State Senate: Scott Wiener

state senate State Senate: Scott Wiener By San Francisco Richmond ReView on November 13, 2026 • ( Leave a comment ) It’s Time for Democrats who Deliver We’re living through a frightening time in this country. The cost of living has skyrocketed to levels that are pushing families out of San Francisco. A.I. is advancing rapidly with few safeguards in sight. People are losing faith that the government can make a difference in their lives. To tackle each of these challenges, Democrats need to deliver real results for people quickly as soon as we retake power. That’s what I’ve done for my entire 16 years in elected office, and that’s what I’ll do as your next member of Congress. I’ve passed more than 100 laws in the California Senate, many of which I was told could never be passed, ranging from housing to healthcare to A.I. regulation to paid family leave to climate action to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accountability. Those experiences have made it clear to me that the failure to tackle the biggest problems facing our country is a choice, not an inevitability. As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I led the fight to fund police academy classes, allowing us to graduate our first classes in years after the Great Recession and to begin rebuilding police staffing levels. But my focus was really on making San Francisco more affordable for families, and making our public services function well. Working with many incredible women, I authored and passed the nation’s first fully paid parental leave law. In the 10 years since it passed, the law has helped thousands of families – both mothers and fathers – afford to spend critical time bonding with their babies. I also passed a critical funding measure to support Muni, helping to bring in $70 million per year by tying Muni funding to San Francisco’s population level. This measure has allowed Muni to improve its service and earn its highest rider satisfaction ratings in history. In the California Senate, I capped co-pays for insulin at $35 per month and cracked down on price gouging in the prescription drug market. My laws have helped build thousands of below market rate affordable homes in San Francisco, accelerate transit improvements, lower the cost of rooftop solar, crack down on car break-ins, and protect BART, Muni and Caltrain from severe service cuts. Last year, I also became the first legislator in the nation to regulate A.I. to help us get ahead of the safety risks. President Donald Trump has tried to eliminate my A.I. safety law five times, and each time we’ve beaten him. Multiple other states have replicated our A.I. law. What I’ve learned from these fights is that it’s absolutely still possible to do big things today, even in our incredibly broken political system. It takes time, focus, thick skin and the ability to build unexpected coalitions. Many days it feels like you’re hitting your head against a wall. Luckily, my head is very hard, and I’ve learned that if you keep hitting it, the wall eventually breaks. That can-do attitude has been missing from our politics all too often in recent years. We’ve gotten used to the idea that change is too hard, too unthinkable. To me, San Francisco has always been a bulwark against that kind of status quo thinking. Time after time, we’ve led the country with bold new ways of doing things that quickly spread across the country: sanctuary policies, gay marriage, universal healthcare. The challenges ahead are hard, but I’m inspired by the words of a great San Franciscan: “We will go through the gate. If the gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we will pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, we will parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed for the American people.” That San Franciscan was Nancy Pelosi, rallying Democrats to pass the Affordable Care Act and expand health coverage to 20 million people. And that’s the attitude I’ll bring to my work every day as I fight for you in Congress. Scott Wiener represents San Francisco and northern San Mateo County in the California Senate. He chairs the Senate Budget Committee and is a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. He can be reached at 415-557-1300. Share this: Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Like this: Like Loading… Related Categories: state senate Tagged as: Richmond District , Richmond Review , Scott Wiener , state senate , Sunset Beacon , Sunset District