Speaker Nancy Pelosi had just urged Brown University graduates to stay resilient and call on their “better angels” over Memorial Day weekend when she was forced to turn her attention to a less encouraging situation: her husband’s arrest in California.
The details that emerged from the incident were not particularly flattering.
The night before, May 28, Paul Pelosi, 82, had been to Oakville, one of the country’s most exclusive enclaves, and left a small dinner on the hedge-lined estate of Alexander Mehran, an old friend and Democratic donor.
Mr. Pelosi got behind the wheel of his black 2021 Porsche 911 to drive the six miles to the Napa Valley mansion in Pelosis. According to a police report and eyewitnesses, it was around 10 p.m.
He drove a little over half a mile and tried to cross State Route 29 and turn left. But a jeep came off the highway and hit Mr. Pelosi’s car as he turned the corner.
The police who responded arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and on suspicion of driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher. He is due to appear in court again on August 3. If criminal charges are filed, he will then be brought to trial. (The driver of the jeep was not arrested.)
It may be that it wasn’t just the alcohol that hindered Mr. Pelosi’s driving. Two people who have spoken to the Pelosis since the crash said Mr. Pelosi had cataract surgery in the days leading up to the dinner. (Doctors are somewhat divided on when it’s acceptable to drive, with estimates ranging from 24 hours to two weeks.)
The speaker waved in crisis mode. Sunday afternoon, Larry Kamer, a crisis manager who has a home in Napa and has worked for high-profile clients including Harvard University and Nike, was retained. The family also consulted with John Keker, one of San Francisco’s most prominent attorneys, and Lee Houskeeper, a longtime public relations executive for San Francisco’s political types, including former Mayor Willie Brown.
The newly formed team had to deal with some unwelcome certainties: the accident would once again draw attention to Mr. Pelosi, including a teenage crash that killed his brother. It would also send reporters — from TMZ to The Napa Valley Register — clambering behind every detail.
And it would shine a spotlight on the life of the Pelosis in California, where the couple occupy two homes, including a 16.55-acre fenced estate, and mingle with other wealthy residents, at a time when economic hardship leaves many with fewer resources. put under pressure.
Finally, a representative of Ms Pelosi issued a succinct statement emphasizing that Ms Pelosi had distanced herself from the accident.
“The speaker will not comment on this private matter, which took place while she was on the East Coast,” it said.
‘Everyone in San Francisco now has a Napa Place’
The Pelosis have had a weekend home in Napa Valley since 1990, when they spent $2.35 million on their property, which came with a Palladian-style villa, guest house, and pool.
“It’s not a palace,” said Mr. Brown. “If you go up there, you’ll notice that some people have places with caves for the wine and things like that. That’s not what they have. They have a place where you can actually live, without servants. You wouldn’t bring the Three Tenors to sing.” But the Pelosis do have a vineyard, from which they sell grapes.
“Everyone in San Francisco has a Napa spot now,” Mr. Brown continued. “Anyone who can afford it.”
Neighbors are aware of Ms. Pelosi’s regular attendance, in part because of the security details that pop up when she’s in Napa and can cause traffic delays. Ms. Pelosi and her husband also regularly host a summer gathering attended by many of the Democratic Party’s biggest names.
Ms. Pelosi, also 82, usually attends the Memorial Day weekend dinner her husband attended just before his arrest, at the Oakville home of Mr. Mehran, a major commercial real estate developer. In an interview, Mr Mehran said he had been friends with the Pelosis for over 50 years. According to Federal Election Commission data, he has given more than $1 million to Democratic politicians and groups since the 2020 election cycle.
The Pelosis have moved to Napa, an often isolated world where family, political and social circles overlap. They have their spots: Mrs. Pelosi eats at Pizzeria Tra Vigne, an artisanal pizzeria (where Chelsea Handler was recently spotted), and gets coffee at the Model Bakery (where David Beckham is a regular). She can be seen during Sunday mass at St. Helena Catholic Church, and sometimes picks up the bill for her daughters and granddaughters’ mani-pedis at Blush, the local nail salon.
But even in Napa, who doesn’t seem to be California casual, Ms. Pelosi is often seen in the tailored suits that are her Capitol Hill signature. After all, the Pelosis remains San Francisco people at heart, and since 1987 they have nestled in Pacific Heights, arguably the city’s most exclusive neighborhood, owning a three-story red-brick mansion.
They regularly perform at the city’s biggest social events — including the opening gala of the San Francisco Symphony — and they have season tickets to the San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 49ers. They have been known to turn their shopping excursions into the local Giorgio Armani boutique (where Ms. Pelosi was spotted two weeks ago) into a sport in their own right.
