San Francisco Democrats Are Pushing for Mandatory Retirement Ages for Politicians

Updated 10:45 a.m. Thursday

San Francisco’s Democratic Party is one step closer to considering a mandatory retirement age for some elected officials.

The party’s central committee voted Wednesday night to adopt a resolution by member Eric Kingsbury, who said local and state Democrats should consider an age cap for representatives after major losses the party faced in recent years. He pointed to former President Joe Biden and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg holding on to their seats after showing signs of mental and physical decline.

“We have seen our fundamental rights and our democracy put at risk … because we’ve had situations where there have been octogenarians in key roles who were unfortunately not able to perform any longer,” Kingsbury told KQED.

The proposal is non-binding and encourages local and state Democrats to explore an age limit for government representatives, but not at the federal level. It does not suggest a specific age for the retirement requirement.

Kingsbury said the idea is not directed at Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who is 85. Pelosi is an ex officio member of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee; her representative at the meeting voted against the proposal.

“If every politician at 85 were as capable and sharp and had the sort of fierce urgency that she does and is still so tapped into, then we wouldn’t have to have this conversation at all,” Kingsbury said. “Nancy Pelosi is not somebody that we should be having this conversation about.”

While uncommon for elected officials, mandatory retirement ages exist in other public professions, including airline pilots, state judges and public safety officers in some jurisdictions. “More than 30 U.S. states have implemented age limits for judges to balance institutional knowledge with public accountability,” the resolution reads.

At Wednesday’s meeting, several party members including Supervisor Connie Chan balked at the idea, calling it ageist and offensive.

“Age is not a problem. The problem is the quality of the candidate and their understanding of state, local and federal government,” said Chan, pointing to the election last week of Barbara Lee, 78, as mayor of Oakland. “Frankly it’s ageism and discrimination against people that have experience.”

Before the vote, several residents also voiced opposition to the resolution during public comment.

South of Market resident Cole Bettles, who said he previously worked as an intern for Pelosi, criticized the proposal’s avoidance of federal representatives like her.

“I’m a huge fan of Pelosi, I worked for her … but this is a complete joke if this does not include Pelosi,” said Bettles, calling the speaker emerita’s omission “unhinged, serious butt kissing.”

Next, supporters plan to bring the idea to the state Democratic Party convention in May as part of a broader package of resolutions from the local party, which is now controlled by moderate Democrats after progressives lost several seats last year. Other resolutions focus on combating public corruption, increasing public safety staffing, building more housing in California and increased support for public education.

Chan said she plans to fight against the proposal at the state level as well.

Democrats have struggled to coalesce around a united strategy against Republicans and President Donald Trump. Locally, two prominent groups — the Rose Pak Asian American Club and the Latinx Democratic Club — recently opted not to recharter with the local Democratic Party, citing disagreements over local party direction and leadership.

Although San Francisco is still overwhelmingly blue, the city had more voters choose Trump in the most recent presidential election than in prior years.

“The most important lesson for Democrats is that we have gotten too far away from the kitchen table concerns of working people, working families and individuals, young people and immigrants,” said Nancy Tung, who chairs San Francisco’s Democratic Party. “We really need to refocus not just our message but our actions around things that are tangible and things that make a difference in people’s lives.”

Tung said shifts to the center reflect how voters want to see change in the party, locally and nationally. She and Kingsbury are both moderate Democrats.

Rather than at the group’s regular meeting place in a state building, local Democrats gathered Wednesday night to vote on the package of resolutions at West Bay Pilipino Multi Service Center, part of an effort to connect the party to local communities around the city.

“The reorientation of the party, just like the reorientation of San Francisco, that has been a long time in the coming,” Tung said. “On the local level, we can change the conversation, or at least change the way that people feel about Democrats. And this has a trickle effect on state and national elections, that the Democratic Party is full of people who want the city to work.”