2007 San Francisco mayoral election

none January 2025 September 2023 2007 San Francisco mayoral election San Francisco presidential no 2003 San Francisco mayoral election 2003 2011 San Francisco mayoral election 2011 November 6, 2007 File:Gavin Newsom (1).jpg 150x150px Gavin Newsom Democratic Party (United States) 105,596 73.66% File:Quintin Mecke (1646356056).jpg Quintin Mecke Democratic Party (United States) 9,076 6.33% Mayor Reelected Mayor Gavin Newsom Democratic Party (United States) Gavin Newsom Democratic Party (United States) File:Harold Hoogasian (1646356056).jpg Harold Hoogasian Wilma Pang Republican Party (United States) File:Wilma Pang.png Peace and Freedom Party 8,400 7,274 5.86% 5.07% The 2007 San Francisco mayoral election occurred on November 6, 2007. Voters elected a Mayor of San Francisco and several local officials. Incumbent Mayor Gavin Newsom was re-elected by an overwhelming margin. There were 12 candidates on the ballot as well as 6 write-ins. Besides Newsom, other notable candidates included Josh Wolf, a journalist who was jailed for refusing to testify and turn over video evidence to a federal grand jury. Another candidate, "Chicken" John Rinaldi, qualified for public financing of his campaign but ran into procedural difficulties with San Francisco's Election Commission. It was the first mayoral election in San Francisco history to use instant-runoff voting, also known as ranked-choice voting, so that there would be no need for a run-off, but a majority was reached in the first round and votes were not redistributed. The results of the election were not known for weeks because every ballot had to be hand-counted due to the long-running feud between the Elections Department of San Francisco and the California Secretary of State.John Wildermuth, Counting S.F. ballots will take a record amount of time, San Francisco Chronicle, November 7, 2007 Issues Many ongoing and emerging issues might have influenced this election,August 2008 including: Newsom's popularity – Newsom's approval rating remained high throughout his first term. Same-sex marriage – Newsom's 2004 directive permitting the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples played a key role in garnering wide approval from the largely liberal city. Potholes, infrastructure, deferred maintenance, and the mayor's plans to improve Muni. Keeping the San Francisco 49ers football team within city limits, as the team had threatened to move to a more spacious suburban stadium in Santa Clara County. The move would have created a situation similar to that of the New York Jets and New York Giants, who both play at the MetLife Stadium. The city's high homicide rate had potential to hurt Newsom during the campaign. A national survey gave San Francisco low marks for public safety.The Most, Least Dangerous U.S. Cities, Associated Press, October 30, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20130624040602/http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Oct30/0,4670,CityCrimeListGlance,00.html June 24, 2013 Indeed, San Francisco ranked well below both Los Angeles and New York City. Homelessness and transportation issues from previous years remained relevant. Public perception of the mayor's "Care, Not Cash" program (which reduced welfare payments in favor of long-term subsidized housing) likely informed the debate. On February 1, 2007, Newsom admitted to having an affair with his campaign manager's wife, who was working in City Hall. Newsom later apologized about the scandal.Patrick Hoge, Newsom apologizes at press conference, San Francisco Chronicle, February 1, 2007 Results Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, though most candidates in San Francisco do receive funding and support from various political parties. San Francisco mayoral election, 2007http://www.sfgov.org/site/elections_index.asp?id=68841 City and County of San Francisco Municipal Election November 6, 2007: Election Summary 2008-08-03 2007-12-07 San Francisco Department of Elections https://web.archive.org/web/20120525113610/http://www.sfgov.org/site/elections_index.asp?id=68841 2012-05-25 California Democratic Party Gavin Newsom (incumbent) 105,596 73.66 California Democratic Party Quintin Mecke 9,076 6.33 California Republican Party Harold Hoogasian 8,400 5.86 Peace and Freedom Party Wilma Pang 7,274 5.07 Independent (United States) Ahimsa Sumchai 3,398 2.37 Green Party of California Chicken John 2,508 1.75 California Democratic Party Lonnie Holmes 1,807 1.26 Green Party of California Josh Wolf 1,772 1.24 Workers World Party Grasshopper Kaplan 1,423 0.99 Independent (United States) Harold Brown 915 0.64 Libertarian Party of California George Davis 644 0.45 American Independent Party Michael Powers 519 0.36 Independent (United States) Lea Sherman (write-in) 9 0.01 Independent (United States) Rodney Hauge (write-in) 6 0.00 Independent (United States) Patrick Monette-Shaw (write-in) 6 0.00 Independent (United States) Kenneth Kahn (write-in) 3 0.00 Independent (United States) Robert Kully (write-in) 2 0.00 Independent (United States) Robert McCullough (write-in) 1 0.00 143,359 100.00 California Democratic Party References External links San Francisco Bay Area Act Locally SF; Official Campaign Website for Gavin Newsom Race for Mayor 2007 Cast of characters livens up the field Candidate Web sites Quentin Mecke for Mayor https://web.archive.org/web/20080109015128/http://qformayor.com/ 2008-01-09 Ahimsa Porter Sumchai Vote for "Chicken" John Rimaldi Josh Wolf 4 Mayor San Francisco 2007 San Francisco mayoral Category:Gavin Newsom