San Francisco Mayor Will Be Seen, Not Heard

Mingling with A-list liberals at a Harvard University cocktail party over the weekend, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom soaked up the adulation.

The first, but not the last, to greet him as a “hero” for granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples was “Doonesbury” cartoonist Garry Trudeau. Sidney Blumenthal, the former White House aide to President Clinton, was just slightly less effusive. “I’m a big admirer,” he told Newsom before fetching his wife to meet the mayor.

But it was Joan Walsh, a correspondent for Salon.com, who first popped the question on the minds of guests at the rooftop terrace reception: “Have they invited you to speak?”

Well, no.

Newsom -- the rising political star whose campaign drew Clinton and Al Gore to San Francisco last year, the mayor whose move on gay marriage set off a storm of worldwide publicity -- is perhaps the most notable absentee on the roster of speakers here at the Democratic National Convention.

Even James K. Hahn, the Los Angeles mayor who is far less known nationally, will step up to the central podium to address delegates on Wednesday. “I don’t know how they make the decisions,” Hahn said of Newsom’s absence.

The reason would seem obvious: For all the backing he won among Democrats when he approved 4,039 same-sex marriages in San Francisco early this year, the move made Newsom a walking symbol of an issue the party is struggling to avoid.

Leaders of Sen. John F. Kerry’s presidential campaign skipped over him in awarding speaking slots, offering them instead to such lesser-knowns as Iowa’s agriculture secretary, a former New Mexico economic development secretary -- and a former San Francisco supervisor, Roberta Achtenberg.

“They don’t want a television clip of somebody so closely associated with starting the avalanche of gay marriage licensing in the country,” said Mark Petracca, an associate political science professor at UC Irvine.

Kerry campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter declined to explain Newsom’s absence, referring questions to Peggy Wilhide, a spokeswoman for the convention committee. Wilhide did not return calls for comment.

Newsom, a longtime Kerry fundraiser, said he was doing “all kinds of ancillary things” for Kerry but did not mind the lack of a speaking invitation. He said he recognized the potential harm he could inflict by association.

“I care about taking back the White House,” the 36-year-old mayor said. “I really do. It’s so much bigger than an individual, or an ego, or feelings.”

At the same time, Newsom took credit for drawing attention away from the legal gay marriage taking place under court order in Massachusetts, Kerry’s home state.

“What we did in San Francisco has significantly helped the party,” Newsom said.

Newsom is hardly at loose ends in Boston. He met with housing experts at Harvard. He took a tour of housing projects, gathering ideas for San Francisco. He plans to dine with Al and Tipper Gore, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.

National Public Radio’s Tavis Smiley interviewed Newsom on Monday. Tonight, GQ magazine will honor him at a glitzy party; among the expected guests are Tom Brokaw and Larry King.

Newsom’s appeal among Democrats has set off rumblings of concern among California Republicans. “As much as it pains me, I think Gavin Newsom’s going to be governor in the next 12 years,” said veteran GOP consultant Ken Khachigian.

At the Harvard rooftop party, Newsom ran into a Kerry fund-raiser, Thomas P. Daley. Newsom fished for business cards in his suit jacket, to no avail.

“We know how to find you,” Daley told him.

“You do know how to find me,” Newsom replied.

Daley smiled back and told the mayor: “We’ll see you bouncing around town.”

Times staff writer Maria L. La Ganga contributed to this report.