Gavin Newsom

SAN FRANCISCO -- After delivering a textbook example of how to nail a set of talking points during a high-profile Friday press conference on Proposition 1A -- the high speed rail initiative -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom used a PolitickerCA.com question to articulate why principles mean more to him than political gain.

In a wide ranging answer to a question about his thoughts on the status of Proposition 8, the ballot measure that would ban gay marriage in California, an unprompted Newsom explained why the fate of the measure and of gay and all civil rights means so much to him.

SAN FRANCISCO - Proponents of Prop. 1A rolled out three of California's biggest political guns Friday to urge state voters to support the ballot measure which promises to build the nation's first true high speed rail system.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom joined Superior Court Judge Quentin Kopp for a press conference to promote the initiative which, if approved by the voters on Tuesday, would authorize the sale of $9.9 billion of state-backed construction bonds.

SAN FRANCISCO - Proposition K, the municipal measure that proposes to decriminalize prostitution in San Francisco, has begun to draw the attention of national news outlets and that in turn is turning out local politicians in increasing numbers.

WASHINGTON - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom appeared before the National Press Club Tuesday to tout the growing success of his city's universal health care program.

Newsom announced that the city has enrolled 30,000 residents into the unusual program, dubbed Healthy San Francisco.

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced his opening of a 2010 exploratory bid for governor Monday, immediately putting him in the front tier of Republicans to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Poizner, rumored to be interested in running for the job for months, said in a campaign announcement that his campaign would focus on fostering innovation in government and business.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Never say that when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom sees an idea he likes that he doesn't go after it -- whether or not it might be viewed as just a tad "out there."

On Thursday Newsom presided over the ribbon cutting of a bus shelter near the soon-to-be opened California Academy of Sciences complex. But it wasn't your normal bus shelter.

It is alive, so to speak.

DENVER - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom used an opportunity Thursday to address the California Democratic Party delegation, leaving little doubt that the young mayor is inching closer and closer to announcing a run for governor in 2010.

While admitting the Golden State is suffering from many different social and economic -- ailments including the lack of a state budget and a massive $15 billion deficit -- Newsom spent a lot time talking about what's going right in California, too.

Newsom said California is the birthplace to the world's high-technology industries and is the place that some of the most advanced and well respected research and academic institutions around the globe call home.

And, he said, the Golden State embraces diversity like nowhere else.

"There's nothing more significant or important than the fact that we are the most diverse state in the most diverse nation on earth. We don't tolerate our diversity, we celebrate it," Newsom said.

Newsom also said that many of the same programs that he has been able to make work in San Francisco could also work successfully on a statewide basis. He cited the city's new low income healthcare plan as an example.

In the audience for the brief speech on Thursday was Garry South, new senior adviser to Newsom's newly formed gubernatorial exploratory committee.

DENVER - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a staunch Hillary Clinton supporter, added to the chorus of politicians Wednesday saying the media is making too much of the split between Barack Obama and the New York senator.

In a brief interview with PolitickerCA.com in the lobby of the Sheraton Denver, Newsom said he was impressed with Clinton's speech on Tuesday in that accomplished a lot and left no doubt that he message was about unifying two campaigns to produce a victory for Obama in November.

DENVER – Antonio Villaraiosa, widely seen as a potential Democratic candidate in the 2010 race for governor, wouldn’t get into specifics about the race for California’s top job while attending the Democratic National Convention.

Villaraigosa, who was elected as mayor of Los Angeles in 2005, was tight-lipped on the prospects of a run for the governor’s mansion.

“I’m focused on 2008, electing Barack Obama and Joe Biden. I’m focused on my re-election in 2009,” he said. “Nothing about 2010. I love what I do, I’m focused on my work.”

Standing in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt today, Villaraigosa was equally tight-lipped about a potential candidacy for Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco mayor who in recent weeks has been making moves towards a run.

DENVER - Critically aware of what the young adult vote means to his base as he considers a run for governor in 2010, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will host a free indie-rock concert next week in Denver during the Democratic National Convention.

Dubbed "Unconventional '08," the concert will honor College Democrats of America, Generation Obama, Students for Barack Obama, Young Democrats of America, Young Voter PAC and other organizations.