SAN FRANCISCO — For the first time in nearly 40 years, San Francisco is sending someone new to Congress.
State Sen. Scott Wiener will succeed Nancy Pelosi in the House after Supervisor Connie Chan conceded Wednesday evening. Chan called Wiener, congratulated him and said in a statement that “we do not have a clear path to victory.”
Wiener, 56, will be the first openly gay person to represent San Francisco in Congress. That’s a long time coming in the city that elected Harvey Milk.
“Tonight San Francisco voted for results,” Wiener told supporters at his election night party Tuesday, before the count was settled. He called Pelosi “the greatest speaker in modern American history.”
Pelosi picked the other side
Pelosi, the House speaker emerita, is retiring after nearly four decades. She endorsed Chan in May, ahead of the June primary, and passed over Wiener. The race split the city’s Democrats, and the result is a rare loss for Pelosi at home.
Wiener had the backing of the state and local Democratic parties, state leaders and more than half the Board of Supervisors. Chan, a former budget chair who immigrated from Hong Kong, ran with labor and the city’s progressives behind her.
In conceding, Chan said she was “deeply grateful” to Pelosi and urged her supporters to keep organizing for families, immigrants and workers. Pelosi praised Chan’s “courage, conviction and a deep love for San Francisco” and offered her office’s help with the handoff.
Mayor Daniel Lurie said he looks forward to working with Wiener.
What he brings
Wiener has written more than 100 state laws. Housing built near transit. Bars open until 4 a.m. Caps on prescription drug costs. Limits on federal immigration agents in California. Rules for artificial intelligence. His pitch to voters was simple: San Francisco “should send someone who actually has a track record.”
He says his priorities in Washington are housing, universal health care, public transit, clean energy, immigrant protections and holding the president accountable.
“It’s time to deliver a better tomorrow for our city and our country,” he said.
He’ll be sworn in with the new Congress in January.
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