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<\/p>\nSAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Clint Reilly, the veteran political strategist who helped shape generations of California and San Francisco politics while building a business empire, died Sunday at age 79.<\/p>\n
For decades, Reilly was one of the most influential figures operating behind the scenes of Bay Area politics, managing campaigns, advising candidates and helping professionalize a political consulting industry that would grow into a year-round enterprise.<\/p>\n
His influence reached some of the state’s most prominent Democratic leaders. Reilly managed early campaigns for Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, earning a reputation as a political strategist whose support carried weight in San Francisco political circles.<\/p>\n
News of his death prompted tributes from major California political figures. Gov. Gavin Newsom called Reilly a “brilliant mind” in a social media post Monday, while Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said Reilly helped make San Francisco a “stronger, more vibrant and more compassionate place.”<\/p>\n
Reilly’s career extended well beyond campaign politics. After finding success as a consultant, he expanded into business and real estate, including the acquisition of the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
“He saw an opportunity to take that success and turn it into a even larger business, bought the Merchants Exchange Building and other properties. And he became like everything else, he touched a superstar in business in the same way he was a superstar in politics,” said Sam Singer, president of Singer Associates Public Relations and a former mentee of Reilly.<\/p>\n
Reilly’s path to politics was not a direct one. Before becoming one of California’s most influential political strategists, he studied for the priesthood in a Catholic seminary, an experience former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown believed shaped his approach to politics.<\/p>\n
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San Francisco mayoral candidate Clint Reilly stands inside his San Francisco home on Monday, Oct. 25, 1999.<\/p>\n
AP Photo\/Dan Krauss<\/p>\n
Brown, who once faced Reilly on the opposite side of a campaign when Reilly ran against him for mayor, said Reilly’s ability to listen set him apart from other consultants.<\/p>\n
“I think it was that training to be a priest. He listened. And when he listened, he came back with a response that most people appreciate,” Brown said.<\/p>\n
Reilly’s influence eventually extended beyond politics and real estate into media. He acquired the San Francisco Examiner and later the Nob Hill Gazette, giving him a presence in several of the institutions that helped shape public debate in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Singer said Reilly approached business with the same ambition that defined his political career.<\/p>\n
“He saw an opportunity to take that success and turn it into a even larger business, bought the Merchants Exchange Building and other properties. And he became like everything else, he touched a superstar in business in the same way he was a superstar in politics,” Singer said.<\/p>\n
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