Matt Gonzalez (born June 1965) is a former district supervisor, president of the Board of Supervisors, and mayoral candidate in San Francisco, California. He is recognized as the first Green Party member elected to local public office and has a distinguished reputation as a progressive reformer at City Hall. As a visible Green, Gonzalez helped expand the party's local base and get elect other Green Party candidates to public office. Today, he has a legal practice called Gonzalez & Leigh in San Francisco. Image File history File links Matt_gonzalez. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... City nickname: The City by the Bay Official website: http://www. ... In American politics, the Green Party is a third party which has been active in some areas since the 1980s, but first gained widespread public attention for Ralph Naders presidential runs in 1996 and 2000. ... Progressivism is a political philosophy whose adherents promote policies that they believe would reform a countrys government, economy, or society. ... Reformism (also called revisionism or revisionist theory) is the belief that gradual changes in a society can ultimately change its fundamental structures. ... San Francisco City Hall in 2004 The City Hall of San Francisco California, opened in 1915, in its mall site in the citys Civic Center, is a Beaux-Arts monument to the brief City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance of the period 1880-1917. ...

Early years

Gonzalez born and raised in the border town of McAllen, Texas. He has also lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, and Maryland. His father was a tobacco salesman for Brown & Williamson. He grew up in great privilege throughout his childhood and life. [1] [2] [3] McAllen is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... State nickname: Old Line State; Free State Official languages None Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Governor Robert L. Ehrlich (R) Senators Paul Sarbanes (D) Barbara Mikulski (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 42nd 32,160 km² 21 Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 19th 5,296,486 165/km² Admission into Union...

Education

In 1987, he earned a B.A. from Columbia University, where he studied literature and politics and was a member of the debating team. In 1990, he received a law degree from Stanford Law School, where he was an editor of the Stanford Law Review and member of the Stanford Environmental Law Journal. Gonzalez began working at Stanford's Community Law Project in East Palo Alto on issues relating to immigration. He later expanded his legal scope to include "gender discrimination and religious clause issues" and pending death penalty cases with the California Appellate Project. [4] Columbia University is a private university in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. ... Stanford Law School is a graduate school of Stanford University located in Stanford, California in the Silicon Valley. ... The Stanford Law Review is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. ...

Career

Gonzalez began working at San Francisco public defender's office in 1991. In nine years, he represented and won eight out of nine cases where defendents were facing life sentences [5].

In 1999. he ran for public defender against incumbent Terrence Hallinan. Hallinan won the race but the campaign raised Gonzalez's profile and political future in San Francisco (ibid). During the campaign Gonzalez declared that he never wanted to run for mayor. He said that he enjoyed working with the law, and was committed to legal practices

He was named "Lawyer of the Year" by the San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association in 2000. [6]

Board of Supervisors, January 2001 to 2005

Gonzalez was elected district supervisor to represent District 5 at the Board of Supervisors in December 2000. He was sworn into office the following month. The district includes the Haight-Ashbury, Mid-Lower Haight, Hayes Valley, Western Addition, Alamo Square, and Inner Sunset neighborhoods [7]. Categories: US geography stubs | San Francisco neighborhoods ... Categories: US geography stubs | San Francisco neighborhoods ... Hayes Valley is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. ... Western Addition is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. ... Alamo Square is a park located on top of a hill in the Western Addition neighborhood in San Francisco, USA. It takes up four city blocks and is bordered by Hayes Street to the south, Fulton Street to the north, Scott Street to the west, and Steiner Street to the... The Sunset District is a neighborhood in the western half of San Francisco, California, USA that is primarily residential and is built along a grid pattern. ...

Candidate and District Dump the Democrats and Go Green

In 2000, Gonzalez's candidacy represented a turning point in local politics. In the run-off campaign against Juanita Owens, Gonzalez re-registered with the Green Party and wrote an op-ed in the San Francisco Bay Guardian explaining,"...if the Democratic Party is working so hard to squelch valuable debate, why should I remain a Democrat? I was already discouraged by Al Gore's pronouncements, during the presidential debates, in favor of the death penalty and his equivocation on gay marriage. As I reflected on this, I realized I had less in common with [Dianne] Feinstein's party than with Medea Benjamin's [8]." The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free, weekly alternative newspaper published in San Francisco. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... ĢáŕŔÊŤť Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted felon as a punishment for a crime (often called a capital offence or a capital crime). ... Same-sex marriage is marriage between individuals who are of the same legal or biological sex. ... Medea Benjamin is a well-known political activist and Founding Director of the San Francisco-based NGO Global Exchange, which advocates fair trade alternatives to corporate globalization. ...

