131 Facts About Gavin Newsom

Gavin Christopher Newsom was born on October 10,1967 and is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019.

Gavin Newsom began his political career in 1996, when San Francisco mayor Willie Brown appointed him to the city's Parking and Traffic Commission.

Brown appointed Gavin Newsom to fill a vacancy on the Board of Supervisors the next year and Gavin Newsom was elected to the board in 1998,2000 and 2002.

In 2003, at age 36, Gavin Newsom was elected the 42nd mayor of San Francisco, the city's youngest in a century.

Gavin Newsom was elected lieutenant governor of California in 2010, defeating incumbent Republican Abel Maldonado, and reelected in 2014.

Gavin Newsom faced criticism for his personal behavior and leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was followed by an attempt to recall him from office.

Gavin Newsom prevailed in the 2021 recall election, "emphatically beating" what he labeled the Republican effort to remove him.

Gavin Newsom was elected to a second term in the 2022 election.

Newsom hosted The Gavin Newsom Show on Current TV from 2012 to 2013 and wrote the 2013 book Citizenville, about using digital tools for democratic change.

One of Gavin Newsom's maternal great-grandfathers, Scotsman Thomas Addis, was a pioneer scientist in the field of nephrology and a professor of medicine at Stanford University.

Gavin Newsom is the second cousin, twice removed, of musician Joanna Gavin Newsom.

Gavin Newsom's aunt was married to Ron Pelosi, the brother-in-law of then Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

Gavin Newsom's father was an advocate for otters and the family had one as a pet.

Gavin Newsom's parents divorced in 1972 when he was a boy.

Gavin Newsom has said he did not have an easy childhood, partly due to dyslexia.

Gavin Newsom attended kindergarten and first grade at Ecole Notre Dame Des Victoires, a French-American bilingual school in San Francisco, but eventually transferred out, due to the severe dyslexia that still affects him.

Gavin Newsom attended third through fifth grades at Notre Dame des Victoires, where he was placed in remedial reading classes.

Gavin Newsom was a shooting guard in basketball and an outfielder in baseball.

Gavin Newsom's skills placed him on the cover of the Marin Independent Journal.

Gavin Newsom worked several jobs in high school to help support his family.

Gavin Newsom attended Santa Clara University on a partial baseball scholarship, graduating in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science with a major in political science.

Gavin Newsom was a left-handed pitcher for Santa Clara, but he threw his arm out after two years and has not thrown a baseball since.

Gavin Newsom lived in the Alameda Apartments, which he later compared to living in a hotel.

Gavin Newsom has reflected on his education fondly, crediting Santa Clara's Jesuit approach with helping him become an independent thinker who questions orthodoxy.

Gavin Newsom's investments included five restaurants and two retail clothing stores.

Gavin Newsom sold his share of his San Francisco businesses when he became mayor in 2004.

Gavin Newsom maintained his ownership in the PlumpJack companies outside San Francisco, including the PlumpJack Winery in Oakville, California, new PlumpJack-owned Cade Winery in Angwin, California, and the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn.

Gavin Newsom is the president in absentia of Airelle Wines Inc.

Gavin Newsom earned between $141,000 and $251,000 in 2007 from his business interests.

Gavin Newsom was sworn in by his father and pledged to bring his business experience to the board.

Gavin Newsom described himself as a "social liberal and a fiscal watchdog".

Gavin Newsom was elected to a full four-year term to the board in 1998.

Gavin Newsom was reelected in 2000 and 2002 to represent the second district, which includes Pacific Heights, the Marina, Cow Hollow, Sea Cliff and Laurel Heights, which had San Francisco's highest income level and highest Republican registration.

Gavin Newsom paid $500 to the San Francisco Republican Party to appear on the party's endorsement slate in 2000 while running for Supervisor.

Gavin Newsom faced no opposition in his 2002 reelection bid.

Gavin Newsom was one of two supervisors endorsed by Rescue Muni, a transit riders group, in his 1998 reelection.

