Michela Alioto-Pier comes from a long line of San Francisco politicians, including her grandfather, Joseph Alioto, who was mayor from 1968 to 1976. Her aunt, Angela Alioto, served as a supervisor two decades later, before embarking on a failed run for mayor in the mid-1990s.
Alioto-Pier was appointed to finish Gavin Newsom’s term as District 2 supervisor after he became mayor in 2004, cementing her place on the board as an unwavering Newsom ally and a moderate voice during a period when the city’s left-leaning progressives held a majority. She subsequently won re-election that November and again in 2006, but a state appeals court in August 2010 barred her from running again because of term limits. City Attorney Dennis Herrera, also a candidate for mayor, had appealed a lower court decision allowing her to seek another term.
As supervisor representing San Francisco’s Marina and Pacific Heights neighborhoods, Alioto-Pier introduced legislation to ban sitting and lying down on city sidewalks. After the Board of Supervisors rejected the plan, Alioto-Pier worked with Newsom to bring it to the voters, who approved the measure known as sit/lie in November 2010.
In 2006, Alioto-Pier became the first elected San Francisco official to give birth while holding office. The experience prompted her to propose a family leave policy for elected officials that was eventually adopted.
Alioto-Pier got her start in politics at 17 when President Ronald Reagan appointed her to the National Council on Disabilities Advisory Board. She has been paralyzed from the waist down since she was 13, due to a ski-lift accident.
She worked as a policy aide for Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton administration. In 1996, at age 28, she won the Democratic nomination for California's First Congressional District. Two years later, she won the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State. She lost both races, but was credited with mounting strong campaigns.
Before announcing her mayoral campaign, Alioto-Pier attempted to run for state insurance commissioner, but bowed out of that race due to a leg injury. She kicked off her run for mayor on March 3 at Alioto’s, her family’s restaurant in Fisherman’s Wharf.
Alioto-pier lives with her husband and three children in Cow Hollow.
Michela Alioto-Pier: The Essentials
| Name: | Michela Alioto-Pier |
| Age: | 43 |
| Occupation: | Mother and Owner of Alioto-Pier Vineyards |
| Home Town: | San Francisco |
| Party: | Democrat |
| Contributions: |
$745,894.00 as of most recent filing deadline |
| Website: | http://michelaformayor.com/ |
| Facebook: | http://facebook.com/MichelaAliotoPier/ |
| Twitter: | http://twitter.com/MichelaForMayor/ |
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14 Parties, 3 Reporters, 1 New Mayor: SF 2011 Election Crawl
