Scott Wiener: relentless, ambitious and kinda awkward

He's also the best choice to replace Nancy Pelosi

Scott Wiener is embracing the giraffe.

It makes sense.

San Francisco’s Asian voters got one look at the gangly, 6-7 Wiener, back in 2010 when he started his political career, and decided he needed a nickname. Influential Chinatown power broker Rose Pak went with “the giraffe.”

That’s a good thing.

First, Asian voters are a big and important voting block in the 11th Congressional district where Wiener is running to fill the seat left by retiring legend Nancy Pelosi. The District is basically San Francisco and some other bits and pieces. Leaning into the nickname only helps at the ballot box.

And then, let’s be honest, he is a little awkward and nerdy. It’s kind of his brand. So why not go full giraffe? After all, it worked for Giants’ first baseman Brandon Belt.

It’s just that now Wiener is in a major political race, succeeding Speaker of the House Pelosi. And it is attracting national attention. A larger audience is getting a first look at him, like when CNN did a recent drill-down on 11th District race.

And they would be excused if some of those viewers caught Wiener going deep into the weeds on some policy program in his familiar monotone drone and concluded, “This guy’s a dork.”

And depending on the definition, that may be true. But I keep thinking about something an established San Franciscan and astute political analyst said to me recently:

“Scott is a dork. But he’s our dork.”

Could not agree more. In this three-person race, with lots of egos swirling, Wiener, gay, progressive and politically relentless, is the most San Franciscan of all possible choices.

(Full disclosure. I lived in SF for years and wrote a Chronicle column “On San Francisco,” and often interacted with Wiener, I don’t live there now.)

Consider some bona fides.

There is a time-honored political step ladder to San Francisco politics. Many start the first steps, but fall off along the way.

Wiener breezed through Step One, getting elected and then re-elected to the SF Board of Supervisors. He was, and remains, a legislative machine, banging out bills on housing, transportation and LBGTQ issues.

(Also, and I have never understood this, a persistent bid to change the law to allow bars to stay open until four in the morning.)

Next step is to run for statewide office. Wiener was elected to State Senate in 2016 and re-elected in 2020 and 2024.

And now there’s this, which is the biggest swing of his career. He’s nothing if not ambitious. The retiring Pelosi is a big national name, but in San Francisco she’s legend. After all, she’s been in office there since 1987.

As Gov. Gavin Newsom told CNN: “I’m not sure what came first, Pelosi or San Francisco.”

Wiener has gone at the race with a typical mixture of relentless campaigning — I’m not the first to say he’d attend the opening of an envelope — a blizzard of bills and position papers and a bit of a tin ear.

Because although everyone knew Pelosi was going to retire, they also knew she wanted to announce it in her own time.

Wiener essentially said, “forget that,” and announced his candidacy before Pelosi said she was retiring. He also declined to step aside to make way for Pelosi’s daughter Christine, who is now running for Wiener’s seat in state senate.

Even Wiener admits relations with Pelosi have been a “little strained” at times.

But that’s part of the Scott package. He’s relentless.

When I was working at the Chronicle one of my editors got a call at home from Wiener to discuss a measure he was pushing.

“Uh, Scott,” he was told. “The Super Bowl is on.”

“OK,” he replied.

“The Forty-niners are playing in it.”

There was a pause, and then, “So the point of the bill is . . .”

But isn’t that what you want as a representative? Newsom called him “a bit of a legend” when it comes to pushing legislation.

And again, he’s on the right side of the issues, including housing, transportation and a bill to make it illegal for ICE agents to wear masks during enforcement.

Now, what’s been interesting is the scrum taking place beneath Wiener’s bid.

Last week a Chronicle poll put Wiener at 40 percent, with SF Supervisor Connie Chan and software developer and AOC-touting Saikat Chakrabarti below 20 percent.

That should be that, right? Whoever wins this primary, which is June 2, should easily romp over anyone else in the general election.

But there is persistent hand-wringing among giraffe-supporting pundits in the city.

For starters, Chakrabarti is charismatic, young and wealthy — giving his campaign some $4.8 million of his own money so far.

He’s also, by association, pushing the idea that, as former chief of staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, he could be San Francisco’s version of the AOC revolution.

But as Wiener supporters continue to point out, Chakrabarti is not exactly best buds with her.

Not only has Ocasio-Cortez pointedly declined to endorse him, his departure from her office was messy at best. Chakrabarti has called it a “planned transition,” but there are also credible reports that he resigned before AOC fired him.

Accordingly, in the city, where local politics takes local to a whole new level, a car sometimes appears at his events with a sign reading “AOC FIRED SAIKAT.”

He’s definitely going to have to overcome carpetbagging accusations. Fellow second-place candidate Chan has called him, “a tech bro that’s been helicoptered into San Francisco.”

Although he says he moved to SF in 2009, he also says he’s been back and forth. The firm date, he says is 2019. So seven years. Meh.

Chan, meanwhile, could be a spoiler. The question is, for whom.

She’s a steady, labor-friendly, working class Asian woman.

The latter is important for two reasons. First, she should do well with Asian voters, who are not to be taken lightly.

And second, it has become common knowledge that Pelosi is concerned about women leaving Washington and wants to encourage female candidates.

Pelosi insists she won’t endorse before the June 2 primary, but she’s appeared at Chan events, and has said, “she’s be a great member of congress.”

A snap judgement would be that Pelosi has still not forgiven Wiener and that pumping up Chan will dig into his support. And it may.

But by highlighting her, it reinforces the idea that she and Chakrabarti are equals, fighting it out for second place. Put together head-to-head, Chan has to be considered the “more SF” candidate.

She may pull away some of his support. And that would help Wiener.

One thing is certain. You know what you’re getting. An LA Times profile revealed that fellow Sacramento fellow pols have coined a phrase “Wiener fatigue.” It’s what happens when they are worn down after his constant barrage of bills and legislation.

As the Times said: “Even Wiener knows he can come across as irritating — “in a loving way!” he insists.”

Yep. That’s our guy.

The dork San Francisco needs.

Contact C.W. Nevius at cwnevius@gmail.com. Threads and Twitter: @cwnevius