About Your Senator Scott Wiener
Senator Scott Wiener represents San Francisco and northern San Mateo County in the California State Senate. Elected in 2016, Senator Wiener has authored over 100 laws and focuses extensively on housing, transportation, civil rights, criminal justice reform, clean energy, and alleviating poverty. He chairs the Senate Elections Committee and is Co-Chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. He is a past Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus and the Senate Budget and Housing Committees. Before his election to the Senate, Senator Wiener served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing the district previously represented by Harvey Milk. He also chaired the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. Before taking public office, Senator Wiener practiced law for fifteen years, including nearly a decade as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. He also served in a number of community leadership roles, including co-chair of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center and on the national Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign. Senator Wiener has lived in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood since 1997. He received degrees from Duke University and Harvard Law School and was a Fulbright Scholar in Santiago, Chile.
Biography
First elected in 2016, Senator Scott Wiener represents District 11 in the California State Senate. District 11 includes San Francisco, Broadmoor, Colma, and Daly City, as well as portions of South San Francisco and San Bruno.
In the State Senate, Senator Wiener works day and night to make housing more abundant and affordable; strengthen and expand our public transportation systems; increase access to health care, including mental health and addiction treatment; ensure families have access to food, child care, paid family leave, and other critical supports; fight climate change and keep California in the lead on climate action; reform our broken criminal justice system; and safeguard and expand the rights of all communities, including immigrants and LGBTQ people.
Senator Wiener has authored over 100 bills that have been signed into law (see Legislation tab for a full list). He has been recognized by respected community organizations for his work (see the Awards tab for a full list).
Senator Wiener serves as Chair of the Senate Elections Committee. He previously served as Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, the Senate Housing Committee, and the Senate Human Services Committee. He serves as Co-Chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus and Chair of the Senate Mental Health Caucus. He previously served as Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. Senator Wiener is a member of the Public Safety Committee, Judiciary Committee, Transportation Committee, and Privacy Committee. He also serves on the Governor's Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education.
Before his election to the Senate, Senator Wiener served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing the district previously represented by Supervisor Harvey Milk. During his time on the Board of Supervisors, Senator Wiener authored a number of first-in-the-nation laws, including mandating fully paid parental leave for all working parents and requiring water recycling and solar power in new developments. He focused extensively on housing and public transportation, authoring laws to expedite approval of affordable housing, legalize new in-law units, and tie public transportation funding to population growth.
Before his election to the Board of Supervisors, Senator Wiener spent fifteen years practicing law: as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, in private practice at Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, and as a law clerk for Justice Alan Handler on the New Jersey Supreme Court. Senator Wiener co-chaired the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, BALIF (the Bay Area’s LGBTQ bar association), and the San Francisco LGBTQ Community Center, and served on the national board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization.
Senator Wiener grew up in New Jersey, the son of a small business owner and a teacher, and flipped burgers at Burger King while attending public school. He received a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a law degree from Harvard Law School. He spent a year in Chile on a Fulbright Scholarship doing historical research. He has lived in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood since 1997.
State senators write and vote on state laws and the state budget, and in most states they also confirm the Governor's appointments. In most states the senate is the smaller of the legislature's two chambers, with larger districts and longer terms than the house.