Gavin Newsom

Name	Gavin Newsom
Order	49th
Office	Lieutenant Governor of California
Term start	January 10, 2011
Governor	Jerry Brown
Predecessor	Abel Maldonado
Order2	42nd
Office2	Mayor of San Francisco
Term start2	January 3, 2004
Term end2	January 10, 2011
Predecessor2	Willie Brown
Successor2	Edwin M. Lee
Office3	Member of theSan Francisco Board of Supervisorsfrom the 2nd District
Term start3	1997
Term end3	2004
Predecessor3	District created in 2000; prior terms were on a city-wide seat. Appointed to Kevin Shelley's seat.
Successor3	Michela Alioto-Pier
Birth date	October 10, 1967
Birth place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Kimberly Guilfoyle (2001–2006, divorced)Jennifer Siebel (2008–present)
Residence	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Santa Clara University
Profession	Politician
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature	Gavin Newsom Signature.svg

Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007 with 72 percent of the vote. In 2010, Samepoint released a study that measured the social media influence of mayors around the country, and ranking the top 100 most social mayors. San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom was named the Most Social Mayor in America according to the Samepoint study. Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker was the second most social mayor, according to the Samepoint study.

Newsom graduated from Redwood High School in Larkspur, California, in 1985, and in 1989 from Santa Clara University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. His PlumpJack Wine Shop, founded in 1992, grew into a multimillion-dollar enterprise, and now includes bars, restaurants, and a Lake Tahoe hotel called Squaw Valley Inn. He was first appointed by Willie Brown to serve on San Francisco's Parking and Traffic Commission in 1996, and was appointed the following year as Supervisor. Newsom drew voter attention with his Care Not Cash program, designed to move homeless people into city assisted care. He defeated the Green Party's Matt Gonzalez 53% to 47% in a run-off in his race for mayor in 2003, becoming the youngest mayor of San Francisco since John W. Geary.

In March 2010, he announced his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor, In June 2010, he received the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor. Newsom won the 2010 lieutenant governor election on November 2, 2010.

Early life

Newsom is a fourth-generation San Franciscan; his paternal great-grandfather emigrated from Ireland in 1865. One of his maternal great-grandfathers, Scotsman Thomas Addis, was a pioneer scientist in the field of nephrology and a professor of medicine at Stanford University. His father William Newsom is a retired state appeals court Justice. Newsom's parents separated when he was two and divorced in 1972, and at age 10 Newsom moved with his mother, Tessa, and sister to nearby Marin County. Newsom's father was also a friend of Jerry Brown.

Business career

Newsom's first job out of college was selling podiatric orthotics.

One of Newsom's early interactions with government occurred when Newsom resisted the San Francisco Health Department requirement to install a sink at his PlumpJack Wines. The Health Department argued that wine was a food. The department required the store to install a $27,000 sink in the carpeted wine shop on the grounds that the shop needed the sink for a mop. When Newsom was later appointed Supervisor, he told the San Francisco Examiner: "That's the kind of bureaucratic malaise I'm going to be working through." In February 2006 he paid $2,350,000 for his residence in the Russian Hill neighborhood, which he put on the market in April 2009 for $2,995,000.

Early political career

Newsom's first political experience came when he volunteered for Willie Brown's campaign for mayor in 1995. Newsom hosted a private fundraiser at his PlumpJack Cafe. Newsom was sworn in by his father and pledged to bring his business experience to the Board. Willie Brown called Newsom "part of the future generation of leaders of this great city." In 2000, Newsom paid $500 to the San Francisco Republican Party to be on the party's endorsement slate.

As Supervisor, Newsom gained public attention for his role in advocating reform of the city's Municipal Railway (Muni). The measure passed with 56.6% of the vote. Newsom sponsored a ballot measure from Rescue Muni; a version of the measure was approved by voters in November 1999. Newsom's support for business interests at times strained his relationship with labor leaders. The successfully passed ballot measure raised the political profile of Gavin Newsom and provided the volunteers, donors, and campaign staff, which helped make him a leading contender for the Mayorship in 2003. Democratic leadership felt that they needed to reinforce San Francisco as a Democratic stronghold after losing the 2000 presidential election and the 2003 recall election to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Five supervisors endorsed Gonzalez while Newsom received the endorsement of Willie Brown. He ran on the slogan "great cities, great ideas" and presented over 21 policy papers. Newsom pledged to continue working on San Francisco's homelessness issue. Newsom was sworn in as Mayor on January 3, 2004. He called for unity among the city's political factions and promised to address the issues of potholes, public schools, and affordable housing. Newsom said he was "a different kind of leader who "isn't afraid to solve even the toughest problems."

2007

San Francisco's progressive community attempted to find a candidate to run a strong campaign against Newsom. Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi and Chris Daly considered running against Newsom but both declined. Matt Gonzalez also decided not to challenge Newsom. When the August 10, 2007 filing deadline passed, the discussion around San Francisco shifted to talk about Newsom's second term. He was challenged in the election by 13 challengers that included George Davis, a nudist activist, and Michael Powers, owner of the Power Exchange sex club. Conservative former Supervisor Tony Hall withdrew by early September due to lack of support. The San Francisco Chronicle declared in August 2007 that Newsom faced no "serious threat to his reelection bid." Newsom raised $1.6 million for his reelection campaign by early August. He won reelection on November 6, 2007 with over 72% of the vote.

