Free Republic

Following Rep. Keith Ellison [Muslim Congressman], Rev. Al Sharpton, Rachel Maddow MSNBC, Gavin Newsom, [and others]

I was away for most of the week, but I did catch up with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at a tree-lighting party on the Embarcadero Friday evening.He looked very relaxed and was having his picture taken with everyone. He said he was back in the swing of things and really looking forward to tackling the city's $500 million budget deficit. This time, he said, he would be free to do what needed to be done because he won't be beholden to anyone. It ought to be interesting.He also asked if The Chronicle had gone after me the way the...

Newsom breaks his silence with the media SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom emerged Thursday from nearly three weeks of avoiding the public spotlight, to confront a massive city budget crisis. When the mayor dropped out of the governor's race, he dropped out of sight and steered clear of reporters until today. A smiling Newsom emerged today, even though the issue he wanted to discuss is grim. He told his department heads Thursday that San Francisco faces a $522 million deficit in the next fiscal year.

From major conferences at the Moscone Center to small coffee shops in the Mission, San Franciscans are buzzing about Mayor Gavin Newsom and the stunning turn of fortune that in a few short days took him from being a candidate for governor to hiding out in Hawaii. From Newsom's highs, like his law-breaking same-sex marriages in 2004, to his lows, like an admitted affair and alcohol problem in 2007, the telegenic, risk-prone mayor has always given his constituents something to wag their tongues about - and this bizarre chapter is no different. Last Friday, hours after speaking before a bank...

Last week, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the boy-wonder politician sought out by network cameras at the Democratic National Convention, profiled in Newsweek and the New York Times, was forced to pull out of the race for California governor before opponent Jerry Brown even officially declared his candidacy. Newsom's campaign wasn't sputtering. It never got off the ground. A candidate who raised nearly $6 million for his 2003 bid for mayor (with maximum contributions limited to $500) only raised a little over $3 million this time, according to the California secretary of state's office. It was a harsh political lesson....

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on Friday exited the California governor's race, leaving yet-to-announce Democratic candidate Jerry Brown the only figure preparing for a run for his party's nomination.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made a surprise announcement Friday afternoon that he was dropping out of the gubernatorial race, leaving the Democrats with no declared candidate for the top statewide office. Attorney General Jerry Brown has opened an exploratory committee for governor but has yet to formally announce his candidacy. Nonetheless, Brown has opened a wide lead over Newsom in both fund-raising and in polls. "It is with great regret I announce today that I am withdrawing from the race for governor of California," Newsom said in a statement. "With a young family and responsibilities at city hall, I...

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced this afternoon that he is withdrawing from the California governor's race. More to follow.

KNOXVILLE - A Knox County jury this afternoon sentenced convicted torture-slaying ringleader Lemaricus Davidson to death by lethal injection for the January 2007 murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. The jury of five women and seven men deliberated about four hours before returning its decision to a packed courtroom. “The punishment is death,” the jury foreman said. The victims' families gasped at the verdict, but Davidson showed no reaction. Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner admonished those in the courtroom to control any outburst. “The murder was especially heinous, atrocious and cruel,” the foreman said, reading from the verdict form....

The mayor of San Francisco is waging war against his own city hall over its decision to protect juvenile illegal immigrants from being deported -- even when they stand accused of felonies. Overturning the city's current policy, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted last week to stop handing illegal minors over to the feds unless they've been convicted of a serious crime. Their vote upends a year-old policy that sent more than 100 suspects into federal custody for deportation. The measure's sponsor, once an illegal immigrant himself, says innocent youths were being deported and their families were being torn apart...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-Former U.S. President Bill Clinton's endorsement of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for California governor won't likely hurt his rival Attorney General Jerry Brown's campaign, a leading analyst said Tuesday. On Monday, the former president in Los Angeles endorsed Newsom in the 2010 Democratic primary for governor. In making his endorsement, Clinton did not mention Brown, whom he had battled for the 1992 Democratic U.S. presidential nomination.

When former President Bill Clinton officially endorses San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for governor today, the question on many people's minds will be: Is this about Newsom, or Jerry Brown? Clinton and Brown's decades-long feud is, after all, one of the Democratic Party's nastiest, starting when they both sought the party's presidential nomination in 1992. Seventeen years later, the former California governor has opened an exploratory committee for a possible gubernatorial run, and Clinton's endorsement has set off speculation about a redux of the fight. Newsom discounted such talk in an interview with The Bee conducted shortly after the endorsement...

