In Marin / conversation
Gavin Newsom
The popular politician returns to his roots in Marin and describes how technology
can transform the political process. By Stephanie Martin • photoS By tiM porter
Gavin newsom has always been an early adopter. Just one month into his first term as mayor of san Francisco in 2004, he did the unthinkable and made it possible
for same-sex couples to marry. what happened
next has been well documented — more than
4,000 marriages performed, an opposition
that rallied in force, the issue taking center
stage during the 2004 presidential campaign
and ultimately, the voiding of the marriages by
the california supreme court. Despite noise
from both parties that people weren’t ready for
gay marriage, newsom’s resolve did not waiver,
and he continues to campaign loud and proud
for marriage equality.
now the 49th lieutenant governor of
california, the 45-year-old is using the bully
pulpit of the state to take on another chal-
lenge dear to his heart, this time shining a
light on what he calls the “fraud of public
engagement” — politicians who only engage
with the public at election time. Propelled by
what he believes is real inequity in the public’s
ability to actively participate in governing,
marin’s native son spent time with innovators
from across the country to understand how
technology can not only transform govern-
ment, but also help empower americans to
act. many of the lessons come from his time as
mayor, when he was able to tap into resources
provided by the broader technology commu-
nity to create platforms for real discussion
with his constituents.
realizing that getting americans back into
the governing process was happening sporadi-
cally at best and much more slowly than he’d
like to see, newsom took to writing to make a
case for “active, engaged citizenship” wherein
real change is made from the bottom up. the
result is his book Citizenville: How to Take the
Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government.
Looks like this early adopter is trying to shake
things up once again.
