor Feinstein is supervisor Gonzales. I have seen him on the board is that one of us ought to be

proud to be the next mayor. I have viewed the other announced candidate. My experience on the board is I would say equal to her my abilities or at least people to her. And I think my politics and my whole manner of dealing are probably more compatible with the programs of the Mosconi administration than our supervisor Feinstein and the other candidates at this time. I think I'm in the best position to carry him forward and to take on San Francisco in the future. So if you were elected mayor on Monday you would run for election next year is that correct. There's no question that I wouldn't. I mean that's I believe that unless you know something comes up and I don't know foreseeable. I mean we can just look around and it changes day to day. My my commitment is to that if selected by my colleagues that I will carry forth the programs and

expand them with the idea in mind that I would seek re-election. Supervisor Gonzales also said District Attorney Joseph radios had been making calls asking the board to elect a caretaker mayor for years could run next year. Well I immediately went to see the district attorney and asked him if he was a candidate. My plans are to run for re-election as district attorney. You know we've gone through tough week two weeks really the People's Temple and the alleged mass suicides and the tragic assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk and I haven't had time to think about politics and. But if I did my plans are to run for election supervisor Gonzalez tells me that you have been making telephone calls this week on behalf of your own candidate say is he wrong when he says that persons have called me but I've not made any phone calls to demonstrate any interest to run for that office. There are people who have been talking to me for a year or so about

running for this office but. I had to actually cancel a fundraiser to raise funds for my re-election campaign I'm going to have it rescheduled for January. What do you think there's anyone on the board of supervisors right now who is capable of becoming mayor and leading the city through the problems of the next year. Well I think Dianne Feinstein has done a magnificent job as acting mayor. I think she would be an obvious strong candidate for that. I think Ron Pelosi has the strength and compassion to lead the city. I think Jack Molinari has the strength to do it. I think there are others on the board but I think they'll do their level best to find the person whether it's on the border or off the border to can take the city through this period. Well a San Francisco Examiner reports tonight the supervisor lead Dolson would like to put this whole matter of electing a mayor

from this Monday until maybe the following Monday. And the supervisors John Molinari and Ella Hill Hutch are firmly for Feinstein with supervisor Gordon Lau told me that he absolutely does not want to be the mayor that he wants to talk to supervisor Feinstein before making any firm commitments and supervisor Quentin Kopp says that he's going to spend this weekend evaluating his own political future. But he was upset at what he claims were blatant political moves and maneuvering by supervisor Feinstein's friends at a time when the city was supposed to be in mourning. Well in any event supervisor Feinstein is clearly ahead in terms of votes for mayor but still unable to count enough firm votes to assure her election next Monday at the board meeting. Well as members of the Board of Supervisors scramble over who will be the next mayor the gay community is scrambling over who will be the next gay supervisor. Tonight Randy Shilts has an exclusive report on a taped will the late supervisor left

outlining who should succeed him. Shields also takes a closer look at how the death the supervisor milk will affect the growing political clout of San Francisco gays the gay community and the city yesterday paddle final and a rousing tribute to Harvey Milk. But even his gaze remembered milk. Many were wondering how the death of the city's most important gay leader will affect San Francisco's growing gay political clout. Milk left no logical political heir after all milk only got his super historial seat after three unsuccessful attempts at office. Those races gave him recognition and alliances with a number of the city's unions and minority groups. Contacts which few other leaders in the gay community have. One of the most unusual aspects of. The story is that Harvey Milk may prove to be the most influential person in determining his successor. Saudi might be assassinated so he takes a political will last November and now listed the people that he would like to succeed him and the people he would not like to

succeed. Both Acting Mayor Dianne Feinstein and supervisor Robert Gonzalez the only announced candidate for mayor told KQED that they would appoint milks successor from those that milk mentioned in his political will from a number of sources who have heard the tape or close to those over the tape. KQED has learned who are supported and who Harvey Milk opposed as possible successors. Two of the leading candidates to come from the list that Harvey Milk supported are and Cronenberg and Bob Ross and Cronenberg his long time aide and friend a number of those in political circles now are backing Cronenberg also mention in the well is Bob Ross the publisher of the gay paper the Bay Area Reporter. Ross says he will vote for Feinstein for mayor put on the board and that certainly won't hurt his chances of Feinstein does the appointing Harry Brett as another figure mentioned as a possible successor. Bret is president of the newly renamed Harvey Milk a gay Democratic Club. But Barrett

reportedly is reluctant to take the job the first time. That mentioned in the will is an acceptable successor has withdrawn his name from consideration of the names that acceptable as possible successors. Most of those names are drawn from the ranks of servitude awaiting that long as opposed to learn that among those names are a staffer for the Human Rights Commission and a long time worker in Democratic Party politics and the president of the Democratic Club who recently won election to the city's charter commission. That lists these acceptable and unacceptable candidates is being kept a secret. Sources have told KQED that it will not be publicly released unless one of the

