Gavin Newsom

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Gavin Newsom

42^nd Mayor of San Francisco
Incumbent
Assumed office January 8, 2004
Preceded by	Willie Brown
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	October 10, 1967 (age 39) San Francisco, California
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Kimberly Guilfoyle (divorced)

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, and plans to run for re-election in 2007. Newsom is a member of the Democratic Party.

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

[edit] Biography

Newsom is a fourth-generation San Franciscan; his paternal great-grandfather emigrated from Ireland in 1865. His maternal great-grandfather, Scotsman Thomas Addis, was a pioneer scientist in the field of nephrology and a professor of medicine at Stanford University. Newsom's parents are retired state appeals court Judge William Newsom, and Tessa Menzies Newsom. They divorced in 1972, and at age ten Newsom moved with his mother to nearby Marin County.

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 started the PlumpJack Wine Shop with the financial help of family friend Gordon Getty. 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.

In December 2001, Newsom married Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former San Francisco prosecutor and legal commentator for Court TV, CNN, and MSNBC, and who now hosts The Lineup on Fox News Channel. On January 7, 2005, the couple jointly filed for divorce, citing "difficulties due to their careers on opposite coasts." The couple had no children.

[edit] Public service

[edit] Elected and appointed roles

In 1996, Newsom was appointed by San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to a vacant seat on the Parking and Traffic Commission and was elected president of the commission. Later that same year, Brown appointed him to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and he was subsequently elected to the Board in 1998. In 1999, San Francisco's voters chose to exchange district-based elections to the Board for the previous at-large system, and Newsom was re-elected in 2000 and 2002 to represent District 2, which includes the Pacific Heights and Marina districts.

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 Rescue Muni; a version of the measure was approved by voters in November 1999.

[edit] Newsom as mayor

Following a tight runoff election with Matt Gonzalez, Newsom was elected mayor in 2003. National figures from the Democratic Party, including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Jesse Jackson, campaigned on his behalf. He campaigned partly on a pledge to focus on the city's notorious homeless problem. While Newsom has been generally popular throughout his tenure, he has generated some criticism from the city's left for some of his positions.

[edit] Political platforms

[edit] Social policy

As Supervisor, the centerpiece of Newsom's reform package was a voter initiative called "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 General Assistance program. Care Not Cash caused significant controversy in the city, and many homeless rights advocates protested against it. ^[1]^[2] Implementation of Care Not Cash began on July 1, 2004. As part of his Care Not Cash initiative, 5,000 more homeless people were given permanent shelter in the city, and as of May 4, 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, Heather Fong, and fire chief, Joanne Hayes-White.

On October 27, 2004, during a strike by hotel workers on a dozen San Francisco hotels, Newsom joined 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 in September, 2006.^[3].

[edit] Health care

In his budget proposal for fiscal year 2007-2008, Newsom announced his intention to provide universal health care for all city residents through the San Francisco Health Access Plan.^[4]^[5] Newsom's proposal has prompted Oakland mayor Ron Dellums and San Mateo County's Board of Supervisors to look into possibilities for providing their own taxpayer-subsidized health care.^[6]^[7]

[edit] Same-sex wedding controversy

Main article: San Francisco 2004 same-sex weddings

Newsom gained international attention and caused 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 equal protection clause as his authority to do so, and decided to perform the marriages after hearing President Bush's State of the Union address. From February 12 until March 11, 2004 (when the weddings were halted by the California Supreme Court), about 4,000 same-sex couples were issued marriage licenses in San Francisco. On August 12, 2004, the California Supreme Court voided all of these licenses that were once legal.

[edit] Personal controversies

The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.

On January 31, 2007, Newsom's campaign manager and former deputy chief of staff^[8] Alex Tourk, resigned after he confronted the mayor about a sexual affair Newsom had with Tourk's wife, Ruby Rippey-Tourk. The affair happened in late 2005 as Newsom was going through a divorce from Guilfoyle, and while Rippey-Tourk worked in Newsom's office^[9]as the mayor's aide for commission appointments. ^[10] Newsom apologized for the affair at a news conference on February 1, 2007. "I hurt someone I care deeply about, Alex Tourk, his friends and family, and that is something that I have to live with and something that I am deeply sorry for." ^[11]^[12]^[13] On February 5, Newsom announced that he planned to enter rehab for alcoholism. "Upon reflection with friends and family this weekend, I have come to the conclusion that I will be a better person without alcohol in my life," he said in a statement issued by his office.[1]