Aaron Peskin reflects on long political career in San Francisco
San Francisco will seat a new mayor and a new member to the Board of Supervisors this week, and among the departures is one of the longest-serving politicians in city history.
Aaron Peskin may have lost the mayor's race, but he has now spent more time in city hall than perhaps just two other people. But Peskin said he's not walking away from city politics, at least not entirely.
"Here is my last gavel that they bestowed upon me," Aaron Peskin said, showing off a parting honor from city hall.
Peskin's personal office in North Beach is looking more like a museum, now stacked with artifacts from a one-of-its-kind political career.
"My certificate of honor from the city attorney when I left office last time," he said, pointing to one of several plaques on the wall.
That first time around started back in 2000. He served for eight years and took a seven-year break. And since city's term limits don't allow for more than two consecutive terms, he came back in 2015, fighting allegations that he was a bully and abusive.
"I mean, I have changed over time," Peskin said of his tenure. "I've gotten older, wiser, more mature. I stopped drinking somewhere along the way, that was a big help."
And after 17 years of representing District 3, he's not only one of the longest-serving politicians in city history, his name has also become synonymous with North Beach, where everyone seems to know him.
"Even before we thought up the chain store ban, this was a neighborhood that was into its own self-determination," he said of North Beach. "That resisted gentrification, that stuck up for tenants."
And those are the values he said should guide the city in the face of what he calls the unwarranted influence of billionaires. And despite the current challenges, he is optimistic.
"San Francisco is an incredibly resilient city. It has boomed and busted many times," he said of the city. "Since before the great earthquake and fire. After the earthquake and fire."
And while he currently has no plans to run for office, he said he's not going away, just looking for new ways to be involved.
"And I have become really quite grateful and thankful," he said. "Not only for my own personal story but for so many people that care so deeply about an incredible city and who value the magic that San Francisco still has to offer."
The supervisor supported two successful reform measures in November. One creates a task force to streamline the city's many commissions; the other is an inspector general to investigate corruption.
Peskin said he hopes to play a role in both of those.
So, who has served longer than Aaron Peskin? At 18 years, Dianne Feinstein is one. But she, of course, also served as mayor. The other is a supervisor named Dewey Mead, who served from 1936 to 1954 before the introduction of term limits.