unacceptable. And it's gets appointed to the Board of Supervisors. It wouldn't be fair to speculate on possible successors to milk without mentioning David Scott whose name appears on either milk list Scott as a gay realtor who sits on the city's powerful board of permit appeals no matter who gets milk seat that person will not have the wide grassroots support or the broad political experience that brought with him to the Board of Supervisors. This will mean at least some loss of political clout right now for San Francisco Gates. Still a number of factors are working now in Gay's favor. The overwhelming defeat of Proposition 6 last month showed that Californians aren't about to get caught up in anybody's fears about the state's growing acceptance of gays. The fact that milk and Moscone were shot by a staunch opponent of gay rights will most certainly make such views even less fashionable in San Francisco. Beyond this gays now have a martyr for whom they can draw determination and sympathy. The state's chief lobbyist of the Sacramento legislature Steve Adell thinks that this

new sympathy for gays might even help the gay civil rights bill expected to be introduced when the legislature convenes next week. From Harvey's death they're going to see the human side of gay people. They've known that there's a ski supervisor in. So it was discovered they only know what a homosexual is but the media's done a really good job of talking about who he is. And from this I hope that there but legislators will see and understand Harvey Milk as a human being and hopefully associate make the association to all of gay people to understand that gay people are human beings and we have concerns like everybody else. KQED has just learned that the four choices supervisor milk listed as possible successors met this afternoon in an attempt to reach a consensus on one person to back her supervisor. They did not reach that consensus however. So there are forward two names to acting mayor Feinstein those names are and Cronenberg and Bob Ross. Aides to the late supervisor milk would issue no official confirmation or denial of

that report. The events of the last two weeks and Diana has been extremely difficult for all of us to handle so you might understand that. For our guest tonight things have really been tremendous and difficult and terms of her trying to relate the events that took place and those that she witnessed and those that she has to live with now. Our guest is Deborah Leighton Blakey. Her brother is Lawrence Leighton who's been charged with the murder in the slaying of Congressman Leo Ryan and four others for five years. Debbie was a loyal member of People's Temple. She serves that served as the temple's financial secretary in Jonestown Guyana from December of 977 until she escaped last May. Well following her escape and of course before the murder suicides there in Jonestown miss Blakey filed a 12 page affidavit with her attorney Geoffrey Hasse. Well in that document she warned of the suicide pact she described the living conditions within the Jonestown commune. Those warnings were not heeded she said by the State

Department. In fact the attorney said that they never heard from the State Department once those charges were filed. Debbie is in our studio tonight understandably exhausted and nervous from these events. First of all I'd like to ask you Debbie how did you manage to get out of Guyana. Well initially when I was in Jonestown I worked on the radio and it was during a time when Jim Jones wanted to impress the gun a guy and his people that the people in Johnstown were free to do things that they were normal people they could dance and so he decided to have a cultural program put on and George him. And during that the people practiced and I was assigned with a couple other people to go into Georgetown and watch these people sing along with Billy. It was while I was there that I called my sister. I told her that I wanted to leave and I was frightened I didn't have a passport. And it took me six weeks and during that time I talked to my sister and she wired me a ticket which I did not go pick up so they

couldn't find it on me. And on the day that my flight was to leave I went to the embassy and requested their assistance to get me. Well that's one of your complaints that the embassy was really not helpful but the embassy really was friendly with Jim Jones and often assisted him. Was there there was was there anyone in particular whom you think cooperated with Jim Jones in terms of letting them know when officials were coming to visit in that country. Well I know that when Dick McCoy was assigned to come in to Johnstown and talk with people he would always allow the list of the people he was going to be speaking with to be given to him. I had he would say the names of the people and for two days before I came in the people he was going to talk to would be talked with. And they'd be given questions and by the time signal corps came in they had every pat answer.

It was with the American flag. But Jim waits tell him that before you come in we need to know the names of people you're going to see otherwise they might be up the river swimming or down playing bingo which wasn't true. But I think you said at some point that there was some sexual favors exchanged gaieties officials arranged by by Jim Jones and that's one of the ways in which they got the favor of the gaieties officials that I'm wondering whether the possibility exists that there's some kind of arrangement like that went on with with op with American officials. Well I know that when Dick McCoy came into Johnstown that I don't know that much about what happened in Georgetown but when you came into Jonestown my former sister in law was now dead. Caroline was assigned to flirt with them and be very friendly so he would think that things weren't perhaps that bad thing. But I do know that I gather that people the idea that people could come into Jones Town from this country lawyers or State Department people or

