American politician (born 1965)
Matthew Edward Gonzalez
(born June 4, 1965) is an American politician, lawyer, and activist. He served on the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
from 2001 to 2005 and was president of the Board. In 2003, Gonzalez, running as a member of the
Green Party
, lost a
race for mayor of San Francisco
to Democrat
Gavin Newsom
. In the
2008 presidential election
, Gonzalez ran for vice president as the running mate of candidate
Ralph Nader
. As of February 2024
[update]
, he works as the Chief Attorney at the San Francisco
Public Defender's Office
.
[1]
[2]
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Matthew Edward Gonzalez was born in
McAllen, Texas
. His father, a division chief for the international tobacco company
Brown & Williamson
,
[3]
moved the family to
New Orleans
,
Baltimore
, and
Louisville, Kentucky
, before resettling in McAllen when Gonzalez was eleven years old. After graduating from
McAllen Memorial High School
, he attended
Columbia University
, from which he graduated in 1987. In 1990, he earned a
Juris Doctor
degree from
Stanford Law School
.
Career
[
edit
]
Gonzalez began working as a
trial lawyer
at the
Office of the Public Defender
in San Francisco in 1991. Gonzalez served one term on the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
from 2001 to 2005. He was elected president of the board in 2003. After losing the
mayoral election
in 2003, he chose not to seek re-election.
[4]
Run for District Attorney
[
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]
Gonzalez entered politics when he ran for San Francisco
District Attorney
in 1999. He campaigned to halt political corruption and marijuana prosecutions.
[5]
Gonzalez lost to incumbent
Terence Hallinan
. In a field of five candidates, he finished third with 20,153 votes (11 percent of the total).
[6]
Board of Supervisors
[
edit
]
Election
[
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]
A system of electing supervisors by district rather than citywide took effect in 2000. At the urging of Supervisor
Tom Ammiano
, Gonzalez moved from his home in the Mission District to run for supervisor in newly made
District 5
.
[7]
In early November, shortly before the
runoff election
, Gonzalez switched party affiliations from the
Democratic Party
to the nascent
Green Party
.
[8]
His opponent, Juanita Owens, tried to capitalize on many Democrats' ill feelings toward the Green Party in the wake of Ralph Nader's involvement in the acrimonious
2000 presidential election
,
[9]
but Gonzalez won the runoff election. He was part of a slate of candidates who wanted to change the direction of city policy, in opposition to the "
Brown
machine
," a Democratic Party political machine that had dominated local politics for over 30 years behind Mayor Willie Brown, the
Pelosi
family, and other Democrats.
[10]
His supporters saw his election as a turning point in local politics.
[11]
[12]
On the board
[
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]
Gonzalez's critics considered him a stubborn and willful ideologue, though supporters noted his commitment to stand firm on principles over politicking. When the Board put forth a
resolution
commending
San Franciscan
Congresswoman
Nancy Pelosi
for being elected
House Minority Whip
and being the first woman to hold that position, Gonzalez was the only board member who voted against it. Gonzalez said that supervisors should not issue commendations for winning partisan political positions and that he had written a personal note to Pelosi congratulating her, as she had done him for being elected board president.
[13]
[14]
Gonzalez refused to meet with Brown during his first two years on the Board of Supervisors, saying he did so to avoid being subject to Brown's influence rather than as a matter of disrespect.
[15]
Two sources reported that Gonzalez defied Brown by walking out of the mayor's State of the City address in 2002.
[16]
[17]
However, Gonzalez later told
SF Weekly
that he was never in attendance.
[18]
As board president
[
edit
]
In January 2003, Gonzalez was elected president of the Board of Supervisors after seven rounds of voting, most of which had Gonzalez vying for a majority vote with supervisors
Aaron Peskin
and
Sophie Maxwell
. When Peskin dropped out Gonzalez emerged the winner, counting among his supporters conservative Board member
Tony Hall
, who said when asked why he voted for Gonzalez, "Gonzalez is a man of integrity and intelligence who will carry out his responsibilities fairly and impartially."
[19]
[20]
[21]
Gonzalez hosted monthly art exhibits in his City Hall office. At the last reception,
graffiti
artist
Barry McGee
spray-painted "Smash the State" on the walls of the office as part of his exhibit."
[22]
Gonzalez told the press that he knew his office would be repainted for the next occupant.
Campaign for mayor
[
edit
]
In August 2003, Gonzalez ran for mayor of San Francisco in a bid to replace outgoing two-term mayor
Willie Brown
.
[23]
On a ballot with nine candidates, Gonzalez finished second in the primary election on November 4 behind
Gavin Newsom
, a Democrat and fellow member of the Board of Supervisors who had been endorsed by Brown. Gonzalez received 19.6 percent of the total vote to Newsom's 41.9 percent.
[24]
Because none of the candidates received a majority, a
run-off election
was held on December 9.
Gonzalez faced a difficult run-off election; only 3 percent of voters in San Francisco were registered to the Green Party, the party to which he belonged.
[25]
Although Gonzalez was endorsed by several key local Democrats, including five members of the Board of Supervisors, national Democratic figures, concerned about Ralph Nader's role in the
2000 presidential election
, campaigned on Newsom's behalf.
