Linda Crayton

1948 - 2022

Linda Crayton
September 3, 1948 - June 4, 2022
Family, friends, community leaders and public officials are fondly remembering Linda Crayton, a longtime city Commissioner, beloved member of San Francisco's political scene and a giant in the Bay Area's black community.
Crayton died last month after fighting valiantly through a variety of health problems for many years.
Always impeccably dressed, Crayton was a small, tenacious woman who possessed a towering personality. In business and government, she was a brilliant colleague. To young people, Crayton was a tireless mentor. Her generosity – along with a smile that lit up every room she entered – was her calling card.
As the Bay Area's leading Black newspaper, the Sun Reporter, put it, "Linda Crayton was small in stature but big in San Francisco's Black community and the Bay Area."
"She was always so supportive and cared about young people and providing them with an opportunity to succeed in life," said Mayor London Breed.
Born in Hamburg, Ark., and raised in Little Rock, Linda Collins' family moved to Los Angeles right after the Little Rock Nine incident in 1957.
She grew up in Inglewood, one of five children to Mack Collins and Frances McCarthy, and attended Washington High in Los Angeles. After graduating in 1966, she branched out on her own and, on the advice of her pastor in Los Angeles, moved to San Francisco, where she was active in the New Liberation Presbyterian Church.
"From that one action, thousands of lives would be changed," said her son Kevin Evans.
Her first job was working for the San Francisco Giants as a seat attendant, where she developed her lifelong love for baseball.
Soon she moved on to a job at Blue Cross/Blue Shield and grew increasingly active in San Francisco's civic life. During this time she met her first husband in the city's Western Addition neighborhood, and gave birth to a son, Kevin.
Crayton began doing volunteer work for rising politicians like Phil Burton, George Moscone and Willie Brown; years later, she was playing a key role in the political work of Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer and Kamala Harris, and cemented her reputation as one of the city's leading movers-and-shakers.
"There was nobody quite like Linda Crayton," said Mayor Brown. "She was as sweet as could be, but she was also tough as nails. With her disarming friendliness and shrewd mind, she was always able to get things done."
In 1979, she remarried – to the "love of her life," Charles Crayton. Linda and "Chuck" were together for 26 years and raised two boys, Kevin and Justin. Shortly after meeting Chuck, Linda began working as a liaison between government and businesses. She worked for major companies like AT&T and Comcast for more than three decades.
Mayor Brown appointed Crayton to the city's prestigious Airport Commission in 1996. She served through four mayoral administrations before stepping down in 2020 due to health reasons.
Crayton also served as a delegate to the California Democratic Party, board member of the East Oakland Youth Development Center and board chair of the Greater Sacramento Urban League, among countless other positions. She was recognized as one of the most influential women in the Bay Area by numerous organizations, including the NAACP, the Sun Reporter, the California Legislative Black Caucus and the Black Women of Political Action.
"Linda Crayton was a giant in the community," said former City Administrator Naomi Kelly. "She was someone who put in the time, effort and intelligence to actually changes people's lives for the better."
Son Kevin described his mother Linda as "my hero … a loving mother, devoted wife, community activist, Christian, friend to the needy, fashion icon, oracle of business advice, and hilarious storyteller."
A celebration of Linda Crayton's life will be held on July 14, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Glad Tidings International Church, 970 Glad Tidings Way in Hayward, Calif., with repast to follow.
Inquiries can be directed to LindaCrayton.CelebrationOfLife@gmail.com.