Newsom wants to charge stores that sell sodas (09-17) 20:36 PDT -- Calling soda the new tobacco, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will introduce legislation this fall that would charge a fee to retailers that sell sugary beverages. Newsom would need voter approval to tax individual cans of soda and sugary juice, but only needs approval from the Board of Supervisors to levy a fee on retailers. His legislation would charge grocery stores like Safeway and big-box stores, but would not affect restaurants that serve sodas. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/17/MNF619OSF4.DTL#ixzz0RfEhGzU6

(09-17) 20:36 PDT -- Calling soda the new tobacco, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will introduce legislation this fall that would charge a fee to retailers that sell sugary beverages. Newsom would need voter approval to tax individual cans of soda and sugary juice, but only needs approval from the Board of Supervisors to levy a fee on retailers.

Snippets: Calling soda the new tobacco, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will introduce legislation this fall that would charge a fee to retailers that sell sugary beverages. Newsom would need voter approval to tax individual cans of soda and sugary juice, but only needs approval from the Board of Supervisors to levy a fee on retailers. His legislation would charge grocery stores like Safeway and big-box stores, but would not affect restaurants that serve sodas. Jim Lazarus, vice president of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, said the group opposes the soda tax. "Does this mean there's a fee on...

Former President Bill Clinton is returning the favor of an endorsement and putting his name to work for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for governor. Newsom said he is honored to have the former president's endorsement and he thinks it is a "significant thing for our campaign." "I couldn't be more proud and honored to have my boy!" Newsom said Tuesday. The casual reference points to the relationship between the two. Their political relationship goes back to Newsom's mayoral campaign, which Clinton also supported. The move is not that big of a surprise when you consider Newsom's pit bull-like support...

Bill Clinton Supports Gavin Newsom For California Governor September 15, 2009 Seventeen years after Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown clashed in the 1992 race for the White House, the former president made clear today that bygones will not be bygones in the 2010 campaign for California governor: Clinton signed on to support Brown rival Gavin Newsom in the Democratic primary. It is highly unusual – perhaps unprecedented, according to the San Francisco mayor’s campaign – for a former president to take sides in a California gubernatorial primary. But the bad blood between Clinton and Brown, now state attorney general, runs...

"Please Pray for Justice for my baby girl and our angel, Channon" http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=10952439561&ref=nf

Torture-slayings trial, Day 9: Victim's families: Jury 'let us down' with Letalvis Cobbins verdict KNOXVILLE - The families of a young Knox County couple tortured and killed in January 2007 tonight sharply criticized a jury's decision to spare defendant Letalvis Cobbins the death penalty. "I think the jury has let us down," said Mary Newsom, mother of murder victim Chris Newsom. "I think they've let Channon and Chris down. We were hoping for the death penalty." After deliberating a little more than two hours, the jury delivered its verdict about 6:50 p.m. in Judge Richard Baumgartner's courtroom. The judge polled...

In a case that's been widely ignored by the mainstream media, justice prevailed today as Letalvis Cobbins was found guilty of the vast majority of charges, including that of first-degree murder. Cobbins was one of a group of thugs who carjacked, then raped, tortured and murdered two Knoxville residents. For more on the story, see the Knoxville News-Sentinel. http://digg.com/d311xYc

Jurors in Knoxville, Tenn., have begun hearing arguments in a trial over the grisly deaths of a white couple – allegedly at the hands of a gang of black men and one woman who tried to conceal DNA evidence by dousing one victim with bleach. According to court documents, the two were tied up, blindfolded and taken to one defendant's rental home. Shortly thereafter, Newsom was sexually assaulted, shot in the head, set on fire and his body was left beside railroad tracks. The attackers allegedly took 24 hours to kill Christian, raping her multiple times and spraying bleach in...

Former eBay CEO outspends San Francisco mayor in gubernatorial campaign as wellMayor Gavin Newsom isn't as popular on Twitter as many suspected. The social-networking loving mayor is trailing far behind several of his fellow gubernatorial candidates in campaign contributions received, according to a new study. California's Fair Political Practices Commission released how much declared candidates for state offices, including governor, raised for their campaigns during the first six months of 2009. And the study shows Mayor Newsom is trailing the queen of campaign fundraising, Republican candidate Meg Whitman, by a huge margin. The former eBay CEO received $10,813,933 from Jan....

Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco named state Sen. Alex Padilla of Pacoima as chairman of his campaign for governor this morning -- and minutes later, Padilla let loose on Newsom’s chief rival, state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. Padilla’s attack -- he cast Brown as a relic of the 1970s -- came as Newsom was set to launch a seven-stop tour of Southern California tonight with a forum at Taft High School in Woodland Hills. Newsom and Brown are vying for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the June primary, although the attorney general has not formally joined the race. Padilla...

SAN FRANCISCO—Doughnuts could be a distant memory for San Francisco city workers. They must now follow "healthy meeting" guidelines under a sweeping initiative unveiled by Mayor Gavin Newsom Thursday to encourage better eating. That means less junk food and smaller portions at staff meetings. The mayor is also ordering all city departments to help locate vacant or unused city-owned land that could be used to grow food. Vendors that offer healthy food will get preference for city contracts and permits. All vending machines on city property additionally will have to meet new nutrition standards.

S.F. mayor orders healthy food in cityPosted on: Thursday, 9 July 2009, 19:48 CDT All San Francisco city departments must audit unused land in the city to see if it can be turned into community gardens or farms, the mayor said. In addition, food vendors contracting with the city must offer healthful and sustainable food, all vending machines on city property must offer healthful food options and farmers' markets must begin accepting food stamps, Mayor Gavin Newsom said, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. There also will be no more doughnut shop runs before meetings and conferences held by city workers,...

Governor hopeful seeking cash from online followers Forget all about his days as a boozing sexaholic. Now that Gavin Newsom is running for governor of California, the mayor of San Francisco wants people to think of him as a Twitterer, not a twit. And now he's cashing in on his Twitter fame with a "tweetraiser." Newsom announced his candidacy on Twitter, and has wooed the Internet startup's founders. He now has more than 600,000 followers on the service who subscribe to his 140-character tweets. He's asking them to donate between $10 and $25,900 to his campaign fund. Chelsea Handler, the...

D.A.'s office let illegal immigrants go Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, June 23, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris' office on Monday defended allowing about a half dozen first-time drug offenders to clear their records by going through a job-training program, even after prosecutors learned they were deportable as undocumented immigrants. But Harris' aides said they have since made changes in the program that would prevent a recurrence of instances in which illegal immigrants got their criminal records cleared by going through the Back on Track jobs program, which trains offenders for jobs that...

Mayor Gavin Newsom has repeatedly boasted of balancing San Francisco's dire budget deficit without raising taxes - but has quietly introduced hundreds of new fees and fee increases that would make living, working and traveling in the city more expensive. Some of them are likely to be controversial, including charging youths a daily fee if they're detained at juvenile hall, charging poor people a monthly fee if they need help managing their welfare money and charging tourists - including those who live as close as Daly City - more to enjoy Golden Gate Park facilities. The mayor has widely discussed...

Got a pothole? Notice a broken streetlight? Someone graffiti your wall? Maybe you just want to know when the street cleaner's coming. Just Twitter dude! San Francisco residents can now access the city's 311 city services call center via Twitter, the mayor's office announced today. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that the city has hooked up the social networking site to its 311 call center. Now instead of dialing in to find out where to get your hot dog cart permit, you can simply "tweet." Twitter founder Biz Stone says the city by the bay is the first...

Ever since Gavin Newsom opened San Francisco's City Hall to same-sex weddings in 2004, he hasn't shied away from the political, legal and social firestorm he helped fuel. Yet the San Francisco mayor's gubernatorial campaign has also been working doggedly to shed his single-issue candidate persona. Newsom and his handlers have tried to advance his image as a "hard-headed pragmatist" who gets things done, who reshaped San Francisco with green buildings and new housing and now is making tough city budget choices amid California's fiscal crisis. But when the California Supreme Court affirmed the Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage...

