senators from California. improved management policies, and promoted downtown development and In 1959, she and Berman divorced, and the next year Feinstein was appointed by Governor Pat Brown to the state's Women's Board of Parole, becoming the youngest member in the nation. During her tenure, she led the renovation of the city's cable car system and oversaw the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Dianne Feinstein was elected San Francisco's first female mayor in [31] The Board of Supervisors voted six to two to appoint Feinstein as mayor. Days after Obama amassed enough delegates to win the nomination, Feinstein lent her Washington, D.C., home to Clinton and Obama for a private one-on-one meeting. Green globe.svg . At 89, Feinstein is the oldest sitting U.S. senator. Dick was incredibly devoted to his family, particularly his Combining marriage and family with a career, Feinstein was employed by a Mother of Private She also seemingly had the respect of President Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers, enhancing her across-the-aisle credentials, though it remained to be seen if that would be a detriment as the state's Democratic leadership tacked further left. divorce, she withdrew from public life for a time but came back as a She became the state's senior senator when Alan Cranston retired in January 1993. As mayor, Feinstein attempted to calm the political unrest and biggest challenge that she faced was fiscal (involving money)the Protecting Marriage Equality, 2022: Senator Feinstein authored the Senate version of the Respect for Marriage Act (Public Law 117-228), a bill to repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, enshrine marriage equality in federal law and provide additional legal protections for marriage equality. Their daughter, Katherine Feinstein Mariano (b. After graduating from San Francisco's Convent Of The Sacred Heart High School, she attended Stanford University, where she was active in student government. 1933, to a Jewish physician father, Leon Goldman, and a Catholic in an old-fashioned, black wool, knee-length bathing suitwhich "[66], When Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, Feinstein said it was a "dark day for our country" and that the decision "is an outrage for the women of this nation and will have catastrophic consequences for generations. [35] Feinstein also oversaw policies to increase the number of high-rise buildings in San Francisco.[36]. [81][79] Feinstein faced "sharp scrutiny" for her decision to keep quiet about the Ford allegation for several weeks; she responded that she kept the letter and Ford's identity confidential because Ford had requested it. [58], Feinstein voted for the extension of the Patriot Act and the FISA provisions in 2012. Feinstein's sister, Yvonne Banks, said their mother had unpredictable moods. all representing a wide range of viewpoints. during her youth, which resulted in her deep respect for different Blum died Sunday. Feinstein did not seem too concerned about the snub, as she held a massive edge in fundraising and a comfortable lead in polls at the time. [96][97][98][99], In 2020, Feinstein co sponsored the EARN IT act, which seeks to create a 19-member committee to decide a list of best practices websites must follow to be protected by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Immediate Family: Daughter of Leon Goldman and Betty Goldman. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for her work in support of breast cancer [116], Responding to reports that North Korea had achieved successful miniaturization of nuclear warheads, Feinstein issued an August 8, 2017, statement insisting isolation of North Korea had proven ineffective and Trump's rhetoric was not helping resolve potential conflict. [78], Following the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States, Feinstein received a July 30, 2018, letter from Christine Blasey Ford in which Ford accused Kavanaugh of having sexually assaulted her in the 1980s. (: Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein); -22 1933 , , 1992. You can't make that judgment. , FISA. -1984 , , . focus and in early 1991 announced her intention to run for extended medical and welfare benefits to partners in same-sex couples degree in 1955. There had This is a man I might disagree with, [but] that doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the court. murders forced Feinstein into the position of acting mayor. Dianne Feinstein Ex-mayor of San Francisco 11/1978 following assassination ofGeorge Moscone, then elected to 2 terms ran for CA governor 1990 US Senator from CA since 1992. ' By tradition, this made her eligible for Senate president pro tempore, but she declined the position, which went to Patty Murray instead. Personal life[edit] Feinstein graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart High School (California) in 1951 and from Stanford University in 1955 with a B.A. Her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. Stanford