Phil Matier: Will Dianne Feinstein Back SF's Mayor Lee In His Re-Election Bid?
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee may not be able to count Senator Dianne Feinstein among his backers for his re-election campaign.
I had a chance to sit down with Sen. Feinstein and she said she had some concerns about the direction of the city she once served as mayor herself. While on one hand, Lee's jobs policy has stimulated the economy by bringing tech companies like Twitter in by offering tax breaks. But Feinstein, who wrote an editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle, said it could only go so far.
She warned of the recently-passed Airbnb legislation and how she thinks it will negatively affect the city's zoning laws by allowing short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods.
Feinstein has been in Washington for a long time, but her San Francisco roots are deep. Again, she was once the mayor, but before that she served as a city supervisor. A lot of people are asking why she's getting involved locally. Well, she never really left San Francisco. She comes back here and when she does, she becomes involved. She meets with people, she talks, and she even walks and drives these streets. She's everywhere and she really never stopped being mayor in her mind. You can ask that of Willie Brown, Frank Jordan, Art Agnos and even Ed Lee. Whether it's the 49ers moving out to Santa Clara or Airbnb moving in, she's not shy about picking up the phone and telling you what she thinks you're doing right or wrong.
Now we have Mayor Lee going for a second term. He was recruited by Willie Brown and others to run the first time. He's been a bureaucrat all his life; he doesn't really have an up and running political operation. The latest development in that race is that State Sen. Mark Leno is talking about running for Mayor of SF.
Meanwhile, Ed Lee confirmed a few days ago that he is in fact going to run for re-election. In the game of political poker, the question remains: Who will get the Feinstein endorsement? She's done it in the past, and she is a force, but her candidates haven't always won.