Remembering the Legacy of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein

The death of California’s U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein is a time for reflection and remembrance, for what she accomplished and for the formidable barriers she successfully catapulted over during her over 63 years of local, state and national public service.

I was honored to talk with her several times, originally at national and state conferences and during my own congressional internship with the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C. I’ve proudly displayed her picture and autograph in my Albany office, often asking myself in a tough situation how would the senator handle the matter?

Senator Feinstein was an enduring inspiration to women early in her career and then again as she won statewide, election after election. While in the California seat, she earned and achieved increasingly larger victories among both women and men. Her broad and deep electoral appeal contributed to her consistent effectiveness in getting legislation passed.

There were many firsts in her illustrious career. Here are a few examples: Senator Feinstein was the first female mayor of San Francisco, and the first female senator of California right after the November 1992 election, by two months. Concomitantly, Barbara Boxer was sworn in during January 1993 and California had two women senators for the first time.

When Vice President Walter Mondale ran for president, she became the first woman to be considered for nomination by the national Democratic Party for vice president — a designation that later was given by Mondale to Congressmember Geraldine Ferraro of Queens. Many years later, Feinstein was honored to be the first woman in American history to preside at presidential inaugural ceremonies, a designation made by President Barack Obama.

The eradication of long-standing barriers to women, in place since the founding of the republic and that Senator Feinstein valiantly overcame, are taken for granted today in some quarters. As the first female assemblymember to represent the Upper East Side, Yorkville and Roosevelt Island, I know firsthand that the struggle for equality is ongoing. We must continue to advocate to obtain further substantive progress as well as vigilantly protect gains from those who would turn the clock back on social justice. Senator Feinstein is well-known for many advances and causes, including battling for gun control legislation, civil and abortion rights, and higher fuel efficiency standards for cars.

While she was always strong on national security matters, she firmly condemned Central Intelligence Agency torture tactics and fought to ban such abuses. Some of her positions thankfully changed during her more than three decades in the Senate, including on gay marriage. And while she vigorously opposed the nomination of Brett Kavanagh by Donald Trump to the U.S. Supreme Court, he was confirmed by a vote of 50-48. We are still living with the negative impact of that terrible appointment.

None of this, however, diminishes in any way her historic breakthroughs, commitment to needed reforms, and the enduring legacy a woman of such unquestionable stature represents. Even when she ran for governor and lost early in her career, she picked herself up from the canvas and won for the Senate in a special election. As the longest serving female senator in U.S. history, she demonstrated the power of combining persistence, vigor and talent, in the best interests of her state and our nation.

We remember her as an indefatigable fighter, as the successful sponsor of the last assault weapons ban that became law and then expired. Yes, we still all have more work to do, to build on her legacy, and to learn from Senator Feinstein that giving up is never an option. May she rest in power and peace and know that, with deep gratitude, she remains in our hearts, in our history books and in our thoughts and prayers.

Senator Dianne Feinstein’s enduring impact and commitment to the positive transformation of the quality of life for women everywhere will be felt for generations to come.