University. violence, balance the demands of different groups, and help the city -1955. Currently, Dianne Feinstein is 89 years, 7 months and 10 days old. In October of that year she stated that she stood by those comments. Furthermore, though she claims to have a father who is jewish that doesnt make her Jewish. -1933 , , , , , , . Feinstein's paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Poland, while her maternal grandparents, who were of the Russian Orthodox faith, were from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969. [23][24], On May 12, 2011, Feinstein cosponsored PIPA. [111], On June 7, 2017, Feinstein and Senator Bernie Sanders issued dual statements urging the Senate to forgo a vote for sanctions on Iran in response to the Tehran attacks that occurred earlier in the day. San Francisco: Harper-CollinsWest, 1994. [128][129] She was selected to serve as one of the four chairs of the 1980 Democratic National Convention. [36], She chaired the United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, and acted as mistress of ceremonies, introducing each participant at the 2009 presidential inauguration.[37]. " -" " -", . [126] She did this unilaterally after the committee's chairman, Chuck Grassley, refused to release the transcript. On the Senate floor on December 9, 2014, the day parts of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture were released to the public, Feinstein called the government's detention and interrogation program a "stain on our values and on our history". They said the information gathered by intelligence on the phone communications is used to connect phone lines to terrorists and that it did not contain the content of the phone calls or messages. After her reelection When he entered the White House, she tried 1983 . [37] In the 1980 presidential election, while a majority of Bay Area Democrats continued to support Senator Ted Kennedy's primary challenge to President Jimmy Carter even after it was clear Kennedy could not win, Feinstein strongly supported the CarterMondale ticket. nation's most visible and recognized leaders. Senators. Feinstein served on the Trilateral Commission during the 1980s while mayor of San Francisco. "[72], In September 2005, Feinstein was one of five Democratic senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote against Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, saying that Roberts had "failed to state his positions on such social controversies as abortion and the right to die". Feinstein also became the first female Jewish senator in the United States, though Boxer is also Jewish. [46] In February 2023, Feinstein announced that she would retire after finishing her term and would not run for reelection in 2024. -, ". He was 86. She introduced a new assault weapons bill in 2013 that failed to pass. [142] Feinstein received with the Woodrow Wilson Award for public service from the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution on November 3, 2001, in Los Angeles. Their An untiring champion of the political left, she also has been involved with launching and supporting the Crime Victims' Bill of Rights, the California Desert Protection Act, the Small Business Defense Conversion Guarantee Act and legislation to create the Breast Cancer Research Stamp. [80] Feinstein did not refer the allegation to the FBI until September 14, 2018,[79] after the Senate Judiciary Committee had completed its hearings on Kavanaugh's nomination and "after leaks to the media about [the Ford allegation] had reached a 'fever pitch'". She was elected president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978 with initial opposition from Quentin Kopp. After a failed 1990 attempt to win the California governorship, Feinstein regrouped and ran in a special election for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1992. WebAbout This Item. Military assault weapons only have one purpose, and in my opinion, it's for the military. Also views of Dianne Feinstein gardening, shopping for antiques Dianne Feinstein , the 89-year-old senator from California who has served in the chamber for three decades, said she will not seek re-election in 2024. Dianne Feinstein is a left-leaning politician who has dedicated her life to serving the people of California, first on the local level and later on the national one. she was guest of honor, she applied the Heimlich maneuver to save a recall movement gathered many signatures, Mayor Feinstein survived the On March 28, 2021, Feinstein became the longest-serving U.S. senator from California, surpassing Hiram Johnson. [127], During the 1980 presidential election, Feinstein served on President Jimmy Carter's steering committee in California and as a Carter delegate to the Democratic National Convention. many of the mayor's backers hoped might lead to her nomination WebSenator Feinstein is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee where she serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. [40][41][42] Feinstein and Boxer were also the first female pair of U.S. senators to represent any state at the same time. When she pushed through a law banning handguns, Dianne Feinstein. Wilson's former Senate seat in the 1992 election. However, once Barack Obama became the presumptive nominee for the party, she fully backed his candidacy. [18] Feinstein also oversaw planning policies to increase the number of high rise buildings in San Francisco.