Mr. Pelosi, who has investments in commercial real estate and the technical sector, is still a boastful presence in the social scene of the city at six feet, well dressed, with a full head of salt and pepper. But more than a dozen people interviewed for this article said they’ve never seen evidence that Mr. Pelosi drinks too much. (Mrs. Pelosi doesn’t drink at all.) “Paul is a social drinker,” said Mr. Mehran, 71. “That’s the best way to put it.”
However, Mr. Pelosi has had a history of car accidents over the course of his life. At the age of 16, he was behind the wheel of a sports car that crashed in 1957. His brother David, who was a passenger, is killed. (A jury eventually acquitted Mr. Pelosi of charges of manslaughter, according to then news reports.)
In the late 1970s, Mrs. Pelosi is the chairman of the Democratic Party in Northern California. On her way to a barbecue for a local politician, a car she was in with Mr. Pelosi and some of their children flipped on its side. No one was injured and Ms. Pelosi hitched a ride to meet donors.
The Pelosi camp declined to comment to DailyExpertNews about who was driving.
A political career closely associated with the San Francisco Society
Paul Pelosi’s family roots are in San Francisco, but he met Ms. Pelosi when they were both college students in Washington, DC. The two had a lot in common. They were liberal Democrats and observant Catholics. And both were Italian-American royalty.
When they settled in San Francisco in the late 1960s, Mr. Pelosi in the city put them in influential circles. His brother Ronald Pelosi, a rising political star on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, was married to Barbara Newsom, the aunt of future state governor Gavin Newsom and sister to William Newsom (Gavin’s father), a judge of the appeals court that trusts oil tycoon John Paul Getty.
Nancy and Paul became friends with John Paul Getty’s son, Gordon, and Gordon’s wife, Ann Getty. The families stay close. Last November, just before we went to Glasgow to address the COP26 UN At the global climate summit, Ms. Pelosi presided over the wedding of Mr. Getty’s granddaughter, Ivy Getty. (Mrs. Getty, who wore a five-foot veil and a mirrored John Galliano for Maison Margiela dress, is an oil heiress; criticism from progressive Democrats followed.)
Ms. Pelosi’s rise in politics began as a fundraiser, but as her children grew, she began to consider running for office. In 1986, Representative Sala Burton, a friend of the Pelosi family, entered the hospital with terminal cancer. A special election to replace her was planned.
Mrs. Pelosi decided to run to her seat, but her house was just outside the ward. So mr. Pelosi rented the mansion in Pacific Heights, and the family moved about 15 blocks northeast. Mrs. Burton supported Mrs. Pelosi days before she died. The rest is history.
Some analysts consider Ms. Pelosi to be one of the most effective speakers to ever lead the House, and she is a pioneering figure in American politics. She has sometimes spoken of how her faith informs her politics, and her desire to expand the social safety net, and she is credited with pushing the Affordable Care Act through the House.
But it’s clear that this spring has been a challenge for her.
She has watched the groundbreaking legislation passed by the House called the $2 trillion Build Back Better Act stall in the Senate. In addition, House Democrats appear poised for a scandal this fall, which would mean Mrs. Pelosi would have to hand over the speaker’s gavel, 35 years after her congressional career.
Among the powerful political and social figures who inhabit the world of the Pelosis, there was a lot of sympathy and some protection after what happened over Memorial Day weekend.
A person who witnessed the accident said both cars were a total loss and Mr Pelosi simply sat in the car for several minutes, apparently frozen, until the sheriff and members of the fire service arrived moments later.
Neither Mr. Pelosi nor the driver of the jeep was injured.
Some friends thought Mr. Pelosi’s entire night in the Napa County Jail after the accident was excessive. Others were puzzled as to why their friend hadn’t avoided the whole ordeal by simply getting a car service home.
And some locals suggested that, in an earlier era in Napa, driving after drinking was received with understanding rather than criminal charges.
“I just feel terrible about what happened because there was a time when if something like this happened, the police would take you home,” said club doyenne Diane Wilsey, better known as Dede.
Ms. Wilsey, Mr. Pelosi’s co-administrator at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, is a Republican, but she has donated to several of the speaker’s political campaigns, seeing the couple socially in California.
“I don’t agree with Nancy on everything, but I can’t think of anyone nicer than Nancy or Paul,” she said.
Meanwhile, according to The San Francisco Chronicle, the Napa County District Attorney has been busy fending off some 1,500 angry phone calls inspired by right-wing pundits, including Donald Trump Jr., claiming without evidence that Mr Pelosi would have “no ramifications” for the incident. Mr Pelosi will return to court in August. The local authorities emphasize that he will not receive any special treatment.
Steve Eder and Thomas Fuller contributed reporting, and Kitty Bennett research contributed.