Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate from California in 1992 in a wave election known as “the Year of the Woman” and went on to champion gun control, died today, NPR has confirmed. She was 90 years old.
Feinstein’s rise in politics began on Nov. 27, 1978, when her city was jolted by two political assassinations at City Hall. As president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, she announced the news to a shocked press corps.
“As President of the Board of Supervisors, it is my duty to announce that both Mayor [George] Moscone and Supervisor [Harvey] Milk have been shot and killed,” Feinstein said in a firm but clearly stunned voice.
At that moment, Feinstein became interim mayor and went on to win election and later reelection, serving as mayor until 1988.
Leading San Francisco after tragedy
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown — a longtime political ally of hers — said Feinstein’s handling of the assassinations crisis cemented her reputation.
“It was a dramatic demonstration of how in the face of total and complete disaster, somebody could stand up to settle the ship,” Brown said in 2022.
After the city hall assassinations, Mayor Feinstein signed a local gun control ordinance, angering a fringe gun rights organization called the White Panthers. Collaborating with groups unhappy with the mayor’s pro-growth, pro-business and other moderate policies, the White Panthers managed to collect enough signatures to place a recall of Feinstein on the ballot in 1983. The recall failed, catapulting Feinstein into easy reelection later that year.
Read the full article here