San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom has announced his candidacy for governor of California. Video is here, his site is at gavinnewsom.com, and someone who is probably a sockpuppet is already spreading the good cheer at politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0409/Newsom_announces.html ("...He has already implemented Ideas for healthcare in Sf that have cut costs...")

The CA GOP should let out a loud cheer about his decision; even they could beat him. His Democratic opponents probably won't have much trouble either, since even the San Francisco Chronicle has looked into the impacts of his policies.

And, instead of hiding from those policies, he's highlighting them on his site. The full text of that subsection is included at [1], but they include him highlighting his support for S.F.'s sanctuary city policy, the Bank on San Francisco program that lets corrupt banks profit from money that was earned illegally (see immigration banks), a program that gives non-emergency healthcare to all including illegal aliens, and a city ID card for all including illegal aliens. He's also looking for people to send him policy ideas, and you might want to send him some polite suggestions: issues *at* gavinnewsom.com

[1] From gavinnewsom.com/issues/immigration

* Bank on San Francisco: Mayor Newsom launched the first comprehensive program in the U.S. to help people without bank accounts open a low-cost, starter bank account. The “unbanked”, often members of the immigrant community, were losing as much as 5% of their net income on unnecessary fees, more likely to be victims of a crime and lacked the ability to save and build assets. Bank on San Francisco now has 24,000 open accounts and is a model being replicated in cities throughout the country.

* Healthy San Francisco: Healthy San Francisco provides universal, comprehensive, affordable health care to uninsured adults regardless of the person’s immigration status. Healthy SF saves the city money by reducing the number of emergency room visits by the previously uninsured who were often members of the immigrant community.

* Sanctuary City Policy: San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy, going back nearly 30 years and five San Francisco mayors, serves primarily to protect public safety. The policy is designed to maintain public health and safety by reassuring the city's undocumented residents that they can call for police or fire department assistance or seek emergency medical help without fear of being deported.

* City ID Card: Mayor Newsom launched the San Francisco City ID Card program, which offers residents a photo identification card that streamlines access to city programs and connects residents to local businesses. The ID card makes it easier for all San Franciscans to see a doctor, open a bank account and enroll their kids in preschool.