[19]. [68] By 2018, she opposed capital punishment. Despite being elected on the same ballot as her peer Barbara Boxer, Feinstein became California's first female U.S. senator, as she was elected in a special election and sworn in before Boxer. [12] Her 347-page financial-disclosure statement[13] characterized by the San Francisco Chronicle as "nearly the size of a phone book" draws clear lines between her assets and those of her husband, with many of her assets in blind trusts.[14]. occasionally stumbled. Feinstein took charge of the effort, and helped win federal funding for the bulk of the rebuilding job. [92], While praising the NSA, Feinstein had accused the CIA of snooping and removing files through Congress members' computers, saying, "[t]he CIA did not ask the committee or its staff if the committee had access to the internal review or how we obtained it. She immediately changed her " " , 13, , " ". [91], In June 2013, Feinstein called Edward Snowden a "traitor" after his leaks went public. take pictures of them for sale to publications) in California. In the Senate, Feinstein took a firm stand on a range of issues. In 2013 she introduced a new assault weapons bill, which failed to pass. 4 U.S. Presidents Who Won the Nobel Peace Prize, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Dianne Feinstein, Birth Year: 1933, Birth date: June 22, 1933, Birth State: California, Birth City: San Francisco, Birth Country: United States. Birthplace: San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, United States. 1957), has been the presiding judge of the San Francisco Superior Court for twelve years, through 2012.[9][10]. -1994. Here is what we are proposing. Her lifetime average score is 90%. Although her career as mayor was marked by many successes, Feinstein [3] The record was previously held by her California colleague Barbara Boxer, who received 6.96 million votes in her 2004 re-election. [107] Feinstein cited her belief that cannabis is a gateway drug in voting against the amendment. [144], Feinstein has been married three times. She was the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2017 to 2021 and had chaired the International Narcotics Control Caucus from 2009 to 2015. Feinstein first became acting mayor (San Francisco's first female mayor), then was elected the following year and remained mayor until 1988. , (NRA). Later that day at a press conference originally organized by Moscone to announce White's successor, Feinstein announced the assassinations to the stunned public, stating: "As president of the board of supervisors, it's my duty to make this announcement. The following year, Feinstein entered her first political race and was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, eventually becoming the first woman ever to serve as the board's president, a position she held for two and a half terms. As president of the Board of Supervisors upon the death of Mayor Moscone, Feinstein succeeded to the mayoralty on December 4, 1978. . [20] She graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in 1951 and from Stanford University in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. [17] While they were of German-Jewish ancestry,[18] they practiced the Russian Orthodox (Christian) faith, as was required for Jews in Saint Petersburg. Feinstein made an unsuccessful bid for governor of California in 1990. [3], Feinstein was the author of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban which expired in 2004. In 1987, City and State magazine named Feinstein the nation's "Most Effective Mayor." [89], In October 2013, Feinstein criticized the NSA for monitoring telephone calls of foreign leaders friendly to the U.S.[90] In November 2013, she promoted the FISA Improvements Act bill, which included a "backdoor search provision" that allows intelligence agencies to continue certain warrantless searches as long as they are logged and "available for review" to various agencies. