Meet Gavin Newsom
As Mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom is showing just how much we can accomplish when we embrace the future and start making bold policy changes.
In 2004, Gavin Newsom became the youngest Mayor of San Francisco in more than a century. Newsom served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for nearly seven years before becoming mayor and as a City Commissioner prior to his service on the Board. He was overwhelmingly re-elected with nearly 74% of the vote in 2007. As co-founder of the PlumpJack group of small businesses, Newsom has started 15 businesses that employ almost 1,000 Californians.
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With Gavin Newsom as mayor, San Francisco is:
The first - and still the only - city in America with a universal health care system. Working along with fellow elected officials, business leaders and health experts, Newsom forged a program called Healthy San Francisco that has already enrolled more than 38,000 previously uninsured San Franciscans. A recent study showed that this pioneering program delivers quality care for one-third the cost of traditional insurance. It has won praise all the way to the White House, where President Barack Obama told Newsom’s fellow mayors, “Instead of just talking about health care, mayors like Gavin Newsom in San Francisco have been ensuring that those in need receive it.”
A model of how to work in partnership to improve our schools. Instead of trying to gain mayoral control of the school district or allow the state to take it over, like some mayors have done, Newsom has worked with the district to improve public schools. This collaboration has led to San Francisco schools being recognized as among the highest-achieving urban schools in the nation. While school districts throughout California are laying off teachers, San Francisco is giving teachers a raise and helping to fund important programs like school Wellness Centers and after-school study programs. Under Newsom, San Francisco has already implemented universal pre-school. And Newsom is now working in partnership with the California State University system to help lower drop-out rates and promote even greater student achievement by guaranteeing a place at San Francisco State University and initial tuition support for every public school student who works to meet the entrance requirements.
Investing in high-wage jobs and job training. A successful entrepreneur himself, one of Gavin Newsom’s first accomplishments as mayor was to bring the Center for Regenerative Medicine to San Francisco, which has in turn helped bring thousands of living-wage jobs in the growing stem-cell research field. Newsom has expanded job- training programs, particularly comprehensive training in green-technology skills. And he is implementing a comprehensive local Economic Stimulus Plan that will help create thousands of new jobs during this economic downturn.
A national leader protecting our environment. The Environmental Protection Agency recently rated San Francisco No. 2 in the nation in terms of energy-efficient commercial buildings – nearly equaling Los Angeles, a city four times as large. San Francisco has one of the most aggressive local solar incentives in America. It has among the highest recycling rate in the nation. It has lowered carbon emissions well below levels called for in the Kyoto Protocol, and verified these numbers with third-party data. Newsom has helped attract more than $500 million to clean up and convert former industrial and military sites. And through comprehensive job training, he is working to make sure that the growing green economy includes those who were once locked out of the old industrial economy.
Implementing sound fiscal practices. The bond rating of the State of California is now the lowest in the nation. In San Francisco, the bond rating was just increased thanks to sound fiscal management and a Rainy Day reserve. Newsom is continuing the process of reform, merging city departments to make government more effective and less costly and making San Francisco one of the only cities in California to tackle its unfunded pension liability.
A leader in civic innovation. Newsom has been called “One of the best mayors in America” by Newsweek because he has not been afraid to make bold reforms. San Francisco has implemented comprehensive government accountability reform and increased public service through innovations like a central 311 line to access government services. Newsom implemented innovative programs like Care Not Cash, which has helped dramatically lower the number of homeless and created over 1,321 units of new, permanent, supportive housing. Newsom helped launch Project Homeless Connect, which is a national and international model of how to harness community resources to help the homeless transition to permanent housing and jobs.
Making public safety a priority. Under Newsom’s leadership the San Francisco Police Department has met its mandated staffing level for the first time. He has fought for innovative reform of the juvenile justice system, to keep young people out of state prison and direct them into job training and other programs that help reduce recidivism. Newsom has invested in technologies like “Shot Spotter” and crime mapping that make police more effective. Crime in San Francisco is down overall 19.98% since March 2008 and homicides are down 60.7% in that same time.
A model for civil rights and community cooperation. San Francisco is one of the most diverse cities in the world and Mayor Newsom is working to celebrate this diversity and harness its economic potential. He launched a new trading mission with China, opening a San Francisco office in Shanghai that has already helped attract major new industries and jobs to the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco’s diverse and skilled workforce has helped bring technology leaders and job creators like SunTech, Second Life, Wikipedia and Google to San Francisco. And Newsom is known for his national leadership in standing up to protect the marriage equality rights of all of his constituents.
Help Gavin set a new direction for California. Invite your friends to join our community at GavinNewsom.com/join or on Facebook and Twitter – and stay tuned for upcoming events.
Meet Gavin
• Fifth-generation Californian and a Bay Area native
• Primarily raised by a single mother in a household that included foster children
• Attended Santa Clara University, where he earned a BA, on a partial baseball scholarship
• Founded PlumpJack Wines, now a thriving, statewide enterprise of 15 businesses with almost 1,000 employees
• Married to Jennifer Siebel Newsom, their first child, Montana Tessa Newsom, was born September 18, 2009
• Sworn-in as Mayor of San Francisco in 2004. Re-elected mayor, with 74% of the vote in 2007
