Ending weeks of speculation, Gavin Newsom is going to announce his campaign for Lt. Governor tomorrow:
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will announce Friday that he is running for lieutenant governor, people who have been contacted by him say....
Newsom has formed a fundraising committee for the run, and the first checks for his new statewide bid were reported Thursday. He reported receiving nearly $18,000 from three donors Thursday. He received $6,500 apiece from Mark and Susie Buell, owners of the Esprit clothing company and longtime backers. He also reported receiving $4,950 from Peter Ragone, his former press secretary.
So now we'll have a 3-way race between Newsom, State Senator Dean Florez, and LA City Councilmember Janice Hahn. As you recall, Calitics interviewed Janice Hahn last November, and she made a very favorable and strong impression. We've also interviewed Gavin Newsom back when he was still a candidate for governor.
In many ways, this race will showcase the future leadership of California Democrats. The winner of the primary will go on to defeat Abel Maldonado and will be a top contender to be the next governor, whether they succeed Jerry Brown or (god forbid) Meg Whitman. It's to the benefit of Democrats and progressives that this race be issue-oriented, and free of the unfortunate personal attacks that would undermine all the candidates involved. |
