San Francisco power broker Clint Reilly dies at 79

Clint Reilly, the San Francisco strategist who helped steer campaigns for Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, died at 79, closing a career that mixed hard-edged political work with media ownership and downtown real estate. He also ran for mayor of San Francisco in 1999 and bought The San Francisco Examiner, putting him at the center of the city’s Democratic power structure for decades.

Reilly’s political signature came in the kind of bruising local fight that defined California Democratic politics in the 1980s. He helped engineer then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein’s crushing defeat of a 1983 recall attempt, a victory that strengthened Feinstein’s grip on San Francisco and showed how closely consultants, elected officials and donors could be bound together. His work for Pelosi, Boxer and Feinstein also helped turn political consulting into a year-round enterprise, not just a seasonal campaign trade.

Beyond politics, Reilly built a substantial business presence in San Francisco and the Bay Area. His holdings were valued at about $400 million, and his portfolio made him a downtown property owner, publisher and philanthropist as well as a strategist. He had once considered becoming a Catholic priest, a sharp turn from the path that eventually made him one of the city’s most visible behind-the-scenes operators.

His death drew immediate tributes from the top of California politics. Pelosi said on July 20 that she and Paul were “deeply saddened” by the passing of their “dear friend,” and praised his “remarkable talents,” “boundless energy” and “extraordinary generosity.” Gov. Gavin Newsom called Reilly a man with a “brilliant mind and a generous heart” and said he saw the value in investing in San Francisco’s history and future. For a political era built on personality, loyalty and public feuds, Reilly remained one of its most durable fixtures.