Newsom Talks Shop in San Jose

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom made an appearance Friday at an event hosted here in San Jose by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

At the event, Newsom proposed several plans to boost the state’s economy while also eliminating agencies that he says are redundant, such as the Economic Development Commission. Newsom is the chair of that commission, but he says a better use of resources would be to shift responsibilities to a cabinet-level office under the governor.

Some of the former San Francisco mayor’s ideas will require the approval of Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature, but Newsom sounds intent on boosting trade with foreign nations like China and luring companies to California. He also said he wants to streamline regulatory and permitting matters for businesses.

Never one to shy away from a sound bite, Newsom had this to say about his plan, which apparently has the wholehearted approval of Carl Guardino, CEO of the SVLG:

“This is not about some lieutenant governor,” Newsom said. “Guys like me come and go and most of you never even knew who was before me. I get it. But it is about the fate and future of the most magnificent experiment God has ever conceived, and that’s California.”

Josh Koehn is a former managing editor for San Jose Inside and Metro Silicon Valley.

18 Comments

  1. Get real… who could take Newsom seriously?!  As mayor of SF, he made the city into the laughing stock of the nation.  And having sex with his best friend’s wife is simply unforgivable.  I wouldn’t let Newsom mow my lawn.

      • If you think Newsom did a good job and want to blast Reed, here are some stats to ponder.
        Murder rate for SJ .03 per 1,000:  SF .12 per 1,000: National Average .05 per 1,000.  Rape rate for SJ .24 per 1,000:  SF .21 per 1,000:  National Average .29 per 1,000.  Robery rates SJ 1.20 per 1,000:  SF 5.15 per 1,000:  National Average 1.45 per 1,000.  Assault SJ 2.39 per 1,000:  SF 2.95 per 1,000:  National Average 2.75 per 1,000.  These are just some crime rates Newsom can be proud of, above the national average in three areas, San Jose is below in all areas.  I would much rather walk the streets in San Jose than San Frnacisco.  Newsom is a carreer politician and could care less about SF.  At least Mayor Reed cares about his City and is doing his best to right the ship and correct thestructural budget deficit.

        • Shark City will always be in San Francisco’s shadow….crime stats don’t mean jack%^&t to your boy Reed….any rise in crime in Shark City is only an abberation….thank goodness the libraries are still open

  2. Newsom didn’t do anything to expand businesses in SF, so why would we believe he would do something now? He is a policy wonk and little more. He can ramble for hours enjoying the sound of his own voice, but when it comes time to actually accomplish something his record is extremely sparse. You want to expand business in California then reduce taxes, slash public expenditures, streamline permitting and approval practices, and eliminate 90% of the boards and commmissions in California and dump CAlEPA and instead follow US guidelines. Lastly, eliminate the various Air Pollution Control Boards and use US guidelines. This will eliminate the need to reformulate gas and diesel every couple of months and lower the price of fuel in California. If there is a need to expand any government role, it would be to increase the number of investigators in DOJ to prosecute welfare, insurance, and MediCal fraud.

  3. Mr Newsome, thanks for acknowledging God as the creator. Now please shut up and take yourself and the rest of your ultra-liberal contingency with you or at least stop f’ing with His creation.

  4. Haven’t checked into SJI in a while. Based on today’s comments I’m sorry to see that the inmates are still in charge of the asylum.It’s too bad that the level of discourse has sunk so low. Is this really representative of SJI readers?

  5. Gavin ” big talker ” Newsome did little in San Francisco except his friend’s wife

    Wishing Governor Jerry Brown a very long and healthy life.

    California doesn’t need or want another unethical politician like Newsome who will use anyone to get what he wants and gives liberal a bad name

