On November 27 , 1978 , Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by a rival politician , Dan White , who had resigned from the Board of Supervisors two weeks earlier . Feinstein was in City Hall at the time of the shootings and discovered Milk 's body after hearing the shots . Later that day Feinstein announced the assassinations had occurred . As President of the Board of Supervisors upon the death of Moscone , Feinstein succeeded to the mayoralty on December 4 , 1978
assassinated
Moscone–Milk assassinations
Dianne Feinstein