Arthur Christ Agnos (born Arthouros Agnos; [] September 1, 1938) is an American politician. He served as the 39th mayor of San Francisco, California from 1988 to 1992 and as the Regional Head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 to 2001. Early life Agnos was born Arthouros Agnos in Springfield, Massachusetts, to Greek immigrants. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bates College and a Master of Social Work from Florida State University. He moved to San Francisco in 1966 and went to work at the San Francisco Housing Authority as a social worker with senior populations. Early political career Agnos was asked by California State Assemblyman Leo McCarthy to join his staff in January 1968. McCarthy was elected Speaker of the Assembly in 1974 and Agnos became his Chief of Staff. During this period, Agnos helped obtain the first California state funding for community-based mental-health services serving the lesbian and gay community, helped pass nursing-home reform, and worked for preservation of farm land. In 1976, Agnos was elected to the California State Assembly, defeating Harvey Milk in the Democratic primary in the 16th District, which at the time covered the eastern neighborhoods of San Francisco. He served as the Chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and as chair of the health subcommittee of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. Agnos also served as co-chair of the Joint Committee on South East Asian Refugees. Agnos authored legislation that received national attention for innovative approaches to challenges in health care, welfare, and civil rights, among other areas. He authored California's model welfare reform, GAIN, that matched work requirements with funding for job training, education, and child care. Agnos also authored much of California's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, working directly with President Reagan's Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, M.D., and the President of the National Academy of Sciences, David Baltimore, Ph.D. Although Agnos arranged for the nation's first Joint Legislative Session on the AIDS/HIV epidemic with Koop and Baltimore, the comprehensive approach to the epidemic failed to muster a majority of votes when the governor failed to support the measure. Since then, nearly all aspects of Agnos' proposals have become law and policy in California. Agnos also authored laws that provide support for family caregivers, fair child-support payments with a calculation that remains known as the Agnos calculator, safeguards against brain damage in