"Like it or not," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and his handlers made a point of not trying to electrify any crowds after Tuesday's state Supreme Court decision upholding the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. Instead, the mayor offered up a cooler, calmer message delivered over the course of three hours in individual interviews with a string of local, state and national reporters. "We just feel one-on-one offered the best opportunity to get our message out," said mayoral spokesman Nathan Ballard. The sit-downs also guaranteed that there would be no repeat of Newsom's infamous, growling declaration in the City Hall...

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a declared Democratic 2010 California gubernatorial candidate, has decided to return a hefty $25,000 campaign contribution -- from the son of controversial conservative talk show host, Michael Savage. As we reported earlier this month, Savage was one of 16 individuals on a "name and shame" list who was banned from the United Kingdom. U.K. Home Secretary Jaqui Smith charged that Savage's right wing controverial broadcasts constituted "hate speech" and could promote violence, and did not represent the "values" of Britian.Now, the move at home against Savage comes after a progressive activist in San Francisco, Aaron...

Mayor Gavin Newsom said Friday that 1,000 city workers would lose their jobs in the coming months to help close a growing budget deficit, a swift response after the city's biggest union this week rejected $38 million in wage concessions. The layoffs will hurt all city departments, according to the mayor's office, but will have the most drastic effect on the Department of Public Health, the city's largest agency. In addition to health care workers, recreation directors, security guards and others will lose their jobs. A total of 262 city workers have already lost their jobs over the last six...

Democratic state Attorney General Jerry Brown -- the former two-term governor expected to make another run in 2010 -- has issued the ultimate challenge to newbie Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom. He says he's willing to do "any test" to prove that he can meet and match any candidate, anywhere -- on brain power. Brown, 71, made the comments on KGO 810 AM this morning, after he was asked about the "generational" differences between himself and the San Francisco mayor, 41, who declared himself a candidate for governor earlier this week. "If he's asserting that the year he's born ......

It seems Mayor Gavin Newsom has developed a little crush in his run for governor. It's not his fault really. I mean who can blame him. The new apple of his eye has the same propensity to cause a stir with her loose tongue and pose for shocking photos as Newsom. And really it's not his fault. He can't control what people ask him. As much as Newsom tries to get away from her, the name of Miss California, who upset people when she spoke out against same-sex marriage, keeps popping up. Perhaps he should not have defended the controversial...

To the delight of California’s illegal aliens, socialists, unqualified minority job-seekers and militant bicyclers who blow up Hummer dealerships in the name of suffering polar bears, smarmy San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday he is running for governor in 2010. Newsom chose San Francisco-based Twitter─the de facto, mandatory communication tool for hip celebs and gossipy high school girls─to officially reveal his plans. Indeed, inexperienced, over-packaged, provincial narcissists with radical agendas, cocaine issues, elitism fetishes, an undeserved sense of entitlement and contempt for the American way of life aren’t just for the White House anymore. California has found change...

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom on Saturday took a swipe at potential rival Jerry Brown, telling party delegates he represents the future and not just "a stroll down memory lane." The San Francisco mayor was greeted by thunderous applause as he addressed delegates at the state Democratic Party convention in Sacramento. After announcing his candidacy this week, Newsom made his pitch to the party faithful by casting himself as the candidate of tomorrow. "Will we offer Californians a stroll down memory lane?" he said. "Will we embrace the past, or will we embrace the future?" Newsom, 41, did not mention...

Gavin Newsom, the divorced San Francisco mayor who provoked a constitutional crisis in 2004 by granting marriage licenses to 4,000 same-sex couples, has made it official: he is running for governor in the 2010 elections. Newsom, 41, a graduate of Santa Clara University who has described himself as a “lifelong Catholic,” chose to use a YouTube video, Facebook and Twitter to make the announcement on Tuesday. In the YouTube video, Newsom says, “I'm a candidate for governor of California because I know we can do better." Newsom’s 2004 decision to grant marriage licenses to 4,000 same-sex couples in San Francisco...

Just hours after announcing his candidacy for California Governor, Gavin Newsom hit the campaign trail and headed to San Diego. The 41 year old Mayor San Francisco visited Sapphire Energy, a bio tech company in La Jolla. The company is trying to convert algae into alternative fuels. "I'm very intense and passionate about the environment and have been for more years than I've been in public life," Newsom said. Gavin Newsom gained national attention for his vocal support of gay marriage. He was asked about the controversy involving Carrie Prejean. The Miss USA contestant from San Diego told judges her...

