Photographs documented US Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s groundbreaking career in politics
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s groundbreaking career in politics was documented in photos from the moment she was sworn in as San Francisco mayor in the aftermath of tragedy to her long-awaited return to the U.S. Senate after illness earlier this year.
The pictures start in black and white, showing a young Feinstein as she leads an estimated 15,000 marchers in memory of slain Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. She became the city’s first female mayor after their assassination in 1978 and held the office for nearly a decade.
FILE - San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein carries a candle as she leads an estimated 15,000 marchers also carrying candles during a march in memory of slain Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in San Francisco, Nov. 28, 1979. In the background is a sign that says “Gay Love is Gay Power.” (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
FILE - Acting Mayor Dianne Feinstein, with police Chief Charles Gain, at left, addresses the more than 25,000 people jammed around San Francisco’s City Hall, Nov. 28, 1978, as residents staged a spontaneous memorial service for slain officials Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. Man at right is not identified. (AP Photo/File)
As mayor, she helped secure millions of dollars from the federal government to refurbish the city’s iconic cable cars and took a celebratory ride with Tony Bennett, who famously crooned of leaving his heart in San Francisco.
The photos turn into color as Feinstein broke more barriers. She won a U.S. Senate race in 1992 to become one of California’s first two female senators. She was the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to serve as the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat.
She was the longest-tenured female senator in U.S. history and oldest sitting senator when she died Thursday at age 90 at her Washington, D.C., home.
Along the way, a playful Feinstein flexed a bicep in support of California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $9 billion water bond for the state and linked arms with GOP President George W. Bush as they toured wildfire damage in San Diego. The centrist Democrat valued working with Republicans across the aisle.
One of her most significant legislative accomplishments came at the start of her career when the Senate approved her amendment to ban the manufacturing and sale of certain types of semi-automatic guns. The legislation expired a decade later, in 2014, and was never revived despite efforts by gun control advocates.
During debate on the ban, Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig suggested Feinstein study up on the issue of guns. ″Senator, I know something about what firearms can do,” she replied.
Feinstein’s lengthy career was marred by illness and frustration among fellow Democrats over her health. She returned to Capitol Hill in May after more than two months out while recovering from the shingles virus.
Tributes poured in Friday for Feinstein.
FILE - San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, named mayor following the assassination of Mayor George Moscone in San Francisco, Dec. 12, 1979, won the office in her own right, beating challenger Quentin Kopp by a large majority. With her on the victory platform are, from left, Moscone’s widow, Gina Moscone, Assemblyman Willie Brown and Feinstein’s fiancé, Richard Blum. (AP Photo/Sal Veder, File)
FILE - San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein laughs and throws up her arms after cutting the ceremonial red ribbon officially opening People’s Republic of China trade fair in San Francisco, Sept. 13, 1980. With her, from left, are Chai Zemin, Chinese ambassador to the United States; John Molinari, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and Chinese Vice Premier Bo Yibo. Others are unidentified. (AP Photo/Sal Veder, File)
FILE - San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein and singer Tony Bennett, who sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” hangs on to the outside of a cable car in San Francisco before taking a test ride, Wednesday, May 2, 1984. (AP Photo/Jeff Reinking, File)
FILE - Dianne Feinstein, front left, California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, center, and The Rev. Cecil Williams of the Glide Memorial Church of San Francisco, hold hands during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. march in downtown San Francisco, Jan. 20, 1986. About 60,000 people attended the rally, which ended at the San Francisco Civic Center. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
FILE - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dianne Feinstein waves to supporters at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, June 6, 1990, after winning her party’s nomination for governor in the California June primary election against John Van de Kamp. At left is her husband, Richard Blum. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
FILE - U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., examines a magazine from an AK-47 during a Capitol Hill news conference, March 31, 1998. (AP Photo/Khue Bui, File)
FILE - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., ends the night session of the 2000 Democratic National Convention in the Staples Center, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2000, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)
FILE - U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., second from left, talks with Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger, right, and Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., left, while getting an aerial tour of the levees along the Sacramento River in a California National Guard Helicopter, near Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2006. Feinstein and Pombo joined with Schwarzenegger, who has announced that he will spend $2.5 billion over the next 10 years to strengthen levees and improve the flood management system, in calling on the federal government to provide federal funds to help cover the costs. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool, File)
FILE - With the help of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein flexes her bicep to show the muscle she will use to help Schwarzenegger come up with a water plan during a news conference at the Capitol, in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008. Feinstein met with Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders to help restart talks in an effort to come with comprehensive water plan for California. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
FILE - From far left, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; President Donald Trump and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., look across the table in the Cabinet Room of the White House, in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, during a meeting with members of congress to discuss school and community safety. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
FILE - U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., speaks to reporters just outside Camp X-Ray, where al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners are being held, at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2002. Feinstein and Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, at right, joined Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on a tour of the camp. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool, File)
FILE - U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., gestures during the confirmation hearing of the Supreme Court nominee, Judge Samuel Alito, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE - U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is seen in an elevator on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 17, 2013, after speaking on the Senate floor about gun legislation. A bipartisan effort to expand background checks was in deep trouble as the Senate approached a long-awaited vote on the linchpin of the drive to curb gun violence. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., touches the flag-draped casket of former Sen. Bob Dole, of Kansas, as he lies in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. (Ken Cedeno/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., accompanied by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, May 10, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
FILE - U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is flanked by aides as she returns to the Senate Judiciary Committee following a more than two-month absence as she was being treated for a case of shingles, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, May 11, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)