Early in his tenure, facing historic budget deficits, unemployment, and office vacancies due to the dot.com bust and shock of 9-11, Mayor Newsom challenged the city to curb its spending and use fiscal restraint. In the first three years of his administration, San Francisco raised its bond rating and cut millions of dollars of waste from the budget, unemployment decreased by 26 percent, 57 companies located to the city - including the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Stem Cell Institute - and 925 convention groups were booked in 2005, breaking the city's previous records for tourism.
Mayor Newsom's refusal to accept the status quo is clearly seen in his innovative solutions to end chronic homelessness. A problem considered to be the "third-rail" of San Francisco politics, homelessness was deemed unsolvable by many local politicians. But by implementing a model that emphasizes housing and services first, 6,288 homeless individuals have left the streets, 4,392 of which have been placed in permanent supportive housing and 2,443 individuals which have been reunited with family or friends. In addition, Mayor Newsom's volunteer program, Project Homeless Connect, has gathered an incredible 22,000 San Franciscans to volunteer their time to assist the homeless - connecting them with medical attention, federal benefits, and a host of critical services.
In 2005, Mayor Newsom pledged that San Francisco would undertake Universal Healthcare for all San Franciscans. In 2006, in partnership with Supervisor Tom Ammiano, the groundwork for Newsom's plan began to take shape and in July 2007, Healthy San Francisco launched, ensuring that all 82,000 San Franciscans currently without healthcare insurance are guaranteed comprehensive, high-quality healthcare.
To curtail the inefficiencies of bureaucracy and connect citizens directly to all facets of the city's government, Mayor Newsom launched 311. 2,300 city telephone numbers were replaced by a single 3 digit number that can be used to access a live operator, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, 365 days a year, and available in 140 languages. 311 allows for services to be tracked more effectively, minimizing response times for issues such as pothole repair, trash pickup, and parking and traffic complaints.
In 2005, Mayor Newsom undertook a comprehensive overhaul of San Francisco's century-old Civil Service system and mandatory performance evaluations were instituted to ensure effective and efficient management. To allow San Francisco to compete for the best and brightest candidates across the nation, civil service rules were amended to cut the time it takes to hire qualified candidates from 6-12 months to 60 days. In addition to these reforms, the Mayor also made significant inroads in transforming the way city government operates by implementing SFStat. By effectively tracking and accounting for the city's costs with a central database, 6 city departments were consolidated, 1,500 positions were eliminated, the city's vehicle fleet was reduced by 21%, and cell phone use was curtailed by one-third, saving taxpayers upwards of $78 million dollars.
As a means of keeping and attracting families, over the past three years, Mayor Newsom has made a historic investment of $77 million to support San Francisco's schools. From Mandarin Immersion to Universal Preschool and Afterschool Programs, to Wellness Centers and Truancy Abatement efforts, the Mayor has partnered with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to ensure that all of the city's children receive an excellent education regardless of the neighborhood they hail from.
In the face of increasing housing costs, in 2005 Mayor Newsom announced Home 15/5 -- a groundbreaking initiative to facilitate the development of 15,000 new housing units over five years, 5,400 of which will be made affordable to low and moderate income San Franciscans. To cope with the massive federal cuts in housing programs like Hope 6 and the Section 8 program, the Mayor will also initiative HopeSF in 2007, an effort to rebuild San Francisco's most distressed public housing sites.
Striving to undertake the issues that affect us globally, Mayor Newsom has also elevated San Francisco's environmental stature. In 2004, he unveiled San Francisco's Climate Action Plan, which aims to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2.5 million tons by 2012 and curb global warming through strict goals that exceed the United Nations Kyoto Protocols. The Mayor has also set a course for San Francisco to have the cleanest public transportation fleet in the nation by 2007 and transition the city's entire taxi fleet to hybrid, alternative fuel, and green vehicles. In addition, San Francisco led 150 cities in signing the Urban Environmental Accords, which mandated the implementation of green building and public space improvements. Mayor Newsom has also committed to studying new alternative sources of energy that exist - such as tidal, wave, and wind power - because of San Francisco's unique placement at the gateway to the Golden Gate and Pacific Ocean.
Since the environment of the city rests not solely in the hands of the vehicles on the road but also with pedestrians on sidewalks and children in parks, the Mayor has expanded his Livable City Initiative to green San Francisco's streets and help define the unique characteristics of each of its neighborhoods. By securing $8 million dollars in federal and local funds, the Mayor has implemented sweeping streetscape improvements across the city. As part of the Clean and Green Initiative, this Better Streets Program is a coordinated city effort to repair existing roadways, to redesign streets for more efficient traffic flow, and to beautify city streets with sustainable plantings, trees and community gardens. From planting trees, to improving median strips, to installing new trash bins, flower pots and newspaper racks, Mayor Newsom has demonstrated his commitment to a more livable urban environment.
Mayor Newsom appointed two women - including one Chinese - American - as his Police and Fire Chief in 2004. And as Police Chief Heather Fong and Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White oversee San Francisco's public safety, they do so with the aid of the award winning city website, 72hours.org, which won widespread acclaim in 2006 for its comprehensive instructions and user friendly demonstrations on how to prepare for a major disaster.
Before embarking on his career in public service, Mayor Newsom was a successful small businessman. In 1992 he opened his first local business, the PlumpJack Wine Shop. Today, PlumpJack owns and operates 15 separate businesses throughout Northern California.
Gavin Newsom was born October 10, 1967 to the Honorable Judge William Newsom and Tessa Newsom. He grew up in the Bay Area and graduated from Santa Clara University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. In 2005, Newsom earned an honorable mention as one of Time Magazine's Best Big City Mayors and was named one of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders.
Newsom is viewed in many political circles as a potential candidate for Governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election. In late 2007 and early 2008, Newsom met with Democratic strategists and supporters to discuss a run for governor.
Learn more about Mayor Newsom's exploration in becoming California's next Governor.