Gonzalez's opponents had hoped and supporters feared Gonzalez's defection from the Democrats would undermine his campaign success. Some Democrats blamed the Green Party for Bush's win in the national election a month earlier and it was assumed this view might erode his support in the district. Owens attempted to use Gonzalez's party affiliation to her advantage in the campaign by claiming his candidacy was intended to "pursue an agenda" [9] [10] [11]. In the end, voters didn't go for Owen's portrayal and "those who felt Matt had made a grievous political error by the timing of his Party shift were proved wrong [12]." Gonzalez was elected to represent the district at the Board of Supervisors with a 65 percent victory. Of 15,887 fifth district voters, 10,384 voted for Gonzalez, and 5,503 voted for Owens [13]. He became the first elected Green Party official in San Francisco.

Increased Green Party visibility

Municipal elections are nonpartisan but had been dominated for decades by Democrats. The election of a Green was a significant achievement because it effectlively broke a single-party's stranglehold on local politics [14].

By the time Gonzalez was sworn into office, another local official had joined the ranks of the Green Party. School board member, Mark Sanchez was re-elected in November and announced in late December that he would join Gonzalez as a Green Party member. In a local report, Sanchez stated "I'm a little disenchanted with the Democratic party...It's not progressive enough, and I agree with the values of the Green Party." Sanchez became the second elected Green official in San Francisco [15] [16] [17]. Since Sanchez's high-profile defection, other Greens have been elected to local office.

Board President, 2003-2005

Two years after Gonzalez was elected to the Board of Supervisors, his colleagues elected him for a two-year term as Board President.

During his tenure, he used the Board Presidency as a bully pulpit to steer specific legislative goals ranging from clean government reforms to promoting social justice. Using this approach didn't earn him favorable views from lobbyists, people opposed to changing the status quo, a well-funded political establishment, corporate media, and Democratic party loyalists [18]. Bully Pulpit is a public office of sufficiently high rank that it provides the holder with an opportunity to speak out and be listened to on any matter; the American presidency is a bully pulpit. Thought of as an executive check on legislative powers. ...

• Living wage: As a living wage advocate, he led a successful effort to raise the local minimum wage to $8.50 an hour, giving San Francisco has one of the highest minimum wages in the United States.
• Campaign and elections: Having campaigned for clean election reforms, Gonzalez sponsored a voter-approved measure to implement an instant run-off voting system to reduce the expense of costly run-off municipal elections. San Francisco became the first city in the nation to implement it. He also favored measures to curtail the influence of soft money in campaigns, and referred to the campaign system favoring the local establishment as "machine politics" [19][20].

• Gentrification: A neighborhood advocate, Gonzalez opposed the effects of gentrification. As a result, more residents were being displaced, housing stock became unaffordable, and the loss of small businesses and neighborhood character more noticeable. [21][22] [23]. He supported legislation designed to protect small businesses, increase renter protections, and keep chain stores out of neighborhood commercial districts.

• Privatization: Gonzalez strongly opposed privatizing. He was against selling the naming rights to Candlestick Park, a publicly-owned stadium, and tireless advocate for a municipal owned and operated electric utility system, known locally as public power. In 1993, he amended a ballot measure (Proposition D, 2002) authored by Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Sophie Maxwell to acquire municipal control over San Francisco's energy operations as mandated in the Raker Act. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG & E) currently operates the distribution and opposes a municipal system, and it spent more than $2.2 million in order to defeat the measure with 14,000 votes [24]. Gonzalez was also a proponent to authorize a 10-megawatt tidal energy pilot program.