Gavin Newsom sponsored Proposition B to require Muni and other city departments to develop detailed customer service plans.

Gavin Newsom sponsored a ballot measure from Rescue Muni; a version of the measure was approved by voters in November 1999.

Gavin Newsom supported allowing restaurants to serve alcohol at their outdoor tables, banning tobacco advertisements visible from the streets, stiffer penalties for landlords who run afoul of rent-control laws, and a resolution, which was defeated, to commend Colin Powell for raising money for youth programs.

Gavin Newsom supported HOPE, a failed local ballot measure that would have allowed an increased condo-conversion rate if a certain percentage of tenants within a building were buying their units.

Gavin Newsom's signature achievement as a supervisor was a voter initiative called Care Not Cash, which offered care, supportive housing, drug treatment, and help from behavioral health specialists for the homeless in lieu of direct cash aid from the state's general assistance program.

Gavin Newsom placed first in the November 4,2003, general election in a nine-person field.

The race was partisan, with attacks against Gonzalez for his support of Ralph Nader in the 2000 presidential election, and attacks against Gavin Newsom for contributing $500 to a Republican slate mailer in 2000 that endorsed issues Gavin Newsom supported.

Gavin Newsom ran as a business-friendly centrist Democrat and a moderate in San Francisco politics; some of his opponents called him conservative.

Gavin Newsom claimed he was a centrist in the Dianne Feinstein mold.

Gavin Newsom ran on the slogan "great cities, great ideas", and presented over 21 policy papers.

Gavin Newsom pledged to continue working on San Francisco's homelessness issue.

Gavin Newsom called for unity among the city's political factions, and promised to address the issues of public schools, potholes and affordable housing.

Gavin Newsom said he was "a different kind of leader" who "isn't afraid to solve even the toughest problems".

The San Francisco Chronicle declared in August 2007 that Gavin Newsom faced no "serious threat to his re-election bid", having raised $1.6 million for his reelection campaign by early August.

Gavin Newsom vowed that the city would boycott the hotels by not sponsoring city events at them until they agreed to a contract with workers.

In 2005, Gavin Newsom pushed for a state law to allow California communities to create policy restricting certain breeds of dogs.

Gavin Newsom came under attack from the San Francisco Democratic Party in 2009 for his failure to implement the City of San Francisco's sanctuary city rule, under which the city was to not assist US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Gavin Newsom hosted the Urban-Rural Roundtable in 2008 to explore ways to promote regional food development and increased access to healthy, affordable food.

Gavin Newsom secured $8 million in federal and local funds for the Better Streets program, which ensures that public health perspectives are fully integrated into urban planning processes.

Gavin Newsom signed a menu-labeling bill into law, requiring that chain restaurants print nutrition information on their menus.

Gavin Newsom was named "America's Most Social Mayor" in 2010 by Same Point, based on analysis of the social media profiles of mayors of the 100 largest US cities.

Still, Gavin Newsom's unexpected move brought national attention to the issue of same-sex marriage, solidifying political support for him in San Francisco and in the LGBTQ+ community.

Gavin Newsom received the endorsement of former President Bill Clinton in September 2009.

Gavin Newsom filed initial paperwork to run for lieutenant governor in February 2010, and officially announced his candidacy in March.

Gavin Newsom received the Democratic nomination in June and won the election on November 2,2010.

Gavin Newsom was sworn in as lieutenant governor on January 10,2011, and served under Governor Jerry Brown.

Edwin M Lee, the city administrator, took office the day after Newsom was sworn in as lieutenant governor.

Gavin Newsom supported a failed measure in 2012 that sought to end capital punishment in California.

Gavin Newsom claimed the initiative would save California millions of dollars, citing statistics that California had spent $5 billion since 1978 to execute just 13 people.

In 2016, Gavin Newsom supported Proposition 62, which would have repealed the death penalty in California.

In 2014, Gavin Newsom was the only statewide politician to endorse California Proposition 47, legislation that recategorized certain nonviolent offenses like drug and property crimes as misdemeanors as opposed to felonies.