anything without his knowing it well in advance is simply not true that he was forewarned of anybody that was going to come near Jonestown is that correct. Oh yes you were financial secretary I'm not sure exactly what that means but you've heard stories about the tremendous amounts of money that apparently were at Georgetown What can you tell us about that. Well as people went down to Guyana they took the legal amount of money in with them $5000 and during that time it went out on the boat. And Jim kept in Johnstown I think basically it was so that in case things got that bad in and Johnstown and the guy and his officials were upset with him they could offer the money to another country to get out. That was always the plan. Also in your affidavit Debbie you charge that Jim Jones had threatened often the gaieties government with the fact that there might be mass suicides often he called it the crazy nigger approach and he said people were assigned to go in and at that time they'd say you know if things don't go the

way we want them you'll have eleven hundred dead people in Jonestown that scare them. The American officials don't scare the guy news officials. Do you think really Pastor McCoy who was the U.S. representative there that other American officials knew about what was going on in Jonestown just didn't care or did McCoy just cover up. Well when I talked to McCoy when I was in his office and I wanted to waive I wanted him to know I was on the level too because I figured he would be just as scared of myself as I was of him and I told him that we were coming in that afternoon to blackmail him and I told him the specifics of what we're going to ask him so that he would know not to answer them because he had made it a statement before. And Jim wanted it on record to blackmail him with it and. I forgot your question but did you think itto other officials in Washington or do you think that he told his superiors you think anybody except McCoy knew that maybe something was not right in Jonestown. He knew it because one morning when I spoke to him about

men carrying guns and there was armed guards 24 hours a day watching people he said well then that confirms it was the bread guy and his official mentioned I think there was a guy in his official who was involved in the story as I don't know if I know his name and I know the woman's name who was there and seduced him. But I don't know if I should say do you think though that what happened finally is that in the case of Congressman Ryan and the newsman that went down there I gather maybe these are the first people to ever go to Jonestown the Jones himself really didn't want in there is or was not willing to accept and then I sort of was forced on him is that is that true do you think he didn't like it when Dick McCoy came in either but he was always so. Pre-warned that everything was great but when he realized that TV cameras were coming in and they'd pick up things you know when he was talking he could try

and manipulate the situation but cameras are always going around looking at other things and that really scared him. Do you think most of the people in Jonestown were frightened of Jim Jones or did they see did they really care about him. Oh I think. I was frightened of Jim and I think everybody down there was frightened of ginger. He's very clever. He's very manipulative and he's very cold. And every move he makes is it's calculated and I think they're all evil and we've made clear I don't think we have yet when did you leave actually. On May 12th. I left and I didn't get out of the country till May 13th and I arrived in New York on the 14th. And when did you when did your lawyer Mr. Haas let the State Department know about the charges that you were making that was some time later it was in the beginning of June that we worked on the affidavit and it was mailed to Washington. Were you surprised at what you told the government that there might be mass suicides there that people were being mistreated there in that you

had fears about Jim Jones that they did nothing. Did you expect the government to do something then. Yeah I mean I expected people to to listen and to be to be worried about all these people who are going to die and I was evident when we used to have suicide runs every week sometimes more than once a week we go through these drills and go up and drink flavor aid. It was very frightening. And. I think that the government knew they didn't know I told them and they could have done something about it. Do you think maybe that's why people drank the strength because they just thought it was another drill. Well you had a lot of drills but while you were having the jewels you're also in the pavilion where all the bodies basically were found surrounding it were all the armed guards so if you didn't drink the potion you'd be shot and you had to drill so many times that you know that if you didn't drink the potion and made an uproar about it and it was just a

drill then afterward you'd be beaten and you'd be very very sorry because the buildings weren't just spanks there either and the beatings were a regular thing every night. OK Debbie thank you very much I know this was a difficult interview for you but we thank you for taking the time to do this. Well while city hall begins to recover the investigation into last week's people Temple's tragedy continues to spill Bronstein learn today. Monday City Hall's assassination just added to an already major security problem. Well a closer look has learned that Mary George Moscone was one of the political figures on a People's Temple hit list. Law enforcement officials confirmed to a closer look today that Mosconi was one of the officials whose lives are considered in danger from the People's Temple members. The so-called hit list is not actually a typed list but a compilation of names given to the authorities by formal former Temple members. The names were people the

temple had talked about assassinating the protection local politicians are receiving is now because of both the city hall killings and the People's Temple list. It's important to note that officials told us there is no indication the temple had anything to do with the Monday assassinations of milk and Moscone. Dan White is still the main suspect in that case and there's no reason to believe white was involved with the temple in any way. However law enforcement officials have told us that because of the People's Temple hit list names after hearing Mosconi had been gunned down. All the law enforcement agencies immediately assumed it was a People's Temple assassination. That was before Dan White was arrested. We were also told that the list includes names from across the country according to local law enforcement officials law enforcement agencies here in the Bay Area are strained beyond capacity in trying to provide security for all those they believe are in danger from People's Temple. The district attorney's office here has provided to the FBI. There are a number of federal agencies

involved in the People's Temple investigation and there are dozens of federal security and investigation in the area. We were also told that local members of the People's Temple have tried to monitor that to find out exactly what that is the news for tonight. Again on Monday.