Free Republic

The biggest challenge facing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's run for governor is not who's running the campaign, but whether he has enough money to keep the campaign going. Newsom, who has a full staff working the campaign, has raised $2.8 million with only about $1.1 million left in the bank.Meanwhile, Newsom's presumed major rival in the upcoming Democratic primary - Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose only staff is wife Ann Gust - has raised about $8 million, with roughly $7 million in the bank. And that's before he's officially declared, giving him the ability to hit up many donors...

San Francisco, CA (AHN) - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced he will run for governor of California. The 41-year-old mayor used social networking sites Twitter and Facebook to announce his decision to seek the Democratic nomination for the state's gubernatorial race to succeed Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I'm running for Governor because California needs a new direction. In San Francisco, we've defended people's civil rights, created a universal health care program, protected teachers from layoffs and enacted a local stimulus plan that will put people back to work and save jobs. And we've done it while balancing our budgets...

If the Democrats win the House on Tuesday, expect the descriptor -- epithet, really -- "San Francisco values" to become a permanent part of the media conversation. "If (House Minority Leader) Nancy Pelosi becomes speaker of the House, it will be on the Republicans' list of top five talking points every week," said longtime GOP media strategist and UC Berkeley political science instructor Dan Schnur. Who's waiting until next week? The phrase is already resonating in conservative corners of the blogosphere, MySpace, right-leaning media outlets and even on newspaper editorial pages. It's a sign of how new media strategies can...

Nobody at the top is copping to it, but San Francisco police patrolling around Westfield's new megamall say they've been told to make sure the bums don't bother the paying customers. Since the downtown mall opened two weeks ago, foot traffic on the surrounding blocks is way up -- and so, apparently, are the number of street people and street crimes. The cops tell us there's even been a surge of purse snatchings, assaults and other offenses in the BART and Muni Metro stations at Powell Street, adjacent to the mall. Mayor Gavin "Care Not Cash'' Newsom voiced his concern...