When Janet Reilly began preparing for a career in public service she envisioned herself working as a television journalist covering how political leaders managed the public’s business.
Today, Reilly, a candidate for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in District 2, is seeking a political leadership post of her own to continue working on policy issues that matter most to her–universal access to quality health care and education, sustainable growth and transportation, and neighborhood preservation.
“I found myself wanting to work directly on issues that matter most to everyday people,” Janet says.
Born and raised in working-class Sacramento, Janet is the youngest of six children of Margaret and Tom Koewler. Tom was employed as a renderer, a job that entailed separating fat from deceased animals and scraps of meat to create tallow, an ingredient in the manufacturing of soap.
Janet attended St. Francis High School in Sacramento, then University of California, Los Angeles, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1986 with a degree in mass communications. In 1991, Janet earned a Master’s of Arts in journalism from Northwestern University’s renowned Medill School of Journalism.
She began her professional career as an on-air television reporter and anchor at KGWN TV-5, the CBS affiliate in Cheyenne, Wyoming. But Janet was quickly drawn back to Los Angeles and to work directly in government as a district representative for Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.
In 1995, after marrying Clint Reilly, who had managed Riordan’s mayoral campaign, Janet moved to San Francisco, where she became director of public relations for Mervyn’s department stores.
At that time, she also embarked on a path of civic engagement and charitable giving that continues to touch many lives. Along with Clint Reilly, she became a strong supporter of Catholic Charities & Catholic Youth Organization and provided leadership for many vital social service organizations, such as Shanti, Mount St. Joseph’s-St. Elizabeth’s, San Francisco Suicide Prevention, the St. Vincent De Paul Society, Caminos Pathways, St. Anthony’s Foundation and Milton Marks Richmond Library.
She is first vice president of the board of directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which governs the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin County bus and commuter ferry service. An advocate for the arts, she also has served on boards of directors of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and San Francisco Film Society.
In 2005, Janet ran unsuccessfully in the primary election to become the Democratic candidate for state Assembly in California’s 12th Assembly District. Her opponent, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, now endorses Janet’s campaign for San Francisco Supervisor for District 2.
Today, Janet is leading the creation of a new nonprofit clinic to provide free health care to the city’s underprivileged residents. Clinic by the Bay, which will open in the Excelsior District in San Francisco, is an affiliate of Volunteers in Medicine, where retired doctors and nurses treat uninsured working families.
Janet and Clint Reilly live in San Francisco’s Sea Cliff neighborhood and have two daughters, Jill and Ava.