San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

Ernestine Waters Weiss

January 12, 1924 - September 11, 2020

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Ernestine Waters Weiss, a San Francisco gadfly and feather-ruffling presence in its civic and political landscape, died Friday still very much in love with the city she championed and challenged for almost four decades. She was “96 and then some,” as she put it.

Ernestine was an inveterate fighter to the end, intensely proud of her grass roots crusades to improve the quality of life in her adopted city. While she never used a computer or engaged with social media, Ernestine was a highly sophistica­ted, media-savvy player, organizer and activist, a combinatio­n that made her unusually effective in supporting the issues dear to her heart: curbing redevelopm­ent, protecting open spaces, fighting for affordable housing and public transporta­tion, and advocating for the powerless—the elderly, the homeless and marginaliz­ed communitie­s. No cause was too big—or too small—for her to take on, believing as she did that “No matter what anyone tells you, one person at the grass roots can make all the difference.”

Mostly, she was a positive check on city government, making sure that elected leaders did the right thing— and San Francisco is a better place for it.

Brooklyn-bred Ernestine was, by turns, charming, refreshing, and a persistent terror to her adversarie­s. When it wasn’t fashionabl­e to take on causes, she never shied away from controvers­y—and she usually got results. After the Loma Prieta Earthquake destroyed the blight of the Embarcader­o Freeway, for example, Ernestine seized the opportunit­y to create Ferry Park, now known as Sue Bierman Park.

As she told Luke Thomas of Fog City Journal in a 2009 story, “Oh no, this is for the people. Nobody’s going to get this park if I have my way.” Today, there is a plaque at the Drumm and Clay Street entrance to the park honoring Ernestine for her “tireless efforts” to secure this green space for the city.

Tenacious as a pit bull, when necessary, Ernestine sank her teeth into a cause and never let go. Although she claimed that dialogue was a preferred tool for change, she interprete­d that term broadly, employing direct confrontat­ion if more mannerly engagement didn’t prevail. As such, she was a regular at City Hall, holding forth on all manner of local issues—including stopping what she called “hotelizati­on” to ensure affordable housing for middleand low-income workers and city personnel. Mayors, commission­ers and supervisor­s sometimes welcomed her input—and more often than not, suffered from her presence as she persistent­ly argued for them to take action.

When moved to action, she would find her way to a lecturn before a city commission, often unaided, catapulted by her own determinat­ion. Following Aaron Peskin’s unopposed re-election as President of the Board of Supervisor­s in 2007, Ernestine summoned herself up in the packed chamber and, hinting at the discord that often dominated the relationsj­ip between the mayor and the board during the preceding year, asked the board to “please kiss and make up, all of you, with the mayor.” Newsom and Peskin rose to the occasion by shaking hands in a perfect photo op make up gesture.

Ernestine grew up in the

Williamsbu­rg and Clinton Hill districts of Brooklyn. She graduated from the prestigiou­s Girls High School and then worked as an administra­tive assistant and eventually as secretary to David Tishman. She joined the local Democratic Party, married, had a son, and divorced to go it alone after 18 months.

Ernestine is survived by her son David Stephen Zalob, granchildr­en Sasha Desmarais Zalob and Simon Desmarais Zalob and great grandchild­ren Maya Zalob and Avital “Tali” Zalob. She was predecease­d by her second husband Bernard David Weiss. A memorial service will be held at Congregati­on Sherith Israel in San Francisco as and when public health directives permit. Memorial donations may be made to the San Francisco Parks Alliance and/or the Golden Gate National Park Conservanc­y.

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