Title

Dymally, Mervyn: Moscone's assassination

Abstract

Mervyn Dymally: I was in my office around November in the year that he was shot, and he called and said he was sponsoring a luncheon for me as a going away luncheon, and wanted to know if I could call Walter Shorenstein. Walter Shorenstein had boasted that he was a supporter of mine, and I’m one of the few people that ever paid back money that he loaned politicians. I said fine. And as I began to make small-talk with him (George), he said, “Mervyn, I’m sorry I’ve got to go. I have someone outside waiting for me.” I hung up the phone, and in rushes Eric Shea, a staff member, screaming that George Moscone had just been shot. I couldn’t believe it. Now, what’s ironic about this is that during his tenure as Majority Leader of California Senate, I would often go to him and say, “George, why are you being so nice to these critics of yours/ours?” because we were in the same group. He said, “Well, Mervyn they’re my constituents, and even though we disagree, I have an obligation to be of help to them.” So he’s a guy who never said “no”, and the first time he said no he was shot.

Type

Interview

Date Original

2011-08-26

Relation

The Moscone oral history interviews are part of the George Moscone Collection, MSS 328.

Contributing Institution

Holt-Atherton Special Collections and Archives, University of the Pacific Library

Rights Management

To view additional information on copyright and related rights of this item, such as to purchase copies of images and/or obtain permission to publish them, click here to view the Holt-Atherton Special Collections policies.

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