Dianne Feinstein was a ‘political giant.’ That’s how she should be remembered

The sad circumstances of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s last months in office — her physical infirmity, obvious cognitive decline and her steadfast refusal to step down — are hard to forget right now.

So are the many predictions that her final months in office would tarnish her legacy.

But can we please set all that aside for now?

Do not let that overshadow the record of this remarkable 90-year-old woman who rose to power at a time when politics was dominated by men.

What’s more, she did so under the most tragic of circumstances. She became mayor of San Francisco in 1978, following the assassinations of incumbent Mayor George Moscone and Councilman Harvey Milk.

A number of firsts followed: Feinstein was the first woman to serve as a U.S. senator from California, the first woman to chair the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, and first woman to be top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

Newsom: ‘She was a political giant’

But her legacy goes far beyond breaking down barriers for women.

Take a look at her legislative record: She authored the 1994 assault weapons ban. Created legislation to protect California’s resources, including bills that allocated $300 million in funds to preserve Lake Tahoe. Along with the late Sen. John Mccain, she sponsored an amendment to a defense bill that banned the torture of foreign detainees in U.S. custody.

“She was a political giant, whose tenacity was matched by her grace,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a prepared statement.

“She broke down barriers and glass ceilings, but never lost her belief in the spirit of political cooperation.”

In 1994 as she faced a monied opponent in Michael Huffington for the United

States Senate, she fought particularly hard for votes and support in the Central Valley. Having firmly secured the Senate seat in this election, she never turned her back on the Valley, particularly on water. It is hard to imagine the Valley being so fortunate for 30 years again.

Dianne Feinstein’s career deserves to be celebrated and respected, but that doesn’t mean we should completely overlook the circumstances of her passing.

Her decision to remain in office and the consequences that it holds for California should serve as a lesson, both for elected officials and voters.

Age and illness are issues that must be taken into consideration, both to help ensure that our leaders are able to serve out their terms, as well as to open the door for the next generation of leaders.

Appointing Feinstein’s successor

Gov. Newsom now must do exactly what he had so hoped to avoid: appoint a successor to the woman he’s described as a “dear friend, a lifelong mentor, and a role model.”

“I don’t want to make another appointment. I don’t think the people of California want me to make another appointment,” Newsom said nearly three

Meet the Press angered Lee, the only Black woman in the race. The longtime Oakland congresswoman is struggling to gain traction, running third in most polls behind Schiff and Porter.

Feinstein was married three times. The first to Jack Berman ended in divorce. Her second husband, neurosurgeon Feinstein, died of colon cancer months before

the Moscone and Milk assassinations. She married investment banker Richard Blum in 1980. He died in 2022.

She has one daughter, Katherine Feinstein, a former San Francisco Superior Court Judge, who helped care for her in her mansion on the Lyon Steps in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood. Family infighting make headlines over the summer when Feinstein’s daughter sued

Blum’s grown children over the marital estate, claiming they were shorting funds to her mother’s care to increase their inheritance. The Blum family countered that they acted “ethically and appropriately at all times.”

Looking back, Boxer recalls when she and Feinstein were first elected to the Senate, her colleague sat her down and told her, “You’ve got to stick with this. The

longer you stay, the better you’ll feel, the more you’ll get done.”

Feinstein stuck with it on Capitol Hill for three decades, perhaps summing up why in her final acceptance speech before her re-election in 2018, years before the political implications of her frail health in her final years threatened her legacy.

In the speech, she called serving in the Senate “the greatest honor in my life.”