In July 2015, Gavin Newsom released the Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy's final report, which he had convened with the American Civil Liberties Union of California in 2013.

Gavin Newsom supported the resulting measure, Proposition 64, which legalized cannabis use and cultivation for California state residents who are 21 or older.

On February 24,2017, in response to pro-enforcement statements by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Gavin Newsom sent Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Donald Trump a letter urging them not to increase federal enforcement against recreational cannabis firms opening in California.

Gavin Newsom joined Long Beach City College Superintendent Eloy Oakley in a November 2015 op-ed calling for the creation of the California College Promise, which would create partnerships between public schools, public universities, and employers and offer a free community college education.

In June 2016, Gavin Newsom helped secure $15 million in the state budget to support the creation of promise programs throughout the state.

In December 2015, Gavin Newsom called on the University of California to reclassify computer science courses as a core academic class to incentivize more high schools to offer computer science curriculum.

Gavin Newsom sponsored successful legislation signed by Governor Brown in September 2016, that began the planning process for expanding computer science education to all state students, beginning as early as kindergarten.

In 2016, Gavin Newsom passed a series of reforms at the University of California to give student-athletes additional academic and injury-related support, and to ensure that contracts for athletic directors and coaches emphasized academic progress.

Gavin Newsom released his first book, Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government, on February 7,2013.

In 2015, Gavin Newsom partnered with the Institute for Advanced Technology and Public Policy at California Polytechnic State University to launch Digital Democracy, an online tool that uses facial and voice recognition to enable users to navigate California legislative proceedings.

On February 11,2015, Gavin Newsom announced that he was opening a campaign account for governor in the 2018 elections, allowing him to raise funds for a campaign to succeed Brown as governor of California.

In 2022, Gavin Newsom was elected to a second term, defeating Republican state senator Brian Dahle.

On March 13,2019, three years after voters narrowly rejected its repeal, Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on the state's death penalty, preventing any execution in the state as long as he remained governor.

In January 2022, Gavin Newsom directed the state to begin dismantling its death row in San Quentin, to be transformed into a "space for rehabilitation programs", as all the condemned inmates are moving to other prisons that have maximum security facilities.

Gavin Newsom pardoned three men who were attempting to avoid being deported to Cambodia or Vietnam in November 2019.

In December 2019, Gavin Newsom granted parole to a Cambodian refugee who had been held in a California prison due to a murder case.

Gavin Newsom has spoken in favor of Assembly Bill 1196, which would ban carotid artery restraints and choke holds in California.

In September 2021, Gavin Newsom signed legislation raising the minimum age to become a police officer from 18 to 21.

In September 2020, Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill allowing California transgender inmates to be placed in prisons that correspond with their gender identity.

Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on March 4,2020, after the first death in California attributable to the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus disease.

Gavin Newsom's stated intention was to help California prepare for and contain COVID-19's spread.

Gavin Newsom announced that mitigation policies for the state's estimated 108,000 unsheltered homeless people would be prioritized, with a significant push to move them indoors.

Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that allowed the state to commandeer hotels and medical facilities to treat COVID-19 patients and permitted government officials to hold teleconferences in private without violating open meeting laws.

Gavin Newsom directed local school districts to make their own decisions on school closures, but used an executive order to ensure students' needs would be met whether or not their school was physically open.

Gavin Newsom called on bars and brewery and winery tasting rooms to close their doors to patrons.

Gavin Newsom asked restaurants to stop serving meals inside their establishments and offer take-out meals only.

Gavin Newsom provided state funds to pay for protective measures such as hotel room lodging for hospital and other essential workers fearing returning home and infecting family members.

Under pressure, Gavin Newsom delegated more decision-making on reopening to the local level.

In January 2021, the Los Angeles Times reported that Gavin Newsom's administration had mismanaged $11.4 billion by disbursing unemployment benefits to ineligible claimants, especially those paid through the federally funded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.

In September 2019, Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 1, which would have preserved environmental protections at the state level that were set to roll back nationally under the Trump administration's environmental policy.

