GAVIN NEWSOM: MAN OF THE YEAR

from the san francisco chronicle: "It was only his 12th day as mayor of San Francisco, but Gavin Newsom decided that night -- the very night he attended President Bush's State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. -- that he was going to defy California law.
And turn the nation on its ear.
Attending the president's Jan. 20 speech as a guest of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Newsom listened closely as Bush voiced his strong support for outlawing same-sex marriage -- with a constitutional amendment, if necessary.
Not long after the speech, Newsom called his chief of staff, Steve Kawa, a gay man who was at home with his partner and their two children. "He told me that he wanted to do something,'' Kawa said.
Two weeks later, during a staff meeting, Newsom dropped the bombshell on his top aides: He wanted them to explore how the city could start issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
Kawa said the mayor asked staff to gather as many legal briefs, news articles and other background information as they could. Added his communications chief, Peter Ragone, "He also wanted it done quietly.''
Within 24 hours, Kawa was on the phone with Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a San Francisco-based public interest legal organization.
Her reaction: "Oh, my God, you're kidding me,'' Kendell said in an interview Saturday. "It was a mixture of 'wow,' and 'oh s -- .' "
It was the first time, Kendell said, that a mayor of an American city wanted to take such an initiative. And Newsom, a straight Irish Catholic man married for two years, was the perfect politician to take on the fight, she said...."

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