A move by Mayor Brown to privatize San Francisco's water system through a major construction project had Gonzalez wanting the local Public Utilities Commission to cut its funding source. The contract permitted several private companies to take control under the umbrella name San Francisco Water Alliance [25]. Living wage refers to the hourly wage that one deems necessary for a person to achieve a basic standard of living. ... The minimum wage is the minimum rate a worker can legally be paid (usually per hour) as opposed to wages that are determined by the forces of supply and demand in a free market. ... Comparison of State and Federal Minimum Wage This is a list of the minimum wages in each state of the USA and the District of Columbia for jobs covered by federal minimum wage laws [1]. Other jobs, often ones which earn tips or in small companies, are often subject to... When the single transferable vote voting system is applied to a single-winner election it is sometimes called instant-runoff voting (IRV), as it is much like holding a series of runoff elections in which the lowest polling candidate is eliminated in each round until someone receives majority vote. ... Gentrification refers to the physical, social, economic, and cultural phenomenon whereby working-class or inner-city neighborhoods are converted into more affluent communities, resulting in increased property values and the outflow of poorer residents. ... Chain stores are a range of retail outlets which share a brand and central management, usually with standardised business methods and practices. ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or, especially in India, disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the government to the private sector. ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or, especially in India, disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the government to the private sector. ... Monster Park (colloquially, The Stick or Candlestick, after its original name of Candlestick Park) is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. ... A public utility is a company that maintains the infrastructure for a public service. ... Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is the utility that provides natural gas and electricity to most of Northern California. ... Tidal power is a means of electricity generation achieved by capturing the energy contained in moving water mass due to tides. ...

• Animal rights: As an animal rights advocate, Gonzalez advanced legislation to improve the welfare of local animals, such as prohibiting the San Francisco Zoo from keeping elephants after concerns were raised about their well-being. He effectively changed the term "pet owner" to "pet guardian" in city regulations.

On other legislative areas, Gonzalez created a grading system for city-operated homeless shelters. He authored a successful ballot initiative to re-classify district supervisors from part-time to full-time status and have their salaries set by the Civil Service Commission, and an unsuccessful ballot measure to grant non-citizens the right to vote in local school board elections (Proposition F in 2004)[26]. The Great Ape Project is campaigning for a Declaration on Great Apes. ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of animals, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea. ... Homeless shelters are places for people to stay temporarily when they otherwise would have to sleep on the street, similar to emergency shelters. ...

Criticisms

To some, Gonzalez had a reputation for being stubborn and uncompromising. He walked out of Mayor Willie Brown's State of the City address in 2002; he refused to meet with Brown during his first two years on the Board of Supervisors [27]. When the Board of Supervisors put forth a resolution praising Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a San Franciscan, for becoming the first woman in history to lead the Democratic Party in Congress, Gonzalez was the only board member who voted against it[28]. The supervisor hosted an art show at his city hall office in which graffiti artist Barry McGee spray-painted "Smash the State" on the wall. Willie Brown Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. ... Representative Nancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi (born March 26, 1940) is the highest-ranking Democrat in the United States House of Representatives. ... Graffiti on the banks of the Tiber river in Rome, Italy. ... Barry McGee (aka Twist; born 1966, San Francisco, California) is a painter and graffiti artist. ...

2003 San Francisco Mayoral Election

In 2003, Gonzalez ran for mayor in a close race that garnered national and international media coverage. His opponent, Gavin Newsom, was another member the Board of Supervisors who was originally appointed by former Mayor Willie Brown. Gonzalez's entrance galvanized many San Franciscans who supported the move and campaigned hard for victory [29]. Energy from his candidacy was described as "[having generated] the highest voter turnout in any San Francisco mayoral election since the 1979 race [following] the aftermath" of the Moscone and Milk assassinations. [30]. Chris Carlsson described it as "almost mythical status" in an article written in Beyond Chron [31]. In the end, Newsom won with just 5.7 percent or 14,217 votes. Mayor Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, California. ...

Newsom outspent Gonzalez by somewhere between $4.4 - 4.9 million [32] [33]. Gonzalez spent between $800,000 - 900,000 in his campaign and got 47.19 percent with 119,329 votes. His opponent spent between $5.3 - 5.7 million and squeaked to an anemic victory with 52.8 percent or 133,546 votes [34] [35]. Given these figures, Gonzalez would've spent between $6.7 - $7.5 per vote, and Newsom between $38.9 - $42.7 per vote.

