Matsui Center Advisory Committee: 2014
Clint Reilly was a former seminary student drawn to underdog political causes when he founded Clinton Reilly Campaigns in the 1970s and helped pioneer a new profession of campaign and political consulting in California.
At Clinton Reilly Campaigns, Mr. Reilly combined science and creativity to craft superior political strategy and deliver sophisticated messages to targeted audiences using award-winning advertising and communication techniques.
Today, Mr. Reilly, who ran his last campaign as a professional political consultant in 1995, is the founder and owner of the Clinton Reilly Holdings, a diversified family of commercial real estate and hospitality businesses headquartered in downtown San Francisco’s landmark Merchants Exchange building. Assets include a substantial wholly-owned commercial real estate portfolio, the Julia Morgan Ballroom and One Leidesdorff event venues, and Credo Restaurant.
Mr. Reilly’s real estate portfolio includes multiple historic downtown office buildings (including the Merchants Exchange), as well as a more modern commercial facility in Sacramento. The Clint Reilly Companies also include a rapidly growing hospitality and event production arm highlighted by the historic Julia Morgan Ballroom, located on the 15th floor of the Merchants Exchange. This arm of the business has grown substantially in recent months with the launch of a second major downtown event venue, One Leidesdorff.
Throughout his career, Mr. Reilly’s passion has remained Democratic political causes, social justice and civic engagement. He is a highly sought after adviser to candidates for elective office, and supporter of numerous charitable undertakings. He is the former President of the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities of San Francisco and the founder of the Clint Reilly Scholarship Fund, which currently provides support for more than 100 inner-city youths attending private Catholic high schools.
In 1999, he put his own reputation and money on the line to run for mayor of the city he grew up in and loves. And twice in the past decade he filed landmark lawsuits to maintain competition and independent journalism at Bay Area newspapers.
Mr. Reilly lives in the Seacliff neighborhood of San Francisco with his wife Janet Reilly and their daughters, Jill and Ava.
