Click photo to enlarge
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom greets people as he walks into the town hall meeting at Taft...

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom boosted his Southern California credentials Wednesday when he named Sen. Alex Padilla as statewide chairman of his gubernatorial campaign.

The announcement of Padilla, D-Pacoima, heading up the campaign came just hours before Newsom spoke at a town hall meeting at Taft High School in Woodland Hills, his first campaign appearance in the San Fernando Valley.


Some 400 Valley residents attended the 18th in a series of what the Newsom campaign calls "conversations about California's future."


"I happen to think that the best politics is a better idea," Newsom told the crowd, which was a cross-section of Valley diversity.


The audience ranged from lifelong Democrats Sherman and Shari Gamson, a couple in their 70s from Encino, to Dillon Smith of Reseda, who turns 18 in October and will vote for the first time in the gubernatorial election.


"We're keeping our options open, but we wanted to see what (Newsom) had to say about governing California," said Sherman Gamson, wearing an Obama cap.


"I came to hear him because I want to vote for who can be fair to all people and not just to one group," said Smith, who jumped up from his seat to shake Newsom's hand when he was introduced.


Newsom told the crowd he is uniquely prepared to govern California.


"I'm the mayor not just of a city - I'm the mayor of a county," Newsom said. "I'm the only county mayor in the state of California, so the

Quantcast
issues of the state are familiar because they mirror the issues of my city and county.."

Padilla, former president of the Los Angeles City Council, said Newsom's appearance in the Valley was important because of the area's political history.


"So goes the San Fernando Valley, so goes Los Angeles and so goes California," Padilla told the crowd.


With the Padilla appointment, Newsom sought to draw first blood in the campaign's fight for the important Latino vote, which was left up for grabs when Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa decided not to enter the race.


In an interview, Padilla challenged the popular notion that Attorney General Jerry Brown, Newsom's likely toughest opponent in next June's Democratic primary, has a lock on the Latino vote because of his ties to Latinos while he was governor.


"When it comes to the Latino community, not only is the world a different place today versus 30 years ago, but the Latino community has grown and is certainly more diverse than it was 30 years ago and its leadership has changed," Padilla said.


"The Latino vote is increasingly significant in statewide elections in California and Gavin Newsom is committed to earning that support 110 percent."


Neither Brown nor his campaign could be immediately reached for comment, though the 71-year-old former governor has dismissed previous attempts by the Newsom campaign to portray him as a relic of the past.


Brown has not officially announced his candidacy.


James Acevedo, a political consultant deeply involved in Valley Latino politics who supported Brown in past campaigns, said the onetime governor remains popular both among Latinos and Angelenos.


"I think he's going to have a very strong constituency among Latinos," said Acevedo. "Few people know Newsom outside his own city, and I think it's going to be tough for him to try to create a constituency among Latinos."