The Greening Of San Francisco

By Chris Taylor

As if Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory weren't enough, California Democrats now have to contend with the very real possibility of losing the mayor's race in San Francisco--and to someone who has outflanked them on the left. A TV poll last week put Green Party candidate Matt Gonzalez ahead of Democratic rival Gavin Newsom, 52% to 45%, among those who say they are "certain" to vote in the runoff election on Dec. 9.

Gonzalez, 38, is a floppy-haired former public defender who once played bass in a punk rock band and doesn't own a watch or a car. Elected to the city's board of supervisors during the dotcom boom, Gonzalez (who was a Democrat until he became disillusioned with the party's campaign tactics in 2000) helped lead the charge against upscale real estate development to house the high-tech rich. But he still manages to charm campaign contributions out of two of the city's biggest developers. He promises to make San Francisco a "laboratory for what government will look like under Green leadership." So far, that appears to be a pledge not to be like the incumbent mayor, Willie Brown, in promoting political cohorts to choice city posts.

Gonzalez seems to be riding the anti-incumbent wave that swept Schwarzenegger into office. He joined the race only 12 weeks before the primary, and finished second to Newsom, who until recently was the all-but-anointed heir of the term-limited Brown. Newsom, 36, was well known for his backing last year of a popular proposition dubbed Care Not Cash that sought to solve homelessness in San Francisco by offering shelter vouchers in place of welfare payments. He is endorsed by such top Democrats as Al Gore and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi of California. And he has a $3 million campaign war chest. Gonzalez has raised a mere $300,000.

But in the counterculture capital, Newsom's advantage may be a drawback. "I tell Democrats, 'Want to have an easier race against a Green? Don't outspend him 10 to one,'" Gonzalez says. "It's such an unlevel playing field, the electorate starts to identify with the small guy."

--By Chris Taylor