Without a doubt, Gavin Newsom and Eric Jaye are two of the most powerful men in San Francisco and giants in California Democratic politics. So why are they hiding behind their Republican lawyer?

Chicken Mayor

For the first 3 years of his term, Mayor Gavin Newsom hid behind his political handlers and only engaged the public through carefully crafted press events and large one-day volunteer events. He clearly wasn’t concerned about the day-to-day operations of the City, and he didn’t fight on the big issues at City Hall. After the voters asked the Mayor to attend Board meetings to engage in formal policy discussion, Newsom responded with a campaign road-show of “town hall meetings” to “honor” the will of the voters. But our critique caught on, and we smoked him out. This Mayor was chicken and only governed by press release. Team Newsom was forced to finally engage in the debate.

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