Sen. Scott Wiener. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol WeeklyNobody can ever accuse Sen. Scott Wiener of only taking on the easy fights. The San Francisco Democrat has in fact developed a reputation as someone almost allergic to tackling any bill – from housing to health care, from psychedelics to artificial intelligence – that doesn’t promise a bare-knuckles brawl to get passed.
Love her or hate her, former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer was one of the most influential and impactful politicians in California history. As such, when we sat down with her to conduct an oral history interview, we knew we needed someone as iconic as her to ask the questions. So we were thrilled to have the estimable Carla Marinucci of Politico do the honors.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks before the Democratic national summer meeting in San Francisco, 2019. (Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock)As Sala Burton lay dying in a hospital bed in 1987, she picked her successor to represent San Francisco in the U.S. House of Representatives. “I saw her gritting her teeth, you know, in pain,” her brother-in law, John Burton, recalled in an Open California oral history. “And she says… I want you, talking to us, to support Nancy for my seat.”
Shahid Buttar, a Democrat running against Nancy Pelosi in the primary election in San Francisco's 12th Congressional District. (Photo: Joaquin Romero)REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: In the grand ballroom of the Hilton Union Square, in the heart of San Francisco, hundreds of Democratic delegates, campaign members and presidential candidates recently attended the summer meeting of the Democratic National Committee. And among the flurry of party officials and media members was Shahid Buttar, Democratic candidate for Congress in California’s 12th District.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at a Capitol news conference in February. (Photo: Albert H. Teich)In the end, it all comes down to following the money – about $568 million and counting. Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the House and former speaker, is no stranger to criticism and this year is no different. But this time, the attacks are coming from fellow Democrats who are calling for the longtime House leader, who turned 77 in March and is a California political icon, to step down. So far, she’s not budging.
Xavier Becerra, Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP)Congressman Xavier Becerra, the Democrats’ highest-ranking Latino in the House and a 24-year veteran of Congress, was appointed Thursday by Gov. Brown to replace state Attorney General Kamala Harris, who was elected to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 8. Becerra, 58, who will be the first Latino to serve as California’s top law enforcement officer, will formally take over the attorney general’s office next month, when Harris leaves for Washington, D.C.