Exit Stage Left - Thoughts on Gavin's Departure

Honestly, I'm very surprised. I knew there were rumors out there, but no one (least of all me) seemed to be able to substantiate them. 

My friends out here on the East Coast don't care about any of this, so now that they are crashed out for the night, here are some thoughts:

1) Back on September 15, iloveyougavinnewsom.com wrote that "anonymous sources say that there will be an 'I am quitting the governor’s race so I can spend more time with my family' press release, sometime this fall." Damn. I mean: DAMN! Those guys are good. If that site says you're gonna get hit by a bus, just call into work and get back under the covers.

2) I wonder if Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi will stop demanding information about the cost of Gavin's security detail while out on the campaign trail now? I asked, but haven't heard back yet. Shockingly, Ross has better things to do with his Friday nights than answer my emails. 

3) Will Gavin hafta give all the money back? No.

According to the most recent filings, NEWSOM FOR CALIFORNIA - GOVERNOR 2010 has raised about $3 million dollars. (That number only includes contributions up to June 30, 2009 - so any recent money from Clinton's support, etc., isn't included.) Those filings also show that he had spent about $2.2 million of that money.

With that unspent money, he can either can (a) use it for another state or local (but not federal) race, (b) give it to charities (which I hear is what he did with the money left over from his earlier Supe races), (c) give it to ballot measures or other candidates, or (d) a combo of the above.

4) Will he run for Lt. Governor? All the folks I know who know him say "No." They all say he's too interested in a job that will allow him to continue policy-making, and Lt. Gov. won't allow that kind of fun. Then again, these are the same people who said he wouldn't drop out of the race, so what the hell do they know?

5) Jerry Brown is it? And also: Yay?

I'm still not sure what to think of this man. Each time I've seen him speak, he rambles on like a crazy person. I'm relatively new to California, so I don't remember him losing to Carter, Clinton or Pete Wilson, or winning races for speaker, governor, mayor and attorney general. But in this age of YouTube and Flip Phones, etc., I wonder if Brown's cavalier manner of speaking will lead to his own "Like it or Not" moment.

Have a great weekend, y'all! There's supposed to be more news related to this issue coming out on Sunday. 

-Melissa