San Francisco Ushers In a More Somber Political Era

This city ushered in a new generation of leadership Thursday, inaugurating the youngest mayor in more than a century and swearing in a 39-year-old woman as the state’s first African American district attorney.

Under gray skies on the steps of the city’s ornate City Hall, Gavin Newsom -- a 36-year-old millionaire entrepreneur and former city supervisor -- was sworn into office by his father, retired state Appellate Justice William Newsom, as several thousand residents and local, state and federal officials watched. Among them were the state’s first lady, Maria Shriver, former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and U.S. Rep Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco).

Newsom takes the helm of a city battered by job losses and a record budget deficit whose residents are weary of the growing number of homeless people on its streets. After a bruising campaign that ushered him to power with a slim majority, the restaurateur repeatedly struck a note of conciliation Thursday.

“We have tens of thousands of our fellow San Franciscans out of work -- and far too many of them are running out of hope,” Newsom said after a bittersweet send-off from his political patron, Mayor Willie Brown, who is reluctantly leaving because of term limits. “Meanwhile, we have factions of the business community blaming the government, and factions of the government blaming the business community.... I say it’s time to start working together to find common purpose and common ground.”

Some protesters outside City Hall held signs respectfully reminding Newsom of the thinness of his victory. “We’re 47%,” they read. “Don’t Let Gavin Forget Us.” Other Newsom opponents were more disruptive, wailing in mock tears as they carried cardboard gravestones lamenting the predicted deaths of tenants rights, environmental justice and other values they believe Newsom will neglect. A lone heckler screamed intermittently as Newsom took the oath of office, but there were no reported arrests or conflicts.

In a not-so-veiled criticism of his opponents’ tactics, Newsom said it was time for a change.”I think we’ve proven in this city that we know how to fight each other to a draw. We know how to stop things,” he said in his address. “It’s easy to blame.... What’s hard is to listen. We need to leave behind old ideas and long-held grudges

Even before taking the city’s helm, Newsom moved to distance himself from the outgoing Brown, whose style of politics had been criticized by many as cronyism and backroom dealing. A source close to the mayor confirmed a San Francisco Chronicle report that Newsom had decided to appoint a special monitor to investigate the city’s Department of Building Inspection, which has long been the subject of corruption allegations. Chief among the criticisms: that the agency gives special treatment to powerful clients who hire well-connected permit expediters to shepherd their development projects.

While Newsom declined to address his specific plans Thursday, he stated that the era of special interest politics had ended.

“I want to make this crystal clear,” he told the crowd. “If you work for this city, you work for everyone. Not the lobbyists, or consultants, or expediters, but everyone.”

Newsom has also announced plans to push for a $150-million bond measure to fund construction of housing for the homeless that would include mental health and addiction services. He also has called for a separate affordable-housing bond.

Named by Brown to a minor city commission at the age of 27, Newsom became a supervisor in 1997. He captured citywide attention in 2002 when he promoted a ballot measure called Care Not Cash. The initiative -- approved overwhelmingly by voters but stymied by the courts and Newsom’s board colleagues -- would have dramatically reduced cash payments to the homeless in lieu of services. Newsom’s opponents said the measure -- along with another anti-panhandling initiative -- would punish poverty. His new proposals address that criticism by proposing enhanced services.

Thursday’s festivities began with a service at the city’s Grace Cathedral, where representatives of several faiths offered advice and encouragement. After the ceremony, Newsom and his wife -- legal commentator, former prosecutor and lingerie model Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom -- welcomed a stream of well-wishers through the mayor’s office, smiling broadly with the good looks and easy charm that supporters say give the city’s first couple White House potential.

Then Newsom, who has earned a reputation as a policy wonk, headed for several neighborhoods to meet with constituents

The simple celebration stood in marked contrast to the fete thrown eight years ago by Brown, who arrived in a horse-drawn carriage for his waterfront bash with 50,000 revelers.

“I think it would be inappropriate to be overly exuberant and spend too much time celebrating the day,” Newsom said outside the cathedral. “It’s only appropriate we have a modest swearing-in and get to work shortly thereafter.”

San Franciscans voted Newsom into office in a runoff election last month. But an unexpectedly strong challenge from Board of Supervisors President and Green Party member Matt Gonzalez, 38, left Newsom without a sweeping mandate.

Newsom also faces a struggle with his former colleagues on the Board of Supervisors, where a majority backed Gonzalez in the race. But Newsom has sought to deliver a message of inclusion during the last month. He appointed a transition team with 200 members -- more than three times the number who assisted Brown and his predecessor, Mayor Frank Jordan. Among them were some Gonzalez supporters.

The team recommended policies on issues including culture and the arts, the environment, housing and homelessness, handing Newsom 14 bulky reports Wednesday morning.

One Gonzalez supporter named to the team said he believed that Newsom’s pledge to build bridges was sincere.

“Some people, and I know a lot of them, will do everything in their power to make him fail,” said Adam Werbach, an environmentalist recently appointed to the Public Utilities Commission by Supervisor Chris Daly behind Brown’s back. “I committed to him that I will do everything I can to help him succeed. That’s in the best interest of the city.”

Gonzalez was more cautious in his praise after Thursday’s ceremony. While his campaign’s proposal on the homeless centered on the same type of supportive housing that Newsom is advocating, Gonzalez noted that Newsom had previously opposed a ballot measure promoting it.

“I want to be supportive but I also am not naive,” he said. “I want to do the hard work of politics -- which is in the details.”

Some in the crowd retained a good dose of resentment against Newsom and the Democratic Party, which rolled out its big guns -- including Bill Clinton and Al Gore -- in an effort to quash the grass-roots momentum of the Gonzalez campaign. But they stressed that they plan to stay engaged with city politics.

“We were a very energetic group of people,” said Kevin McGuire, 36, a former wine store clerk who is unemployed. “We’re urging people to pay attention to local issues and give input to their elected representatives.”

Also sworn in Thursday was Kamala Harris. The daughter of an African American father and an East Indian mother, Harris becomes the state’s first African American and first Asian Pacific American district attorney. Harris, who like Newsom received the outgoing mayor’s backing, beat eight-year incumbent Terence Hallinan by a solid margin.

While they both oppose the death penalty and support medical marijuana, Harris made their differences clear Thursday. As her mother watched in tears, Harris announced the creation of a homicide court aimed at clearing a backlog of murder cases. She also pledged to crack down on sex criminals.

“Let’s put an end right here to the question about whether we are tough on crime or soft on crime,” she said. “Let’s be smart on crime.”

Times staff photographer Robert Durell contributed to this report.