John Briggs (politician) - Post-political Life

Post-political Life

Following his retirement from politics, Briggs operated a successful political and business consulting firm for fifteen years. He was a registered California lobbyist from 1983 to 1996. In 2000, he moved to the Lake Tahoe area where he became a successful real estate investor.

Briggs and his wife moved to Sun City Anthem in 2003, an age-restricted community in Nevada where he has run for the community's board of directors. In a campaign statement in 2008 published on the resident created blog, The Anthem Voice, Briggs denied statements made about him in various blogs, and said that he was not an "'intolerant person.'" He stated that he continued to regard singer Anita Bryant (a vocal opponent of gay rights measures in the late 1970's) as "a hero," but he also said that, "with the passage of over thirty years, America has changed — including me." He said that, when he worked with Bryant, he and his wife "not only stood for our principles, but fought for principles as we then saw them." But he also said that the 1970's and 1980's were "a much different America," in which "President Reagan and the country shamefully neglected the AIDS epidemic causing the deaths of thousands. . . ." He said that, "like President Reagan, and most of the country, I think differently now, and have put aside the 70’s and 80's, and respectfully request others do as well and move on to the civil side of life." He also stated that he was, despite his differences with them, friendly with Harvey Milk and gay activist Randy Shilts.