Gavin Newsom

Governor of CA

Gavin Christopher Newsom was born in San Francisco on October 10, 1967, to Tessa Thomas Menzies and William Alfred Newsom III. Newsom received a partial baseball scholarship from Santa Clara University, where he graduated in 1989 with a degree in political science.

After graduating from Santa Clara, Newsom worked briefly in sales and real estate before starting a retail wine shop in 1992 in San Francisco. The business eventually grew into the PlumpJack Group, which includes restaurants, luxury resorts and wineries throughout California.

Newsom got involved in politics in 1995 as a volunteer for Willie Brown’s campaign for mayor of San Francisco. Mayor Brown appointed Newsom first to a vacancy on the Parking and Traffic Commission and in 1997, to a vacant seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Newsom was subsequently elected and re-elected to the board before successfully running for mayor of San Francisco in 2003. In 2004, Newsom made national headlines when he challenged California’s ban on same-sex marriage by directing the San Francisco city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

While still mayor of San Francisco, Newsom was elected the 49th lieutenant governor of California in 2010, and re-elected in 2014. On November 6, 2018, Newsom was elected the 40th governor of California.