The disparity in spending was one major difference contrasting Gonzalez's platform and at the heart of the campaign. Gonzalez sought spending caps and to increase public financing, while his opponent had deep pockets for big donors and allegations of campaign improprieties [36] [37] [38][39] [40] [41] [42].

Gonzalez got endorsements from several key, local Democrats and organizations, including five of his peers on the Board of Supervisors. After losing the state's recall election months earlier, national Democratic figures feared a loss in San Francisco and campaigned on Newsom's behalf, including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, Dianne Feinstein, and Nancy Pelosi [43] [44] [45]. William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe, III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... Albert Arnold Gore Jr. ... Jesse Jackson The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. ... Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein (born June 22, 1933) is a Democratic U.S. Senator from California, a position she has held since 1992. ... Representative Nancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi (born March 26, 1940) is the highest-ranking Democrat in the United States House of Representatives. ...

With over three percent registered Green Party voters in San Francisco, Gonzalez's candidacy was a successful outreach beyond party affiliation because it united Greens, progressive Democrats, and like-minded independents into a larger community fold as San Franciscans [46] [47]. Had Gonzalez won, he would've become the first Green Party mayor of a major U.S. city.

Claims of a Democrat-Republican Campaign Alliance

Green party gubernatorial candidate, Peter Camejo, described Gonzalez's opponent as having won support from local Republicans, stating: "[Newsom] gave money to George Bush. He didn't endorse him, [but] gave money to George Bush in the year 2000...He was on George Bush's voter slate in the year 2000. He won last night because the Republicans voted for him in a block. We couldn't overcome that. We won among the registered Democrats. We won among registered Independents. We carried all of the Green" [48]." Camejo's claim was further supported by a post-election analysis by the Berkeley Daily Planet that stated, "In a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle after the runoff, the chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party asserted that Republican votes 'saved San Francisco.' The New York Times reported that an informal survey of Republicans found that 85 percent had voted for Newsom [49]." Peter Miguel Camejo (born December 31, 1939) is a financier, businessman, political activist, environmentalist, author, and one of the founders of the socially responsible investment movement. ...

Central Platform Themes

Gonzalez contrasted his platform as Green candidate, stating: "When I got into the race, I did something that everybody said I shouldn't have done. I ran a basically unapologetic, progressive campaign. I said that our ideas were better. Let's go out and defend them instead of always watering them down. That really sets us apart as Greens from what the Democrats want to do. They always want to outflank the Republicans by being more conservative than the Republicans, and not allow the Republicans to ride a particular wave of sentiment...That's what was attractive about my campaign. So often people don't want to get involved in politics because politicians disappoint them so much. People go out and work for politicians, and then the politicians get into office and do all the wrong things, they compromise on too many essentials, they worry about their own careers; but to have a candidate come forward and say, 'Look, I'm going to govern by a set of values. Let's articulate them: Working-class values, diversity, immigrant rights, civil rights. Let's go out there and take those concepts and try to govern for the public benefit. And young people responded to it. Young people say, 'Hey, this is different. Politics can be done differently. I'm willing to get involved with this guy. I won't do that for just anybody, but I'm willing to give it a go with this guy.' And that's what happened. That was the spark I was sensing among younger people who'd never been involved with electoral politics." (ibid) [50]

Gonzalez campaigned on a platform that included: [51]

• Addressing homelessness at a macro level
• Creating more green energy practices
• Increase health and education funding
• Increase access to public transportation {Gonzalez didn't own a car and was known for taking MUNI)
• Increase the affordable housing supply stock and expand rent control
• City planning reforms
• Diversifying the local economy
• Address gender disparities in health and pay
• Increase poverty relief programs
• Increase child care access and services for youth
• Expanded immigrant rights
• Expanded low wage workers rights
• Increased health care access for residents, including working to promote a statewide universal system.
• Increased campaign/elections transparency, including expanding the Sunshine Ordinance
• Promoting more help to preserve the arts

A homeless American. ... Green energy is a term used by some environmentalists to describe what they deem to be environmentally friendly sources of power. ... A taxi serving as a bus Public transport comprises all transport systems in which the passengers do not travel in their own vehicles. ... Two forms of public transport operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni): on the left, a bus (the 38 Geary line) and, on the right, the F Market historic streetcar. ... Rent Control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on residential housing. ... Social inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of material wealth in a society. ... Publicly funded medicine is a level of medical service that is paid wholly or in majority part by public funds (taxes or quasi-taxes). ...

