Dianne Feinstein...the gentle lady
we all have our memories
When living in San Francisco many times I had seen Dianne Feinstein at public events. She was always kind and listened. You felt heard. The gentle lady from California was indeed a diplomat.
“Her reputation for intellectual rigor, policy acumen and, above all, nonpartisanship, is legend.”- Romesh Ratnesar, Stanford Magazine
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/dianne-feinstein-goes-her-own-way
She fought for women and children, for those suffering from AIDS, for health care for all and the banning of assault weapons. Really – do we all need high-capacity assault weapons?
https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/biography
I remember in 1983 riding a cable car with other women all ages with signs to elect Dianne for her Second term as mayor.
Then on Sunday, May 24, 1987 it was the 50th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge and we were stuck on the bridge for hours-- and right behind Dianne Feinstein and the U.S. Army Marching Band! That morning we got on the bridge at dawn-- at 8:00 am, San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein and other noted public officials were gathered at mid-span on a large flatbed trailer for the celebration! Over 300,000 people surged onto the span that morning from each end and hundreds more gathered to get on and in all areas leading to the this iconic bridge. Besides us foot travelers making it onto the Golden Gate bridge, there were bicyclists, roller skaters, and even a circus performer walking on a ball, a group dressed as as a centipede and other costumes! There was even a couple who set up a small table with a white tablecloth and champagne! It was a grand celebration with people coming into San Francisco on trains and buses and police were frantically discouraging more folks from going to the bridge!
There was to be a memorial wreath cast over the side of the bridge where the ocean meets the San Francisco Bay -- to honor and remember the eleven men who lost their lives during the building of the Bridge. As the story goes—With the more and more people coming on to the bridge, the wreath was not nearby when Mayor Feinstein was ready to cast it into the sea. With no wreath at hand Feinstein quickly improvised and grabbed Speaker of the California State Assembly Willie Brown’s $800 Fedora and tossed it out to sea and off it went flying through the air.
All of us on the bridge managed not to squash each other and at times it got a bit too tight! We lost sight of the entourage and Feinstein as we could see the U.S. Army Band mates heading in another direction.
I love this quote that appeared in Politico:
Feinstein “got shit done by working with people on both sides of the aisle and refusing to get caught up in unnecessary nonsense,” John Burton, a former California Democratic Party chair, said when Feinstein had announced her intention to retire from the Senate on Feb. 14, 2023
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/29/dianne-feinstein-senator-mayor-00006007
Many of us may not have agreed with her on everything- but she did change her mind when presented with new info or she changed course of action and admitted so.
May Dianne Rest in Peace- she broke the good ole boys club in politics. Diane overall did good for San Franciso, for California and the nation.
The funeral service for Feinstein will be held at the San Francisco City Hall steps and will be televised. (10/4/23 Update - The Thursday Ceremony will not be open to the public due to security issues.)
January 22, 1992, Feinstein Senate Campaign Speech
Dianne Feinstein delivered a speech entitled “Is This Any Way to Run a Country?” Ms. Feinstein was a former Democratic Mayor of San Francisco.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?23952-1/feinstein-senate-campaign-speech
