When Feinstein was senator, the man in charge of the airport made sure whichever side of the plane she was sitting on, the runway was clean.
“She agreed that if I let her become president of the board, which was John Barbegelata’s idea, she’d in turn endorse me for mayor against George Moscone the following year,” recalls Kopp. “She never did. And then George was killed. And she became mayor.” But while randomness brought Feinstein to power and kickstarted her ascent to national prominence, randomness was not Feinstein’s M.O. Rather the opposite: It would be hard to imagine a more meticulous mayor — and, later, senator.
When going over the PUC’s vast budget, Harrington recalls Feinstein sussing out details as arcane as some trucks having air conditioning and some not — and inquiring whether air conditioning was a necessary expenditure. When Feinstein took over, San Franciscans still remembered mayors who held “real” jobs while running the city part-time. That changed: “Dianne was a 24/7 mayor, whether it was making sure litter was picked up or potholes were filled or how many bulbs were planted by Rec and Park,” Lazarus continued. “When theran something that had an impact on our lives at City Hall, we’d get calls at 7:30 a.m. San Francisco is a big city and a small town — and the small town side expects responsiveness.
A 2008 U.S. Senate photo of Sen. Dianne Feinstein with then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. The gent on her left will now select her successor. But Feinstein’s forcefulness also came with a vision — and that vision continues to shape San Francisco. “Mayor Moscone was taking the city down a path toward much more progressive politics,” notes Harrington. “She stopped that.”
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