Campaign Video Interview

Following are links to a lengthy campaign interview with the San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board. This long interview has been divided into 19 segments and categorized by topic (Quick Time is required to see each segment): Video I - opening statement [52], Video II - personal finances, city planning, endorsements, and relationship with Willie Brown [53], Video III - homelessness [54], Video IV - fees and taxes [55], Video V - police reforms [56], Video VI - questions about family history [57], Video VII - about [former] Police Chief Fagan [58], Video VIII - housing density [59], Video IX - attitude towards business [60], Video X - on local schools, funding, Ammiano's education amendment,and Arlene Ackerman [61], Video XI - philosophy on businesses [62], Video XII - representing business abroad [63], Video XIII - on political paybacks from edorsements, campaign favortism [64], Video XIV - on naming rights [65], Video XV - on walking out on Brown's State of the City speech and not meeting with Brown for two years [66], Video XVI - support for Terrence Hallinan [67], Video XVII - philosophy about homeless issues [68], Video XVIII - on major development projects [69], Video XIX - overall views about the campaign [70]. The San Francisco Chronicle, the self-described Voice of the West, is Northern Californias largest newspaper. ...

Affinity for the Arts

Gonzalez once played bass in a rock band and has always had strong ties to the literary community. He published (under the imprint FMSBW) a collection of poetry by Beat poet Jack Micheline entitled "Sixty-seven Poems for Downtrodden Saints" in 1997 and he served on the Board of Directors for Intersection for the Arts, an independent nonprofit organization in San Francisco. In 2004, Gonzalez taught "Art & Politics" at the San Francisco Art Institute. He is a frequent contributor to the online newspaper SF Frontlines and writes a regular column for San Francisco's Mesh Magazine. Rock group (or later rock band) is a generic name to describe a group of musicians specializing in a particular form of electronically amplified music. ... The San Francisco Art Institute (formerly known as the California School of Fine Arts) is a famous art school in San Francisco, California. ...

Return to Private Life

Gonzalez announced in early 2005 that he would not seek re-election. Since leaving office, he opened a legal practice with Whitney Leigh.

His successor to the Board of Supervisors, Ross Mirkarimi, is also a Green Party member. Mirkarimi was Gonzalez's campaign manager in the 2003 mayoral election and a local community activist [71]. Ross Mirkarimi (born 1961) represents District 5 on the San Francisco, California Board of Supervisors. ...

Lawsuit to void SF school chief's pay raise

In June 2005, Gonzalez was back in the public spotlight after filing a lawsuit that challenged San Francisco school Superintendent Arlene Ackerman's contract with the San Francisco Unified School District [72] [73]. The suit was filed on behalf of Alan Wong, a student delegate to the school board who had just graduated; Jeremiah Jeffries, a teacher in the district; Tami Bryant, a parent in the district; and Jacques Fitch, a city taxpayer.

The suit said the meeting violated the state's open meeting laws, known as the Brown Act, which mandates county superintendents have pay raises considered at regularly scheduled meetings. Since San Francisco is a city and county municipal, the suit also argued the superintendent is bound by district and local regulations. The contract was approved at an emergency Friday evening school board meeting with fewer than 24 hours public notice given. A report by the San Francisco Bay Guardian called the move a "'sweetheart deal' to avoid scrutiny." (ibid) Outgoing school board members included one who was voted out after telling another board member to "shut the f--- up" at a public meeting on October 20 in front of teachers and students [74]. The report quotes Gonzalez's legal partner, Whitney Leigh, who states the deal was approved "ten days after the election by a lame duck board citizens had voted to change. School board member, Dan Kelly, disagreed and stated he thought some remaining school board members wanted to fire the superintendent. [75]" The lawsuit was intended to reverse the deal's approval and dismissed in August [76]. The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free, weekly alternative newspaper published in San Francisco. ...