Mayoralty

in 2008]] As mayor, Newsom has focused on development projects in Hunters Point and Treasure Island. He signed the Health Choices Plan in 2007 to provide San Francisco residents with universal healthcare. Under Newsom, San Francisco ostensibly joined the Kyoto Protocol, although it could not actually join a treaty between sovereign states. In 2004, Newsom gained national attention when he directed the San Francisco city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in violation of the current state law. In August 2004, the Supreme Court of California annulled the marriages that Newsom had authorized, as they conflicted with state law at that time. Still, Newsom's unexpected move brought national attention to the issues of gay marriage and gay rights, solidifying political support for Newsom in San Francisco and in the gay community.

In 2009 he received the Leadership for Healthy Communities Award along with mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City and three other public officials for his commitment to making healthy food and physical activity options more accessible to children and families. For example, in 2008, he hosted the Urban Rural Roundtable to explore ways to promote regional food development and increased access to healthy affordable food, and he secured $8 million in federal and local funds for the Better Streets program, which ensures that public health perspectives are fully integrated into urban planning processes. Nationally, Newsom may be best known for signing one of the country's first menu-labeling bills into law, requiring that chain restaurants prominently display nutrition and calorie information on their menus. San Francisco's leadership spurred the growth of the nationwide menu-labeling movement and led directly to the passage of California's statewide labeling law.

In November 2010, Newsom vetoed a bill passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors that requires Happy Meals and other fast food with toys to meet new nutritional standards or else be removed from menus. His veto was overridden by the Board.

Prop 8

During the 2008 election, Newsom was a prominent and vocal opponent of Proposition 8, the ballot initiative to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. In the months leading up to Election Day, Proposition 8 supporters released a commercial featuring Newsom saying the following words in a speech regarding same-sex marriage: "This door's wide open now. It's going to happen, whether you like it or not." Some observers noted that polls shifted in favor of Proposition 8 following the release of the commercial; this, in turn, led to speculation that Newsom unwittingly played a role in the passage of the amendment. Newsom was recently named America's Most Social Mayor by Samepoint.com, based on analysis of the Social Media profile of Mayors from the top 100 largest cities in the United States.

Lieutenant Governor

In April Newsom announced his intention to run for Governor of California in the 2010 Election. In September 2009, former president Bill Clinton announced he was endorsing Newsom for his run. In June, Newsom remarked that, if elected Governor, he'd like to be referred to as "The Gavinator" (a portmanteau of "Gavin" and "Terminator" and reference to "The Governator", a common nickname for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger). Throughout the campaign, Newsom suffered low poll numbers, trailing Democratic front-runner Jerry Brown by more than 20 points in most polls. In October 2009, Newsom dropped out of the Governor race.

In February 2010 Newsom filed initial paperwork to run for Lieutenant Governor of California. Newsom stated on a February edition of The Rachel Maddow Show that this move did not assure that he would run, but that he was simply keeping his options open considering that he would reach his term limits in 2011. In March he announced his candidacy for the office.

Newsom was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor, on January 10, 2011. The one-week delay was to ensure that a successor as mayor of San Francisco was chosen before he left office. Edwin M. Lee, the city administrator, took office the day after Newsom was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor.

Personal life

parade.]] Newsom was baptized and raised Roman Catholic. He describes himself as an "Irish-Catholic rebel...in some respects, but one that still has tremendous admiration for the Church and very strong faith." When asked about the current state of the Catholic Church in an interview, he said the church was in crisis. Newsom said he stays with the Church because of his "strong connection to a greater purpose, and ... higher being ..." Newsom identifies himself as a practicing Roman Catholic, stating that he has a "strong sense of faith that is perennial: day in and day out." In January 2005 they jointly filed for divorce, citing "difficulties due to their careers on opposite coasts."

In January 2007, it was revealed that Newsom had had a romantic relationship in mid-2005 with Ruby Rippey-Tourk, the wife of his former deputy chief of staff and then campaign manager, Alex Tourk.. Tourk filed for divorce shortly after the revelation and left Newsom's campaign and administration.

Newsom's sexual encounters with his campaign manager and "a great friend" made him particularly unpopular with male voters, who viewed his indiscretions as a betrayal of a close friend and ally .

In September 2006, Newsom began dating actress Jennifer Siebel after being set up for a blind date by mutual friend, Kathy Wilsey. In December 2007 their engagement was announced, and they were married in Stevensville, Montana, in July 2008. In February 2009, they announced that they were expecting a child and in September Siebel gave birth to a baby girl, Montana Tessa Newsom. In December 2010 they announced they were expecting a second child, a son, due June 19, 2011, Siebel's birthday.

References

External links

Office of Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom

Newsom's official campaign website

CityMayors profile about Gavin Newsom

Gavin Newsom debates Maggie Gallagher on gay marriage in a May 2009 interactive debate from NOW on PBS Online

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:American people of Scotch-Irish descent Category:American people of Irish descent

Category:American Roman Catholics Category:California Democrats Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Lieutenant Governors of California Category:Mayors of San Francisco, California Category:People from Marin County, California Category:San Francisco Board of Supervisors members Category:Santa Clara University alumni