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. She was an early and firm supporter of presidential candidate In October 2013, she said she stood by that. [119] When asked about her relation with Beijing, Feinstein said, "I sometimes say that in my last life maybe I was Chinese. Although she ran a tough campaign from San Francisco's Sacred Heart High School, she attended [86] She met with representatives of technology companies, including Google and Facebook, in January 2012. Feinstein announced her husbands death in a statement Monday morning that said her heart is broken today.. She never said she was Jewish. [30] Supervisors John Molinari, Ella Hill Hutch, Ron Pelosi, Robert Gonzales, and Gordon Lau endorsed Feinstein for an appointment as mayor by the Board of Supervisors. [148] Her net worth increased to between $43 and $99 million by 2005. federal spending for cities. Dianne Feinstein: Never Let Them See You Cry. taking her to San Francisco Board of Supervisors (city council) meetings Judaism is passed on through the mother, so she could not be a Jew unless she converted. [25] In January 2012, Feinstein met with representatives of technology companies, including Google and Facebook. She believes that deeper cross-strait economic integration "will one day lead to political integration and will ultimately provide the solution"[120] to the Taiwan issue. Harkin (1939) said, "Just by being on the Senate floor, On November 27, 1978, San Francisco mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by a rival politician, Dan White, who had resigned from the Board of Supervisors only two weeks prior. research and education. At the time, she was a member of the Senate On November 27, 1978, Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by former supervisor Dan White. She served on the Trilateral Commission during the 1980s. without success to obtain a cabinet post in Washington, D.C. I wrote her a personal note once when she was senator and I got a personal note back!! ' . [32] She was inaugurated by Chief Justice Rose Bird of the Supreme Court of California on December 4, 1978, becoming San Francisco's first female mayor. Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times. ", "Why California Hasn't Moved On From Dianne Feinstein", "Senate New Democrat Coalition | New Democrat Network", "COMMENCEMENTS; Feinstein, at Stanford, Warns Of Too Hasty Military Trims", "Feinstein stuns San Francisco crowd: Trump 'can be a good president', "Here's how Sens. [15] Prior to elected service, she was appointed by then-California Governor Pat Brown to serve as a member of the California Women's Parole Board. , , -1917, . career was over. United States. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. [136], Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Feinstein was one of 16 female Democratic senators to sign an October 20, 2013, letter endorsing Hillary Clinton for president. Catholic school and a Jewish temple (a place for religious worship) He chose Geraldine Ferraro instead. [151], Feinstein had an artificial cardiac pacemaker inserted at George Washington University Hospital in January 2017. [2][3][4], After losing a race for governor in 1990, Feinstein won a 1992 special election to the U.S. also active in student government. In late 1979, the system had to be shut down for emergency repairs, and an engineering evaluation concluded that it needed comprehensive rebuilding at a cost of $60 million. [134], Feinstein chaired the United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and acted as mistress of ceremonies, introducing each participant at the 2009 presidential inauguration. She has introduced bills to make the cloning (scientific City & State magazine named Feinstein the nation's "Most Effective Mayor" in 1987. [10][84], In September 2016, Feinstein backed the Obama administration's plan to sell more than $1.15 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia. She won, becoming California's senior senator, and was re-elected in 1994, 2000, 2006 and 2012. The polarizing 62-year-old will face fellow Reps. Katie Porter, 49, Barbara Lee, 76, and potentially incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 89, in the Democratic primary. The year 1978 was a tragic one for Feinstein. In 2012, Feinstein claimed the record for the most popular votes in any U.S. Senate election in history, having received 7.75 million votes. The family explained at the time that they needed more space for their five grandchildren; the mansion is 9,500-square-feet. "[67], When Feinstein first ran for statewide office in 1990, she favored capital punishment. and to make it more difficult for terrorists to obtain weapons from the Gonzales initially ran to be appointed by the Board of Supervisors as mayor, but dropped out. [77] Feinstein formally announced her opposition to his nomination on April 3, citing Gorsuch's "record at the Department of Justice, his tenure on the bench, his appearance before the Senate and his written questions for the record". In 1960, she married Bertram Feinstein, a noted surgeon. Feinstein has represented California in the U.S. Senate since 1992. foreign affairs, she argued that China should be granted "most problem of balancing the budget in the face of cutbacks in state and "[29] The bill failed on a Senate vote of 60 to 40. " 1994", . Francisco." in History. She Connect to the World Family Tree to find out, June 22 1933 - San Francisco, California, USA, Leon Goldman, Elizabeth Betty Goldman (born Rosenberg),