Dan Walters: S.F. mayor hints at race for governor in 2010

There's certainly no shortage of potential Democratic candidates for governor two years hence – although, parenthetically, one could question the sanity of anyone who aspires to govern an arguably ungovernable state.

Nevertheless, there are at least a half-dozen Democrats in varying states of admitted gubernatorial ambition. And the ranks may have swelled Tuesday when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom – best known for supporting gay marriage and his own spectacularly failed marriage – more or less declared his interest.

Newsom came to the Sacramento Press Club to talk about health care, especially to declare support for a potential lawsuit challenging cutbacks in state-financed care for the poor. But when asked the inevitable question about 2010, he branded such speculation "wildly premature" and then in the next breath said if he could "add value" to the state he "surely will consider" running.

There have been rumbles in political circles for weeks that Newsom is interested in the governorship. The list of Democratic potentials already includes Attorney General (and former governor) Jerry Brown, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Treasurer Bill Lockyer, state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi and former Controller Steve Westly.

Brown is widely viewed as the early front-runner, especially with Villaraigosa's admission of cheating on his wife with a television newscaster – a potential problem that also plagues Newsom, who admitted to a marriage-busting affair with the wife of a top aide. But two years out, it's wide open, with each man staking his claim to a particular geographic, ethnic, ideological or economic slice of the Democratic electorate.

Were Newsom to make his candidacy official and wind up running against Jerry Brown, it would mark a new chapter in the decades-long relationship between the Brown and Newsom families. The Browns and the Newsoms have been close personal friends for at least a half-century, and Brown appointed Newsom's father, William, as a Superior Court judge and appellate court justice.

Newsom's breezy delivery to the press club luncheon – he wandered through the tables with a portable microphone – was, indeed, reminiscent of Brown's political style three decades ago. And like the younger Brown, Newsom would bring a certain glamour to the contest, his marital problems and admitted alcohol abuse notwithstanding.

Newsom's advocacy of gay marriage rights has made him a national political figure, although some Democrats blame him for helping George W. Bush recapture the White House in 2004 as Republicans used gay marriage as an issue in Ohio and other culturally conservative swing states.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, one of Newsom's mayoral predecessors, said after the 2004 election that the gay marriage issue "did energize a very conservative vote. It gave them a position to rally around. The whole issue has been too much, too fast, too soon."

Newsom reacted testily, saying, "Why aren't they talking about (Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger) going out to Ohio a couple days ago? Why aren't they talking about the bin Laden tapes? I'd like to think I'm that influential. I hardly think I was."

As the ranks of potential Democratic candidates expand, so is the field of Republicans – from one to two. Steve Poizner, a Silicon Valley billionaire and state insurance commissioner, has been the presumed GOP candidate and given every indication that he'll run. But Meg Whitman, recently retired as boss of the eBay merchandising Web site and perhaps even wealthier than Poizner, has become active in John McCain's presidential campaign and indicated an interest in running for governor.

If nothing else, the Republican candidate will be well-financed, regardless of which Democrat he or she may face.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Dan Walters, (916) 321-1195. Back columns, www.sacbee.com/walters.