Gavin Newsom attended the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, where he spoke of California as a climate leader due to the actions of governors before him.

Gavin Newsom's speech mentioned climate change and the wildfires prevalent in California at the time.

On September 23,2020, Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to phase out sales of gasoline-powered vehicles and require all new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2035.

Gavin Newsom attributed this to corporate greed and price gouging by oil companies.

Gavin Newsom proposed a windfall profits tax and penalty for oil companies in September 2022.

On March 28,2023, Gavin Newsom signed a law that authorizes the California Energy Commission to set "a profit threshold above which companies would be assessed a financial penalty", requires petroleum companies to report additional profit data to state regulators, and creates a new oversight division of the California Energy Commission to investigate price gouging in the gasoline industry.

Siebel Gavin Newsom received $2.3 million in salary from the nonprofit since launching it in 2011.

In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom said that he saw no conflict in his wife's nonprofit accepting donations from companies that lobby his administration.

Gavin Newsom's vetoes have included bills to allow ranked-choice voting, require an ethnic studies class as a high school graduation requirement, and reduce penalties for jaywalking.

Gavin Newsom used a larger than normal number of executive orders during the 2020 legislative session.

On June 10,2021, Gavin Newsom called federal Judge Roger Benitez "a stone cold ideologue" and "a wholly owned subsidiary of the gun lobby of the National Rifle Association" after Benitez struck down California's statewide ban on assault weapons.

On July 1,2022, Gavin Newsom signed two gun control bills passed by the legislature.

On July 22,2022, Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1327, a law enabling private citizens to sue anyone who imports, distributes, manufactures or sells illegal firearms in California.

In December 2021, Gavin Newsom announced his intention to make California a "sanctuary" for abortion, which included possibly paying for procedures, travel, and lodging for out-of-state abortion seekers, if the procedure is banned in Republican-led states.

In February 2023, Gavin Newsom organized the Reproductive Freedom Alliance of state governors supportive of abortion and reproductive rights.

Gavin Newsom indicated that he wanted to cancel Walgreens' $54 million contract with the California state prison system.

Gavin Newsom campaigned on reducing the cost of health care and increasing access.

Gavin Newsom indicated his support for creating a universal state health-care system.

In 2021, Gavin Newsom signed legislation expanding Medi-Cal eligibility to undocumented residents over age 50.

Gavin Newsom was criticized in early 2022 for walking back from his support for universal health care and not supporting Assembly Bill 1400, which would have instituted single-payer health care in California; critics suggested that opposition from business interests, which had donated large sums to Gavin Newsom and his party, had swayed his opinion.

Gavin Newsom opposes NIMBY sentiment, declaring in 2022 that "NIMBYism is destroying the state".

Gavin Newsom signed a bill which expedites the environmental review process for new multifamily developments worth at least $15,000,000.

In 2022, Gavin Newsom signed 39 bills into law intended to address California's housing crisis, three of which entailed major land use reform.

Gavin Newsom was concerned about the tens of thousands of Salvadorans who were fleeing the smallest country in Central America for the US each year.

Gavin Newsom said he wanted to "ignite a more enlightened engagement and dialogue".

Gavin Newsom was baptized and raised in his father's Catholic faith.

Gavin Newsom identifies as a practicing Catholic, saying that he has a "strong sense of faith that is perennial, day in and day out".

In December 2001, Gavin Newsom married Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former San Francisco prosecutor and legal commentator for Court TV, CNN, and MSNBC.

Gavin Newsom was later named senior advisor to Republican President Donald Trump, whom Newsom has extensively criticized.

Gavin Newsom later became an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church.

Gavin Newsom admitted the affair the next day and apologized to the public, saying he was "deeply sorry" for his "personal lapse of judgment".

Gavin Newsom began dating film director Jennifer Siebel in September 2006.

Gavin Newsom announced he would seek treatment for alcohol use disorder in February 2007.

Gavin Newsom had originally put the property up for sale in early 2019 for $5.895 million, but removed the property from the market after a price reduction to $5.695 million.