Sen. Dianne Feinstein to be remembered at funeral

SAN FRANCISCO — Mourners have gathered in San Francisco to remember Dianne Feinstein, the groundbreaking U.S. senator from California who died last week at the age of 90.

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Hundreds of people paid their respects to Feinstein on Wednesday at City Hall, where the senator was lying in state ahead of a funeral scheduled for Thursday afternoon, KQED reported.

“I would like my daughters to know that she was a trailblazer and that when you have tenacity, big dreams and willingness, you can accomplish all,” Erica Moreno, a Sacramento resident who brought her three daughters to San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday, told KQED. “She was an excellent role model.”

The memorial for Feinstein, which is set to start at 1 p.m. local time Thursday, was initially expected to be open to the public. However, plans changed due to “a larger than expected security perimeter,” officials with Feinstein’s office said.

Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are among those scheduled to speak at the event, KGO-TV reported. President Joe Biden will also address those gathered in a recorded message, according to the news station.

Feinstein, who was elected to the Senate in 1992 and became the longest-serving woman in the chamber, died at her home in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28. As the first woman elected to the Senate from California, she was heralded as a trailblazer who paved the way for women in politics and sought common ground with her Republican colleagues.

Before her time in the Senate, Feinstein became the first woman to serve as San Francisco’s mayor following the 1978 assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.

“While this was her last time in City Hall, her legacy and contributions to the people of San Francisco are forever imprinted on our City,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement shared on social media.

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Through the years High school student Dianne Goldman wearing a cowboy hat with San Francisco mayor Elmer Robinson, San Francisco, California, March 24, 1950. She is a member of the St Francis Riding Academy drill team. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images) (Underwood Archives/Getty Images)