SACRAMENTO — State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who has emerged as one among California’s most vocal critics of President Trump, will run subsequent 12 months for the congressional seat held by former Home Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
A proper announcement from Wiener is predicted subsequent week, the San Francisco Commonplace reported.
Erik Mebust, a spokesperson for Wiener, declined to remark.
Wiener, 55, has already declared his intention to finally run for the seat held by Pelosi and has raised $1 million by means of an exploratory committee. However he beforehand indicated that he would wait till Pelosi, who was first elected in 1987, stepped down.
That calculus modified, in line with the Commonplace, when Saikat Chakrabarti, a progressive candidate, entered the race for Pelosi’s seat.
Pelosi, 85, hasn’t indicated whether or not will she run once more. If she does search one other time period, her age may very well be an element at a time when youthful Democrats are wanting to see a brand new wave of leaders.
Pelosi was amongst a number of high politicians who persuaded then-President Joe Biden to forgo a second time period after widespread considerations about his age.
Wiener, elected to the state Senate in 2016, is best-known for his work pushing native governments so as to add extra housing density.
He’s a member of the California LGBTQ+ Caucus and has been a number one advocate for LGTBQ+ rights. If elected, Wiener could be the primary overtly homosexual individual to symbolize San Francisco in Congress.
Earlier than his election to the state Legislature, Wiener served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and labored as a deputy metropolis legal professional within the San Francisco Metropolis Legal professional’s Workplace.
Gov. Gavin Newsom final week signed Wiener’s Senate Invoice 79, one probably the most bold state-imposed housing efforts in current reminiscence. The invoice upzones areas throughout California, overriding native zoning legal guidelines to permit taller, denser initiatives close to public transit.
The invoice was fiercely opposed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and different L.A. leaders who need to retain energy over housing choices.
He additionally has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration, sparring on social media with the president’s supporters. One other one among his current payments, to ban on-duty legislation enforcement officers from masking their faces throughout immigration raids, additionally was signed into legislation by Newsom.
