“When you become mayor because of an assassination and the horrific events that catapulted Feinstein’s into the mayor’s office, you will be forever linked to that city,” says Corey Busch, Moscone’s press secretary and an advisor on Feinstein’s campaign when she ran for mayor in 1979.įeinstein is not from the San Francisco of hippies, new tech wealth, radical politics or LGBTQ activism. But San Francisco was always her home, even after three decades in Washington. Senator from San Franciscoįeinstein’s tenure in the Senate, which began in 1992, made her a national figure. That pressure will likely increase over the next months, but before that happens, it is worth looking back on her extraordinary career and her place in California, and more notably, San Francisco, history. Gavin Newsom, who considers Feinstein a mentor, appoint her successor. It is not clear whether Feinstein will finish her current term, which runs through 2024, because there may be increased pressure for her to resign and let California’s Gov. This issue is being raised not by Republicans seeking to score political points, but by Democratic colleagues and congressional staff. Senate for almost 30 years, but concerns continue to be raised about whether she is still mentally sharp enough to continue in her current position. “It is my duty to make this announcement,” she said, looking straight into the camera, amid audible gasps and screams, adding, “The suspect is Supervisor Dan White.”ĭianne Feinstein announced the shooting deaths at City Hall.įeinstein handled this tragic announcement with poise – a quality that would characterize the nine years she went on to spend as San Francisco’s first female mayor and, later, as California’s first woman senator.įeinstein is now 88 years old and has been in the U.S. By the end of the day, she was the mayor of San Francisco, and had the dreadful responsibility of telling the city that both Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk had been assassinated – by a former member of the board. The resignation of one person from the 11-member board earlier that month had given Mayor George Moscone an opportunity to put a progressive on the board, tipping the balance to 6-5 against Feinstein in her bid to retain leadership.įeinstein’s plan didn’t last long.

It was a foggy morning, and Feinstein greeted reporters at City Hall by telling them she would not seek reelection to the board of supervisors, San Francisco’s equivalent to the city council. 27, 1978, Dianne Feinstein – then the 45-year-old president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and two-time failed mayoral candidate – effectively announced her retirement from politics.

California senators