Nancy Pelosi retirement shows her political savvy to the end
When Nancy Pelosi first ran for Congress, she was one of 14 candidates, the frontrunner, and a target.
At the time, Pelosi was little known to San Francisco voters. But he was already a fixture in national politics. He was a major Democratic fundraiser who helped draw the party to his adopted home state for its 1984 national convention. He served as chairman of the California Democratic Party and hosted a salon that was a must-stop for any politician passing by.
She was the chosen successor to Rep. Sala Burton, who briefly took over the House seat her late husband Philip had held for decades and performed a personal blessing ceremony on his deathbed.
But at 49 years old, Pelosi had never held public office; Besides all this political upheaval, she was busy raising five children, and opponents downplayed her role as a stewardess. They dubbed her “The party girl for the party’s sake,” a taunt echoed on billboards across the city.
Apparently he showed it to them.
Pelosi not only made history, she became the nation’s first female speaker of the House of Representatives. He became the backbone and nerves of the party, holding together many warring factions of Democrats and standing firm when the more timid were ready to back down.
The Affordable Care Act — President Obama’s signature achievement — would never have been enacted if Pelosi had not insisted that many, including those in the White House, wanted to capitulate.
He twice played a key role in helping rescue the country from economic collapse, first in 2009 in the midst of the Great Recession and then in 2020 during the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, rallying stubborn Democrats to ensure House passage.
“He will go down in history as one of the most important speakers,” said James Thurber, a convention expert at the American University of Washington. “He knew the rules, he knew the process, he knew the personalities of the key players and he knew how to work the system.”
It was no surprise when Pelosi announced Thursday that she would not seek reelection at the age of 85, after 38 years in Congress. She saw firsthand the devastation suffered by her friend and former neighbor, Dianne Feinstein. (Pelosi’s oldest daughter, Nancy, was the late senator’s last caretaker.)
He had no intention of repeating that last and regrettable act.
Pelosi, first elected in 1987, once said she never expected to serve more than 10 years in Congress. He recalled a member of the Geriatrics Council hobbling with a cane and telling a colleague: “That will never be me. I won’t be around that long.”
(She’s never used a cane, but gave up her signature stiletto heels for a while after a fall and hip replacement surgery last December.)
Pelosi had planned to retire earlier, anticipating that Hillary Clinton would be elected president in 2016 and seeing that as a logical and appropriate end point to her groundbreaking political career. “I have things to do. I have books to write, places to go, above all, grandchildren to love,” he said in a 2018 interview.
But she was determined to thwart President Trump in his first term, and she stayed and emerged as one of his arch-enemies. After Joe Biden was elected, Pelosi finally handed over the speaker’s gavel in November 2022.
But behind the scenes he still remained an important figure who wielded enormous power. Among other quiet maneuvers, he was instrumental in helping reassure Biden after his disastrous debate performance sent Democrats into a panic. He was a personal friend and a guest of her political hall long ago, but Pelosi predicted a rebate disaster if Biden remained the party’s nominee. So, in his estimation, he had to go.
It was this kind of ruthlessness that gave Pelosi great pride; She prided herself on her reptilian composure, and although she actually shared her hometown’s liberal leanings, Pelosi was no ideologue. That, along with the personal touch he brought to his leadership, is what made him an excellent dealmaker and legislative tactician.
“He had a will of steel, but he also had grace and warmth,” Thurber said, “and that’s not always the case with speakers.”
Far from making history, Pelosi left a lasting mark on San Francisco, where she moved from Baltimore as a young mother with her husband, Paul, a financier and real estate investor. He brought home billions of dollars for earthquake safety, repurposed old military facilities (the former Presidio Army base is a gorgeous park), funded AIDS research and treatment, expanded public transportation, and supported countless other programs.
His work on AIDS financing in the 1980s and 1990s was crucial in helping to bring debates about the disease from the shadows – where it was seen as an epidemic affecting mostly gay men and drug users – into a pressing national issue.
In the process, it has become a San Francisco institution, as revered as the Golden Gate Bridge and as beloved as the city’s sourdough bread.
“He’s an icon,” said Aaron Peskin, former San Francisco County supervisor and 2024 mayoral candidate. “He walks into a room, people stand up left, right and center, old, young, white, Black, Chinese. He’s one of the best speakers we’ve ever had, and this town understands that.”
Pelosi grew up in a political family in Baltimore. His father, Tommy D’Alesandro, was a Democratic New Deal congressman who served three terms as mayor. “Little Nancy” distributed ballots by stuffing envelopes, as her own children did, and frequently traveled with her father to campaign events. (D’Alesandro served three terms as mayor; Pelosi’s brother, Tommy III, served one term.)
David Axelrod, who saw Pelosi up close when he served as top aide in the Obama White House, said he once asked her what she had learned growing up in such a political household. “He didn’t skip a beat,” Axelrod said. “’I learned to count,’ he said.”
That means when to vote on a key legislative vote and when to cut their losses in the face of inevitable defeat.
Pelosi remains so popular in San Francisco that she could achieve another reelection victory in 2026, even though she faces her first serious challenge since her first run for Congress. But the campaign would be brutal and potentially quite ugly.
More than anyone, Pelosi knows how to read a political situation with impartiality, detachment, and cool calculation.
He knew it was time.