San Francisco, CA (AHN) - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced he will run for governor of California. The 41-year-old mayor used social networking sites Twitter and Facebook to announce his decision to seek the Democratic nomination for the state's gubernatorial race to succeed Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I'm running for Governor because California needs a new direction. In San Francisco, we've defended people's civil rights, created a universal health care program, protected teachers from layoffs and enacted a local stimulus plan that will put people back to work and save jobs. And we've done it while balancing our budgets...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has made it official—he's running to become California's next governor. The 41-year-old mayor used the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook to announce on Tuesday that he was seeking the Democratic nomination to succeed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Georges Marciano, a co-founder of the Guess clothing empire, is the latest person seeking to become governor of California. The one-time fashion magnate's paperwork was recorded on Monday with the secretary of state's office, allowing him to run as an independent in 2010, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is termed out. The 62-year-old Beverly Hills resident plans to campaign on a platform that focuses on exposing and eliminating political corruption and putting "the power of government back in the people's hands," said his publicist, Rod Harrell. "He doesn't really want to be tied into the same old good-old-boys network," Harrell said....

San Franciscans concerned with a lack of government transperancy rest easy. Twitter is coming to the rescue. Everybody's favorite mayor running for governor, Gavin Newsom, was at Twitter's headquarters on Tuesday morning to twitterfy San Francisco. Newsom is no stranger to the Twitter phenomenon as he seeks all the attention he can get ahead of his run for governor. He often tweets what he is up to from his cell phone. In fact he tweeted his meeting with the head of Twitter and his recent apperances on network television and his radio show. "Heading over to Twitter HQ tomorrow --...

Jennifer Siebel Newsom is the first lady of San Francisco — but she also stars in a very racy romantic comedy. Before Jennifer even met her husband (Mayor Gavin Newsom) she made the indie flick The Trouble With Love which has now wound up in the hands of Warner Bros. for an "on demand" and limited theater release this Friday. "It is going to cause quite a stir as people aren’t used to seeing a political figure like this," director Gene Rhee told Tarts. "But I just hope people judge her (Jennifer) for her amazing performance not for her political...

Liberals tying themselves up in knots with their own nonsense. Love it.

Only one objection: they should have put that tab on Chris Daly and Gavin Newsom's salary. Read on

Terry Childs, the man whom prosecutors allege hijacked San Francisco's municipal computer network, will get another chance to meet with mayor Gavin Newsom. And this time the tête-à-tête will be in court instead of jail. Childs, a network engineer, was hired by the city to work on the municipal network, which is used for city employee payroll and other services. When a dispute arose with his boss, Childs was jailed and refused to turn over critical system information such as passwords to anyone but Newsom. Defense Attorney Richard Shikman has as the court to have the criminal charges of felony...

Every public school sixth-grader in the city is guaranteed a spot at San Francisco State University under a program launched today by Mayor Gavin Newsom. "Guaranteed" might be a bit of a strong word here, since the students still have to meet basic eligibility requirements in order to get into the university. But the idea is to provide enough resources at every public school that all 3,500 current sixth-graders will meet those requirements by the time they graduate in 2015. Which would mean, by the way, that the school district aims to get every single sixth grader's GPA up to...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   California: NRA Victory in San Francisco Lawsuit!   Thursday, January 29, 2009   PUBLIC HOUSING OFFICIALS DROP ILLEGAL BAN ON FIREARMS POSSESSION IN PUBLIC HOUSING An NRA-led coalition of self-defense civil rights groups including the Second Amendment Foundation and the California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) has prevailed in a Second Amendment lawsuit challenging a ban on firearm possession in San Francisco public housing residences. “This success is further vindication of the U.S. Supreme Court's Heller ruling upholding the Second Amendment as protecting a fundamental, individual civil right for all law-abiding...

SAN FRANCISCO, January 16, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A San Francisco assessor has called for the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco to hand over $15 million in taxes because of an internal restructuring of the archdiocese, a move that some are describing as "retaliation" for the Church's opposition to Proposition 8. Assessor Phil Ting concluded that the Catholic Church owed the city taxes after the archdiocese was restructured and its property, which is almost all used by parish facilities, was consolidated seven months ago. "Because we knew the accusations (of unfair treatment) could be out there, we worked to look at...