Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s announcement Tuesday that she will not run for reelection next year is no surprise. At 89, Feinstein is the oldest sitting senator and California’s longest-serving senator. She has earned retirement.
Nevertheless, it’s a loss for California and the country. Few elected leaders can match Feinstein’s record of achievement over the decades or her steadfast commitment to championing the causes most important to Californians: environmental protection, gun control and immigration reform, to name a few.
Feinstein was a trailblazer in California politics, forging a path for other women to win office. In 1969, she became the first woman elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She became acting mayor of San Francisco in 1978 after the murders of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk and went on to be elected as mayor, the first woman to do so.
