I think the Mayor of San Francisco is a hero!

[romantico]

Can anyone tell me about him. I was surpsied at how young he is. IMO, being a politican is taking risks & sometimes doing the right thing isn't very popular.I applaud the mayor for his courage to do the right thing!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. I don't know much about him

but if you search the archives from the election, you will be able to see all the hateful things DU had to say about him since he was more impure than the Green candidate..just to give you an idea of how WRONG many on this site can be about the so called MODERATE candidate.

[proud patriot]

2. He's shown great Courage

I commend him .

I must admit I don't know much about him .

[Demobrat]

3. He was real heroic

when he sent Willie Brown down to the African American churches to call his opponent a racist. And when the city workers were threatened with their jobs if they didn't work and vote for him, that was heroism on a grand scale. Gays are a big voting block here, real big, so he's not being quite as brave as if he was mayor of, say, Houston. Not to disparage what he's done vis a vis gay marriage, he's made a lot of people happy, but don't kid yourself. The guy is a poltician.

[sadiesworld]

7. I think Jon Stewart had a similar take on the amount ...

of political courage it took to promote gay rights in San Francisco.

[AndyP]

4. I give him props

I mean not that San Fran is the most conservative place in the world, but i'm glad he took a stand for what is right. If this all plays out like it should, he will have a big golden star on his resume which may lead to bigger and better things.

[KharmaTrain]

5. I Was Very Impressed

Last night, he wrapped that Colorado Wingnut Stepford Wife Congresswoman around a tree several times.

He definitely stands up for his convictions and won't let the right wing rhetoric bother him...in fact he took it and shoved it back in their faces.

He knows he's got overwhelming support in his city and that's all that matters...but I'll say the California Democratic party should take notice in evicting the Gropinator in '06.

[tigereye]

6. I say good for him!

It has been really sweet to see all those couples getting married. Is is a marriage revolt?! Kind of a neat concept.

[KharmaTrain]

13. Yes...And No...

I'm glad that people who've had long-term relationships can now feel they're as equal as those of us who are "traditional" (please note the quotation marks). My wife's cousin is a lesbian who has been in a committed relationship for 9 years and is raising two very well-adjusted and sharp little boys. They had a wedding and as far as our family is concerned, they're as much a family unit as me, my wife and our two children are.

However, I also see a media circus happening here and the far edges...right and left...gay and religious...going way over the top. Every preacher I've heard questioned about the if homosexuality is a choice or genetic sounds like a babbling fool and their definition of the man/woman caveman image of marriage makes my skin crawl...and I've been with the same woman for 27 years.

At this point, I'd rally around the concept of Civil Unions to codify benefit and other rights...the good fight here that the Right Wing looks the worst in fighting, and avoid the spiritual/religious/moral aspect as being irrelevant to either a federal ammendment or an election.

[Not Me]

12. No kidding...

He took care of not only her, but the RW pastor who tried to trap him questioning his Catholic values as well.

The guy is good.

[newyawker99]

16. Hi orlandoFL!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Lisa0825]

8. I completely agree!

Someday, he'll be in the history books as playing a major role in this stage of the civil rights movement. And I'll be telling my kids (if I ever have them!LOL) about how I remembered it all happening. and they'll say, "wow. people really discriminated for that? how stupid!" LOL

[donsu]

9. me too - by gosh the man speaks out the truth loud and clear

nt

[DrWeird]

10. He's a modern day St. Valentine.

Give him a medal.

[YNGW]

11. The hate directed towards Gavin Newsom...

... was mainly for his support of "Prop N", otherwise known as "Care not Cash" program for the homeless. SF was handing out money to homeless people, and Prop N took that away and used the money to set up centers to help the homeless. Many in the SF area thought the program would be exceptionally cruel to the homeless since many of them never frequent the shelters. It passed, but not without some fanfair. I recall seeing Newsom being called a 'fascist' among other names for being the main proponent backing the issue. His family is fairly wealthy and I recall he owns several liquor stores in the SF area, another attack on him being directed because of that, saying he sold liquor to the very homeless people he wanted to take money away from.

I can't help but believe what he's doing in SF now is to heal the wounds of the mayoral election. If he had won in a landslide, I doubt he would have done anything at all. It certainly wasn't part of his platform that I am aware.

[drumwolf]

15. Newsom hatred

I didn't know he owned liquor stores, but I know he owns at least one restaurant, and yes, he comes from a fairly wealthy and well-connected family.

Between his spoiled-rich-kid image, his homelessness initiatives which many SF progressives saw as mean-spirited, and his ties to Willie Brown (by far the worst of all in my book), Newsom was reviled by the San Francisco left-wing and progressive community before and up to his inauguration. In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that many people here hated Newsom just as much as they hate Bush. In the weeks before the election I saw lots of anti-Newsom signs, some witty and some over-the-top and all of them pretty venomous (like "Gavinstein" or "Gavin Newsom is a racist liar").

I personally have never shared most of my friends' intense dislike for Newsom, largely because I feel that Newsom is doing the right thing by tackling the homeless problem here in SF. I voted for his opponent, Matt Gonzalez, but I voted more FOR Gonzalez than AGAINST Newsom. Gonzalez is an extremely dynamic and exciting politician who is very well-liked among his constituents.

Since he became mayor, though, he's pulled quite a few surprises, and not just his issuing of marriage licenses to gay couples. He's proven to be a very assertive, take-charge mayor, and he's also done other things like visiting crime scenes in inner-city neighborhoods. A good article on Newsom's performance since taking office can be found right here:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/22/MNGEO53L67119.DTL

[newyawker99]

17. Hi drumwolf!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[stopthegop]

14. out of curiosity..

would you think him a hero is he chose to issue concealed weapon permits to anyone who asked?...or just if his civil disobediance fits the proper agenda?