Michela Alioto-Pier
Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 2
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 8, 2004
Preceded by	Gavin Newsom
Born	April 29, 1968 (1968-04-29) (age 41)
Nationality	United States
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Tom Pier
Children	Nicholas, Giovanna, and Valentina
Residence	San Francisco, California St. Helena, California
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Public servant
Website	Supervisor Alioto-Pier

Michela Alioto-Pier (born 1968) is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She represents 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 currently the only member of the Alioto family who holds an elected political office in San Francisco.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Political Career 3 References 4 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 includes Napa, Mendocino, and Humboldt counties, stretching along the coast up to the Oregon border. Moving to the district shortly before the filing deadline, Alioto-Pier's unfamiliarity with the district proved to be a liability for her campaign, as she mispronounced the names of towns in the district in a candidate's debate. 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 unsuccessfully ran for the office of California Secretary of State against incumbent Bill Jones. She again ran for Secretary of State in 2002, but lost the Democratic nomination to fellow San Franciscan Kevin Shelley.

After being appointed in early 2004 by Mayor Gavin Newsom to his old seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Alioto-Pier was elected in her own right that November.

Alioto-Pier has an apartment in the district she represents; Pacific Heights in San Francisco, but also keeps a residence in St. Helena, CA. She has been criticized in the press for having a poor attendance record at the Board of Supervisors, as well as mediocre constituent relations.^[1]

Alioto-Pier remains 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.^[2] 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." .^[3]

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."^[4]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official San Francisco City Government profile page
• $1 Million Wheelchair Ramp "to end discrimination"

Political offices
Preceded by Gavin Newsom	Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 2 January 8, 2004–present	Incumbent

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