- Michela Alioto-Pier
-
Michela Alioto-Pier Member of the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
from District 2In office
January 8, 2004 – January 8, 2011Preceded by Gavin Newsom Succeeded by Mark Farrell Personal details Born April 29, 1968 Nationality United States Political party Democratic Spouse(s) Tom Pier Children Nicholas, Giovanna, and Valentina Residence San Francisco, California
St. Helena, CaliforniaAlma mater University of California, Los Angeles Occupation Public servant Michela Alioto-Pier (born 1968) served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She represented District 2, encompassing the Marina and Pacific Heights neighborhoods. She previously served as a member of the San Francisco Port Commission. She was appointed to the Board of Supervisors by Gavin Newsom after he was elected mayor in 2003. Newsom himself was initially appointed to this seat by former mayor Willie Brown.
Alioto-Pier is the granddaughter of former San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto, and former San Francisco Port Commissioner and former SF Supervisor Michael J. Driscoll, Sr., and the niece of Angela Alioto, former President of the SF Board of Supervisors. She is the most recent member of the Alioto family to hold an elected political office in San Francisco.
She is currently a candidate for Mayor of San Francisco.[1]
Contents
Biography
Alioto-Pier was paralyzed from the waist down in a ski-lift accident in 1981, when she was 13.
When she was 17, President Ronald Reagan appointed her to the President's National Council on Disabilities Advisory Board. She also served as a delegate to the U.S.-Japan Summit Conference on Disabilities. She later received a degree in anthropology from UCLA.
She is married to attorney Thomas Pier and with three children, she uses a self-powered wheelchair and drives a Jeep equipped with a hand brake and accelerator.
Early Political Career
After working as an aide to Vice President Al Gore, Alioto-Pier made her first run for public office at age 28 in 1996 against Republican Congressman Frank Riggs in California's 1st congressional district, which included Napa, Mendocino, and Humboldt counties, stretching along the coast up to the Oregon border. She won the Democratic nomination, but lost the general election. She is credited with mounting a strong campaign despite the loss.[2] At the time, she ran under the name Michela Alioto.
Shortly after losing that election, Alioto-Pier announced that she would try again in 1998, but withdrew from the race in deference to fellow Democrat (and eventual winner) Mike Thompson. Instead, she ran for the office of California Secretary of State and won the Democratic nomination but ultimately lost against Republican incumbent Bill Jones. She again ran for Secretary of State in 2002, but lost the Democratic nomination to fellow San Franciscan Kevin Shelley.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
In January 2004, Alioto-Pier was appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, to his old seat in District 2 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Although even numbered districts were not slated for an election until 2006, an off-year election was held for District 2 because she was an appointed supervisor. Alioto-Pier ran for the seat in the November 2004 election and won, and in 2006 she ran for reelection and easily won the seat.
As a Supervisor, Alioto-Pier is committed to the preservation of St. Brigid's Church, which was once slated for demolition. Another top priority for Alioto-Pier is earthquake preparedness, especially important for her district, hit hard by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.[3] Alioto-Pier explains:
"As the district representative for a community that was really hit in Loma Prieta, It is my responsibility to make sure if something like that happens again that we know what we're doing." [4]
As a San Francisco moderate, Alioto-Pier has been attacked by San Francisco progressives for having a poor attendance record and mediocre constituent relations.[5] One significant source of the criticism is over Alioto-Pier's attendance record while she was giving birth to her third child, which was a first for an elected official in San Francisco.[6] Alioto-Pier responded by passing a family leave policy for elected officials in San Francisco.
On July 20, 2009, San Francisco Chronicle political columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross broke the story of Alioto-Pier's announcement for state insurance commissioner.
Alioto-Pier, the granddaughter of former Mayor Joe Alioto and a protégée of former Vice President Al Gore, calls it "the most personal venture I've ever undertaken." Having been in a wheelchair since a skiing accident at age 13, she says, "I've easily had more personal experience with insurance companies than any of the other candidates."[7]
Alioto-Pier subsequently left the race for Insurance Commissioner due to a leg injury.[8]
Re-Election Challenge in 2010
On June 3, 2010, Michela Alioto-Pier submitted papers to register as a candidate for re-election to District Two of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. San Francisco Department of Elections Director John Arntz issued a letter that same day in which he announced, in accordance with a 2008 ruling regarding term limites issued by City Attorney Dennis Herrera, that she was not eligible to run for re-election for District Two supervisor. Arntz wrote, "Accordingly, the Department of Elections cannot list you as a candidate for this office on the November 2, 2010 ballot or any other election materials for that election." Alioto-Pier would have served on the Board of Supervisors for seven years when her term expired in January 2011. Supervisors are limited to serving two four year terms.
The municipal ordinance providing for term limits was a matter of debate. Some claimed the ordinance states that any person who has served more than one-and-a-half four-year terms in office (six years) shall be deemed to have effectively served for two full terms, and thus be ineligible to seek re-election.[9]
Others claimed the law is more nuanced, and that one must be appointed to serve more than two years for it to count as a full term. Alioto-Pier was appointed to serve one year, then ran for a two year term, and then ran again for a four year term. According to this view, the question is whether or not the year she served as an appointed supervisor and the truncated two years she served can be combined and rounded up to count as a four year term.[10]
Alioto-Pier challenged the ruling from the Department of Elections in Superior Court, which she won. In response, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, appealed that decision and overturned her victory, forcing her out of the 2010 election for District 2 Supervisor.
Candidate for Mayor in 2011
On February 7, 2011, Michela Alioto-Pier filed as a candidate for mayor of San Francisco.[11]
References
- ^ http://www.sfexaminer.com/blogs/under-dome/2011/02/michela-alioto-pier-enters-race-san-francisco-mayor
- ^ Gordon, Rachel and Hetter, Katia (January 20, 2004). S.F. mayor appoints an Alioto / New supervisor from longtime political family. San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ San Francisco Chronicle Editorial (October 26, 2006). "The Chronicle Recommends: Re-elect Alioto-Pier". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Noyes, Dan (September 21, 2005). "Conroy Answers Critics, Will Not Step Down". ABC 7 News.
- ^ Kirshenbaum, Daniella (November 17, 2006). "The Mystery Supervisor". Fog City Journal.
- ^ Charlie Goodyear (April 13, 2006). "Supervisor Alioto-Pier gives birth -- a first for city". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Matier, Phillip (July 20, 2009) "Alioto-Pier to run for insurance commissioner" "San Francisco Chronicle"
- ^ (January 28th, 2010). Michela Alioto-Pier drops out of state insurance commissioner race, San Francisco Examiner, retrieved on June 5th, 2010.
- ^ Gordon, Rachel (June 4, 2010) "San Francisco Chronicle", "Alioto-Pier set to fight for her S.F. supe seat]. San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Griffin, Melissa (April 15, 2010) "Not that I understand why anyone would want the job of a SF Supervisor...". The Sweet Melissa.
- ^ Sabatini, Joshua (February 7, 2011). "Michela Alioto-Pier enters race for San Francisco mayor". San Francisco Chronicle.
External links
Political offices Preceded by
Gavin NewsomMember of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
District 2
2004-2011Succeeded by
Mark FarrellCategories:- 1968 births
- Living people
- Alioto family
- Politicians with physical disabilities
- San Francisco Board of Supervisors members
- American people of Sicilian descent
- American people of Italian descent
- Women in California politics
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
