SAN FRANCISCO – ,

LGBTQ community leaders react to Nancy Pelosi's retirement announcement with praise and gratitude

Leaders of San Francisco’s LGBTQ community praised Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for her decades of support and dedication to public service when reacting to her announcement that she will retire after serving out her current term in January 2027.

They described her as a champion for those who don’t have a voice. 

“It’s a heavy heart full of gratitude for her decades and decades of service she’s done for her constituents in San Francisco, across the nation, and around the world,” said John Cunningham, CEO of the National Aids Memorial.

He said the site’s national designation is largely thanks to Pelosi. 

Cunningham recalled that when she was newly elected to the house in 1987, she addressed  the Aids epidemic in her first speech on the floor,

“She stepped to the microphone and said, I will give a voice to Aids and I will not stop, and she didn’t, not over all of these decades.”

Cunningham shared photos of Pelosi’s work.  

One showed her planting a commemorative tree at the Aids Memorial Grove on her 25th year in Congress.

Another photo was of a patch Pelosi personally made for the Aids Memorial Quilt in honor of the flower girl from Pelosi’s own wedding, who died of complications from Aids.

Pelosi is credited with stewarding  the permitting process to display the quilt at the National Mall in Washington D.C.  

“Lots of people posture. Lots of people give speeches. She delivered,” said Cleve Jones, a longtime gay activist who conceived the idea of a memorial quilt to honor the many lives lost to Aids.

He said Pelosi secured funding to improve the lives of her constituents,

“The millions and millions of dollars that she brought to this city, to this neighborhood, not just to fight Aids, but to build parks, bolster healthcare.”  

Pelosi is often a proud participant in San Francisco’s annual Pride Parade and celebration.

“San Francisco Pride—we owe everything to her. She always comes to San Francisco Pride.  She made sure we got through some rough years.

She’s part of the pride family, and she always will be,” said Suzanne Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride.  

“Over 800,000 constituents in San Francisco, she’s always seen as her family. Within the gay community, the Aids community,  she’s always been our hero, our champion, and our friend,” said Cunningham.  

Community leaders said Pelosi is irreplaceable and that whoever is elected to her seat will have big shoes to fill.

She leaves a lasting legacy of courage and conviction for doing what’s right even when it’s difficult and unpopular.

Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave a message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU,  Instagram @AmberKTVU  or Twitter @AmberKTVU

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