Works cited and referenced [external links]

• "Symposium: New Metropolis: Social Change in California's Cities," profile for Matt Gonzalez, Center for Social Justice, UC Berkeley. 8 December 2005
• "Learn about Matt," biographical information, Matt for Mayor of San Francisco, mattgonzalez.com. 8 December 2005
• Harrison, S. "Gonzalez's Final Exam," interview with Matt Gonzalez, San Francisco Call on the web, 11 January 2005. 8 December 2005
• "Biography," Matt for Mayor of San Francisco, (ibid)
• Roth, G. "Taking a Stand," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 6 December 2000. 6 December 2005.
• "Biography," Matt for Mayor of San Francisco, (ibid)
• "District 5" City and County of San Francisco, district map, PDF file. 8 December 2005
• Gonzalez, M. "Why I turned Green," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, op-ed, November 15, 2000. November 2005
• Mirkirami, R. "Who's Afraid of the Greens?," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, op-ed, 6 December 2000. 6 December 2005
• "Municipal Run-off Election" City and Country of San Francisco, election results, PDF file, 12 December 2000. 6 December 2005
• Reed, C. "Democrats face fresh votes blows," Sunday Observer, Guardian (U.K.) on the web, 7 December 2003. 8 December 2005.
• Zoll, D. "Green buds: School board member-elect Sanchez joins ranks of Demo defectors," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 27 December 2000. 8 December 2005
• Feinstein, M. "Matt Gonzalez Elected President of San Francisco Board of Supervisors," Green Focus, Green Party of California website. 8 December 2005
• Feinstein, M. "Still Golden: Record Wins in California," Green Pages, Green Party of the United States, gp.org. 8 December 2005
• Supervisor Candidate Turns Green: Gonzalez's move costs him Democrats' support, by Edward Epstein, San Francisco Chronicle, November 18, 2000
• Shaw, R. "Matt Gonzalez’s Political Legacy," Beyond Chron on the web, beyondchron.org, 3 January 2005. 10 December 2005
• "Where They Stand," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, an analysis of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' positions on the issues, 2003. 8 December 2005
• Roth, G. "Past Imperfect: District Five candidate Juanita Owens has a lengthy track record of unprincipled maneuvers," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 6 December 2000. 8 December 2005
• Zoll, D. "The economic cleansing of San Francisco: is San Francisco becoming the first fully gentrified city in America?," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 7 October 1998. 8 December 2005
• Abel, H., and Tali Woodward. "Pew's news: How private foundation money keeps the press from covering the big censored stories," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 24 March 1999, 8 December 2005
• Brahinsky, R., and Tim Redmond. "Poverty amid plenty: why are there so many poor people in such a rich city? Start with the cost of housing," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 22 October 2003. 8 December 2005
• Brahinsky, R. "PG & E's sneak attack: The private utility wants to make you pay for its sleazy campaigns against public power," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 19 February 2003. 8 December 2005
• Blackwell, S. "Bye-bye Bechtel: Supes OK deal to end water privatization contract," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 7 November 2001. 8 December 2005
• Gonzalez thumbs his nose at voters, By Ken Garcia San Francisco Chronicle (11-24-03)
• Herel, S. "Forever the rebel with a cause, Gonzalez exits left at City Hall: idealist energized young liberals in strong run for mayor," San Francisco Chronicle on the web, 3 January 2005. 8 December 2005
• Carlsson, C. "How the Gonzalez Campaign Shaped San Francisco," Beyond Chron, 16 December 2004. 10 December 2005
• Wrenn, R. "Absentees Proved Crucial in Newsom's Victory," Berkeley Daily Planet, 19 December 2003. 8 December 2005
• Hirsch, M. "Money rules: Public financing for mayoral candidates tops the list of electoral reforms the Ethics Commission is pursuing," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 16 - 22 November 2005. 8 December 2005
