***** Gonzalez won't run for re-election Supervisors' president decides to leave board Suzanne Herel, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, March 30, 2004, San Francisco Chronicle Chronicle Sections
. . . [Matt] Gonzalez, who was outspent by Newsom 5-to-1 in the mayor's race overall, lost 53 percent to 47 percent. . . .
Gonzalez's first political campaign was in 1999, when he ran for district attorney against Terence Hallinan, placing third with 11 percent of the vote. The following year, he ran for supervisor and -- after switching his political affiliation from Democrat to Green in the middle of the runoff campaign -- won 65 percent of the vote. Then, in January 2003, his colleagues voted him president of the 11-member board. That August, he jumped into the mayor's race at the last minute and made the runoff before losing to Newsom by 14,217 votes. . . .
Several of Gonzalez's board colleagues said that although he has been a successful politician, his heart isn't in holding elected office.
Others predicted that Gonzalez won't stay out of the political limelight for long.
"I can assure you, Matt Gonzalez is still here, and he ... will play a major role in the history of the Green Party and the history of California over the next 20 or 30 years," said former Green Party gubernatorial candidate Peter Camejo. "We've only just begun to hear about Matt Gonzalez."
Eric Jaye, a political consultant who was a campaign strategist for Newsom, said, "I think Supervisor Gonzalez will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in San Francisco politics. The combination of great intelligence and ruthlessness will make him a factor for years to come."
Jaye said he wouldn't be surprised if Gonzalez took another crack at running for mayor.
"It's a very real possibility. If you look at his political history and try to use that as a guide, he has frequently approached races and political problems from the unexpected angle. He entered the mayor's race at the last minute. He launched his political career by taking on fellow political progressive Hallinan. He switched to the Green Party in his race for supervisor. This doesn't seem really out of line with his previous political behavior."
Despite having run for three elected positions, and being chosen by his peers to run the board, Gonzalez has less passion for holding office than he does for the underlying issues, said Supervisor Chris Daly, who with Gonzalez constitutes the left of the board.
Daly said that in informing him of his decision to leave the board, Gonzalez said that he might run for a "public office that he couldn't win," indicating a bid for the state Senate or higher position.
"I think you can see Matt Gonzalez running as a Green for governor," Daly said. . . .
Chronicle staff writer Katia Hetter contributed to this report. E-mail Suzanne Herel at sherel at sfchronicle.com.
<http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/03/30/BAGTC5TE2N1.DTL> ***** -- Yoshie
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