Gavin Newsom

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Gavin joking around

Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, California. He was elected the city's mayor on December 9, 2003, succeeding Willie Brown. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

1 Early life and career
2 Public service
- 2.1 Elected and appointed roles
- 2.2 Newsom as mayor
3 Political platforms
4 Personal life
5 References
6 External links

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Early life and career

Newsom is a fourth-generation San Franciscan; his paternal great-grandfather emigrated from Ireland in 1865. Newsom's parents are retired state appeals court Judge William Newsom, and Tessa Menzies Newsom.

His parents divorced in 1972, and at age ten Newsom moved with his mother to nearby Marin County.

Newsom's paternal aunt was married to the brother-in-law of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker Elect of the U.S. House of Representatives. ^[1] He is the maternal great-grandson of the Scotsman Thomas Addis, a pioneer scientist in the field of nephrology. He is also a distant cousin of singer/songwriter Joanna Newsom.

Newsom graduated from Redwood High School in 1985. He then attended Santa Clara University on a partial baseball scholarship, where he graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

After completing his education in 1992, he borrowed money from Gordon Getty to start the PlumpJack Wine Shop. The business eventually grew to a multi-million dollar empire with over 700 employees, including five restaurants, a Napa winery, a hotel and ski resort, and two retail clothing stores.

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Public service

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Elected and appointed roles

In wp:1996, Newsom was appointed by Mayor Willie Brown to a vacant seat on the Parking and Traffic Commission and was elected President of the Commission. Also in 1996, he was appointed to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for the Marina District (District 2). Voters re-elected him to the Board of Supervisors in wp:1998, wp:2000, and wp:2002.

As Supervisor, Newsom gained public attention for his role in advocating reform of the city's beleaguered Municipal Railway (Muni). He sponsored a ballot measure from the transit riders group wp:Rescue Muni; a version of the measure was approved by voters in November wp:1999.

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Newsom as mayor

Following a tight runoff election with wp:Matt Gonzalez, Newsom was elected mayor of the City and County of San Francisco in 2003. National figures from the Democratic Party, including wp:Bill Clinton and wp:Al Gore, campaigned on his behalf. He campaigned partly on a pledge to focus on the city's notorious homeless problem, adopting much of the same agenda pursued by wp:Rudolph Giuliani in wp:New York City a decade earlier.

Throughout his tenure as mayor, Newsom has been popular, with approval ratings hovering in the 80 percent range, making him one of the most popular major US elected officials.

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Political platforms

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Social policy

As Supervisor, the centerpiece of Newsom's reform package was a voter initiative called wp:Care Not Cash, which substituted direct aid in the form of rent vouchers, etc., for cash payments heretofore made to indigents under the state's wp:General Assistance program. Care Not Cash caused significant controversy in the city and its implementation was protested by numerous homeless rights advocates in San Francisco. ^[2]^[3] Implementation of Care Not Cash began on wp:July 1, wp:2004. As part of his Care Not Cash initiative, 5,000 more homeless people were given permanent shelter in the city, and as of wp:May 4, wp:2006, 1,318 people have been placed into permanent housing with support. Other programs initiated by Newsom to end chronic homelessness include the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team (SF HOT), and Project Homeless Connect (PHC). SF HOT functions as a short-term intensive case management team, assisting the most disabled homeless individuals to access health, social and housing services. PHC consists of bimonthly events that bring together a host of public and private services at one location, making it easier for homeless individuals to connect with a number of services under one roof. Both of these programs have added to Mayor Newsom's success with regard to getting homeless people into permanent, supportive housing.

Newsom has focused city resources on impoverished districts in Bayview-Hunters Point on San Francisco's southeast side, often arriving there without notice to follow through on city programs. He extended the city-funded health insurance program, started under Mayor Brown, to young adults, a program that had been previously offered only to children. Newsom appointed San Francisco's first female police chief, wp:Heather Fong, and fire chief, Joanne Hayes-White.

On wp:October 27, wp:2004, during a strike by hotel workers on a dozen San Francisco hotels, Newsom joined wp:UNITE HERE union members on a picket line in front of the Westin St. Francis Hotel. He vowed that the city would boycott the hotels by not sponsoring city events in any of them until the hotels agreed to a contract with workers. The contract dispute was settled nearly two years later ^[4].

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Health care

In his budget proposal for fiscal year wp:2007-wp:2008, Newsom announced his intention to provide wp:universal health care for all city residents through the San Francisco Health Access Plan.^[5] If enacted by the wp:Board of Supervisors, the new law would make San Francisco only the second jurisdiction in the nation (after the state of wp:Massachusetts) to have such an initiative.^[6]

Newsom's proposal has prompted Oakland mayor-elect wp:Ron Dellums and wp:San Mateo County's Board of Supervisors to look into possibilities for providing their own taxpayer-subsidized health care.^[7]^[8] San Francisco's health care proposal may become a model for the country if implemented. The move may also boost Gavin Newsom's political career and help him run for higher office.^[9] [[wp:Image:Sharon-Stone-and-Gavin-Newsom.JPG|thumb|left|Gavin Newsom, wp:Sharon Stone, and wp:Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom at the NCLR Spirit Awards, San Francisco, wp:April 24, wp:2004.]]

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LGBT rights

Main article: San Francisco 2004 same-sex weddings

Newsom gained international attention, and attracted controversy, in February 2004, when he issued a directive to the city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Newsom claimed the California Constitution's wp:equal protection clause as his authority to do so, and decided to perform the marriages after hearing President Bush's wp:State of the Union address. From wp:February 12 until wp:March 11, wp:2004 (when the weddings were halted by the wp:California Supreme Court), about 4,000 same-sex couples were issued marriage licenses in San Francisco. On wp:August 12, wp:2004, the California Supreme Court voided all of these licenses.

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Personal life

In December 2001, Newsom married wp:Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former San Francisco wp:prosecutor and legal commentator for wp:Court TV, wp:CNN, and wp:MSNBC, and who now hosts wp:The Lineup on wp:Fox News Channel. On wp:January 7, wp:2005, the couple jointly filed for divorce, citing "difficulties due to their careers on opposite coasts."

Since their divorce was finalized, Newsom has been romantically linked with actress wp:Sofia Milos ^[10], 20-year-old model wp:Brittanie Mountz^[11], and actress wp:Jennifer Siebel. ^[12]

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