• Maclachlan, M. "San Francisco: A test tube for public financing of campaigns," Capitol Weekly on the web, 22 November 2005, 8 December 2005
• "City and County of San Francisco Municipal Run-Off Election Results" San Francisco Department of Elections, 9 December 2003. 8 December 2005
• Goodman, A. "Green Narrowly Loses SF Mayor Race," Democracy Now! on the web, Headlines, 10 December 2003. 8 December 2005
• Blackwell, S. "Gavin Newsom, loser," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 9 July 2003. 8 December 2005
• Hirsch, M. "Gonzalez's ragtag army: Can the grassroots volunteers take down a highly organized foe?," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 26 November 2003. 8 December 2005
• Blackwell, S. "Sunshine takes on document destruction," San Francisco Sentinel, California First Amendment Coalition on the web, 17 February 2004. 8 December 2005
• Blackwell, S. "The political puppeteer," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 4 February 2004. 8 December 2005
• McCarthy, K. "Gonzalez for Mayor," The Nation on the web, 5 December 2003. 8 December 2005
• Brahinsky, R., and A.C. Thompson. "Tainted dought? Gavin Newsom's flood of campaign cash isn't flowing just from San Francisco's elite: there's a sleazy Wall Street connection," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 3 December 2003. 8 December 2005
• Nichols, J. "San Francisco Showdown," The Nation on the web, Online Beat, 8 December 2003. 8 December 2005
• Murphy, D. "Left Faces Left in San Francisco Runoff Vote for Mayor," New York Times on the web, 7 December 2003. 8 December 2005
• Soloman, N. "Breakthrough And Peril For The Green Party," Media Beat, FAIR on the web, 11 December 2003. 8 December 2005.
• Leff, L. "Strong Green challenge in San Francisco worries Democrats," San Francisco Chronicle on the web, 1 December 2003. 8 December 2005
• Goodman, A. "Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate in New Hampshire on Iraq, Domestic Policy Issues and Gore’s Endorsement of Dean," Democracy Now! on the web, interview segment with Peter Camejo, 10 November 2003. 8 December 2005
• Wrenn, R. "Absentees Proved Crucial in Newsom's Victory," Berkeley Daily Planet, 19 December 2003. 8 December 2005 (ibid)
• Gonzalez, M. "My Green Manifesto," Left Curve Magazine on the web, 14 February 2002. 8 December 2005
• "Matt on the Issues," Matt Gonzalez for Mayor of San Francisco, mattgonzalez.com, (ibid)
• Hirschman, J. "Discussion with Matt Gonzalez on the 2003 San Francisco Mayoralty Campaign & US politics today," Left Curve on the web, interview with Matt Gonzalez. 7 December 2005
• Gonzalez In, By Adriel Hampton, San Francisco Independent, August 8, 2003
• Gonzalez's Mayoral Campaign Platform
• Matt Gonzalez would govern from the left, By Rachel Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, October 18, 2003
• Greens to revive flower power in San Francisco, By Oliver Poole, UK Telegraph, December 12, 2003
• Gonzalez: Giving back in San Francisco after childhood of privilege, by Julian Guthrie, San Francisco Chronicle, December 7, 2003
• Campbell, D. "'Cub' mayor for Golden Gate City," Guardian (U.K.) on the web, 11 December 2003. 8 December 2005.
• The Gonzalez Insurrection, By Marshall Kilduff, San Francisco Chronicle, December 3, 2003
• An old town win, Warren Hinckle's analysis of the 2003 mayoral election
• Diaz, J. "Chronicle Editorial Board Interview with Matt Gonzalez," San Francisco Chronicle on the web, segments 1-19, 4 December 2003. 8 December 2005
• Mills, C. "How Ross Mirkarimi Ran Away with D5," Beyond Chron, 10 November 2004. 10 December 2005
• Lawsuit filed to toss school chief's raise, By Heather Knight San Francisco Chronicle June 23, 2005
• Woodward, T. "Cutting the Golden Parachute," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 4 - 10 May 2005. 6 December 2005
• Editorial. "Trail Mix," San Francisco Bay Guardian on the web, 27 October - 3 November 2004. 6 December 2005
• Egelko, B. "Suit challenging schools chief pay dismissed: Her $26,000 raise legally OKd by board, judge rules," San Francisco Chronicle on the web, 17 August 2005. 9 December 2005

Further reading

Walter, Nicole (2004) Go Matt Go! Hats Off Books: Tucson, AZ. ISBN: 1-58736-346-1.