    Yuck

  6. “egalitarian fools”?  wow, at least these conservatives r real about what they want, and it’s not equality or social justice…
    norway’s citizens, particularly the wealthier, pay considerably high taxes, but because norway’s government uses its considerable oil wealth to heavily invest in public education (free university tuition), public healthcare (free hospitalization costs), and other social services, norway is consistently ranked #1 or near #1 in human development, quality of life, education, and healthcare.  rather than imprisoning its people by the hoards like in california, norway sends criminals to rehabilitation centers, and has one of the lowest crime rates in the world
    the right-wing fanatic that launched a terrorist attack against his own people in norway was trying to destroy a system that has worked generally well, that has placed the wellbeing of its people above private/corporate profits.  sadly, this anders breivik guy was heavily influenced by right-wing extremists from the USA who are against having the richest elites and corporations pay a fair share of taxes to pay off massive debts (which our govt acquired b/c of the reckless bush administration) and to invest in econ/edu/health infrastructure, and who are anti-immigrant xenophobes and islamophobes (not to mention homophobes)
    california’s horribly disastrous law which requires a 2/3 majority in the california legislature to raise taxes has prevented the democrat majority from raising taxes on the richest billionaires and millionaires because of 4 republicans (2 in the state senate and 2 in the assembly) who will fight for their super-rich cronies at the expense of the working class and middle class till the end.. if we could just get rid of those 4 extra republicans… back in the 70s, california had one of the best education systems in the country and cheap cheap tuition… ever since laws were passed that allowed the rich to not pay their fair share of taxes, we’ve been in a debt-plagued mess with massively high tuition costs, inefficient public transportation (outside of SF and berkeley) b/c of a dependence on gas-guzzling cars and SUVs (and suburban sprawling that builds housing complexes to be dependent on cars rather than bicycles, buses, and trains, not to mention walking), and basically no where near what countries like sweden get in return for their tax payments in terms of social and economic services… governor jerry brown certainly remembers what california was like before right-wing extremists hijacked the USA’s political system in the 1980s (courtesy of reagan, which california sadly propelled to the country’s presidency), so i want to believe in him, but that unfortunate 2/3 majority rule to raise taxes is allowing 4 republicans to prevent progress and economic sensibility (not to mention justice) from being achieved
    it’s also interesting how the right-wingers on this board r attacking newsome. newsome constantly fought against the progressives and unions and basically everyone on the Left in san francisco. newsome behaved like a pro-corporate republican, or at least a center-right leaning democrat, definitely not a progressive democrat.

    • > norway’s citizens, particularly the wealthier, pay considerably high taxes, . . . . norway is consistently ranked #1 or near #1 in human development, quality of life, education, and healthcare.

      Dear Progressive:

      I’m all for trading you to Norway in exchange for a can of sardines.

      One condition, though:  they have to take you along with your share of the federal deficit and unfunded mandates, your share of California’s deficit, and your share of San Jose’s deficit.

      Deal?

  7. San Jose Progressive,

    “Want” equality? Only a fool wants what is not possible. From where in the natural world (you know, the one that, like it or not, we’re stuck in) did you or any other egalitarian fool ever see evidence of equality? Equality is the antithesis of natural selection. It is not present in any living species, most certainly not human beings, otherwise there wouldn’t be people so foolish as to believe in something that defies the evidence, as equality does scientifically-based natural selection, while at the same time thinking they understand the science.

    “Norway?” You include in your case for human equality Norway? No understanding of Norwegians, Japanese, or even Native Americans can be achieved without factoring in the role that isolation played in their respective developments. Everything that Norwegians do, think, or dream is affected by the isolation in which their unique genome evolved. What they can contribute and tolerate from their government is a reflection of their genetic character. Do you really believe that you could replace the population of Norway with a random collection of five million African-American and have a viable state, even with the government policies you find so attractive? High taxes? Riot. Free education? Third World academic accomplishments. Generous social services? Oakland with icicles. By the end of the first year Sweden would begin work on a protective wall. What would happen to Norway would be exactly what has happened to the liberated nations throughout Africa: government failure, widespread famine, wanton brutality.

    You want to make any person or group equal to another, go back and reinvent the history of life on this planet.

    I’d continue my response but it appears your psych meds ran out early on in your post.

  8. Gavin ” big talker ” Newsome did little in San Francisco except his friend’s wife

    Wishing Governor Jerry Brown a very long and healthy life.

    California doesn’t need or want another unethical politician like Newsome who will use anyone to get what he wants and gives liberals a bad name

    Yuck

  9. Personal beliefs aside, the god that employed brutal competition and natural superiority in creating mankind would never accept responsibility for the lame, inferior herd established in California by egalitarian fools like Mr. Newsom.

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