Opinion: “It’s official! running for Gov of CA,” SF Mayor Gavin Newsom Tweets

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‘It’s official! running for Gov of CA. Wanted you to be the first to know. Need your help. Check out video:’

Gavin Newsom confirmed, via Twitter’s blessedly brief format, what hasn’t been a secret for months:

The mayor of San Francisco is running for the Democratic nomination to head the Golden State after what’s-his-name the movie star is terminated by term limits in January 2011.

We have the mayor’s much-longer full announcement text on the jump below.

As our colleague Cathleen Decker notes over on the LANow blog, Newsom is running third in a prospective Democratic field, not counting the 800-pound Democratic donkey in the room, Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

She’s made no discernible move to return home for a campaign and may well be happy as the big important chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Newsom’s announcement tactic was successful in creating quite the buzz for a while on Twitter. But that can be a two-edged oneline medium: WilliamKelley Tweeted: ‘What exactly is the appeal of Gavin Newsom except that he is young, relatively handsome and has had a few affairs?’

-- Andrew Malcolm

Speaking of Twitter, follow The Ticket there @latimestot or click here to register for automatic alerts of each new Ticket item.

MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM FORMALLY ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR GOVERNOR

Calls for new approach to change California’s direction; Cites achievements in health care, education and the economy while maintaining fiscal discipline; Announcement made on GavinNewsom.com after Twitter message to supporters

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Gavin Newsom formally announced his candidacy for Governor today by releasing an online video on GavinNewsom.com that ties his record of success as Mayor to his vision for California’s future.

“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 and seeing our bond ratings go up,” Mayor Newsom said.

“We’ve gotten things done in San Francisco by putting politics aside and focusing on finding solutions to tough problems. State government is failing because the politicians in Sacramento spend all their time fighting each other instead of fighting for Californians. We can’t keep returning to the same old tired solutions and expect a different result,” he said.

Mayor Newsom preceded the announcement video’s release by sending messages to more than 450,000 supporters and followers via Facebook, Twitter and email. The video also includes San Francisco residents who have benefited from his work on health care, education and the economy. At 3 pm today, Mayor Newsom will visit Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto to discuss new approaches to California’s economy.

Announcement Text:

[Spanish] Our schools are getting better and our teachers can keep their jobs. - Roberto Alvarez, San Francisco Parent with daughter Ashoka Alvarez, 8th Grader, James Lick Middle School [Mandarin] I couldn’t afford it before, but now I have health care. - Chuyun Lin, San Francisco Resident, Participant, Healthy San Francisco

[English] We are investing in the future. - Gail Maderis, CEO & President, FivePrime Therapeutics There is no stronger way for me to say it myself – I’m a candidate for Governor of California because I know we can do better. I’ve seen what can happen when we stop looking back – and start looking for solutions. In my city – we are well on our way to universal health care. How can we afford it?

We’re proving what you already know – it is less expensive to keep people well than it is to treat their sickness. School districts throughout California are laying-off teachers. But we’re saving teachers’ jobs and raising test scores. How did we do it? We stopped fighting over who was going to be in charge and started working together to find solutions. The State of California is nearly bankrupt and our state bond rating is now the worst in the nation. But in San Francisco – our bond rating just went up because of our Rainy Day Reserve and sound fiscal policies.

What’s the difference?

We figured out that sound fiscal policy isn’t conservative or progressive – it’s just smart for everyone. Our local economy is stronger because we made basic investments – in green jobs, in better schools, in new industries that pay a living wage. We didn’t blame Washington – we got to work. We have the most aggressive local solar incentives in America. The highest recycling rates.

The strongest green building standards. And we are putting San Franciscans, who used to be locked out of the old industrial economy, back to work as part of a new green economy. The truth is – we can’t afford to keep returning to the same tired ideas and expect a different result. We need new ideas and innovative solutions to get out of this mess.

Many of you know me – you know I’ve never been afraid to tackle big problems or offer bold ideas. You know where I stand on important issues like universal health care, creating green jobs, protecting equality for all Americans. And in the days ahead – I hope you’ll take the time to learn more about my record – and about my plans – at Gavin Newsom dot com.

If you like what you see – I hope you’ll join us.Because one person can’t do it alone. That’s why I’m asking you to join us – at GavinNewsom.com, on Facebook, on Twitter or at one of the many events we’re holding up and down California.Join us – and share your ideas and insights. Help us shape a campaign that will do more than win an election. Join us – and become a part of a campaign that has set out to change California. This is a state of dreamers and doers. Join us – as we shape a new direction and a better California. Thank you.###www.GavinNewsom.com http://www.GavinNewsom.com>