[26]
[27]
Bill Clinton
,
Al Gore
,
Jesse Jackson
,
Dianne Feinstein
, and
Nancy Pelosi
all campaigned for Newsom. Gonzalez said about his candidacy, "They're scared, not of a Green being elected mayor, but of an honest person being elected mayor."
[28]
Newsom won the runoff race by a margin of 11,000 votes, capturing 53 percent of the vote to Gonzalez's 47 percent.
[29]
Return to private life
[
edit
]
Following the mayoral contest, Gonzalez announced he would not seek re-election to the Board of Supervisors. He left office when his term ended in January 2005. He was succeeded by
Ross Mirkarimi
, a
Green Party
member and community activist who had also worked on Gonzalez's campaign.
[30]
Gonzalez then opened law offices with fellow
Stanford University
alum Whitney Leigh. In May 2005 Gonzalez sought unsuccessfully to
overturn the contract
of San Francisco school Superintendent
Arlene Ackerman
.
[31]
His law firm brought suit against a San Francisco hotel for not paying its workers the minimum wage;
[32]
two
wrongful death
suits against Sacramento police for using
tasers
; against the city of San Jose and
Ringling Brothers Circus
for interfering with
free speech
rights of protestors; and against Clear Channel in a naming rights dispute over the locally owned San Francisco
Warfield Theatre
. It has also been involved in examining the
New Year's Eve
attack on the Yale
a cappella
group
The Baker's Dozen
in
Pacific Heights
.
[33]
2008 presidential election
[
edit
]
In January 2008, Gonzalez, along with several other prominent
Green Party
members, launched Ralph Nader's 2008 Presidential Exploratory Committee to support a possible Nader candidacy.
[34]
On February 28, 2008, four days after announcing his presidential bid, Nader named Gonzalez as his running mate for the
2008 presidential election
.
[35]
Nader announced that he and Gonzalez would not seek the Green Party nomination but would run as independents. On March 4, 2008, Gonzalez announced that he had left the Green Party and had changed his voter registration to independent.
[36]
The change, he said, was to accommodate states, including
Delaware
,
Idaho
and
Oregon
, that did not allow members of political parties to run as independents.
On October 18, 2008 Gonzalez and Nader held a large protest on
Wall Street
following the passage of the
Troubled Asset Relief Program
.
[37]
Their opposition to the bailout was a key issue of the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, in contrast to the Democratic and Republican Party candidates who supported the bill.
Gonzalez participated in the
third party
vice-presidential debates, along with
Constitution Party
vice-presidential candidate Darrell Castle and
Libertarian
Wayne Allyn Root
, held in Las Vegas, on November 2, 2008.
[38]
The event was hosted by Free and Equal.org and Free & Equal Elections (FREE), an organization of political parties, independent citizens and civic organizations formed to promote free and equal elections in the United States.
[38]
Public Defender's Office
[
edit
]
Jeff Adachi
appointed Gonzalez as Chief Attorney in the Public Defender's Office in February 2011.
[1]
[2]
In 2012, Gonzalez took a month-long unpaid leave of absence to act as co-counsel for a corporation in its $16 million lawsuit against San Francisco. This was a civil suit, and as such was not a violation of the San Francisco Public Defender's office rules of ethics, which states in part, "No employee may provide legal advice or legal representation...to any person or entity other than in the employee's official capacity."
[39]
[40]
The case involved Cobra Solutions, a minority-owned business, that had been wrongfully suspended from being able to bid on city information technology contracts. The article “How Business Was Done,” by Luke Thomas, published in 48 Hills, February 14, 2012, explained the key features of the litigation.
Thomas, Luke (February 14, 2012).
"
"How Business Was Done"
"
.
48 Hills
. Retrieved
January 26,
2021
.
Gonzalez defended Jose Inez Garcia Zarate in the
Kate Steinle
homicide trial. The trial received national media attention because the defendant was an undocumented immigrant who had previously been deported five times.
[41]
Zarate, 45, was found not guilty of assault with a firearm but was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Zarate was sentenced to time already served.
[42]
[43]
After the death of Jeff Adachi on 22 February 2019, Gonzalez served briefly as head of the public defender's office until an interim head,
Manohar ‘Mano’ Raju
, was named.
[44]
[45]
Mano was appointed Public Defender on March 11.
[46]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Cote, John (February 23, 2011).
"Gonzalez is defender's new No. 2"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
.
- ^
a
b
"San Francisco Public Defender's Office Profile"
. Retrieved
December 20,
2018
.
- ^
Guthrie, Julian.
Guthrie, Julian (December 6, 2003).
"Gonzalez: Giving back in San Francisco after childhood of privilege"
.
The San Francisco Chronicle
. Retrieved
May 10,
2006
.
The San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, December 7, 2003
- ^
Hampton, Adriel (March 29, 2004)
"Supe Walks Away."
San Francisco Indybay. (Retrieved Oct 21, 2015.)
- ^
Fintz, Stacy, (October 20, 1999)
"Challenger Says He'll Fulfill Hallinan's Goals / Gonzalez to halt death penalty prosecutions"
San Francisco Chronicle
- ^
City & County of San Francisco, Dept. of Elections.
Election Results 1999.
Archived
November 8, 2015, at the
Wayback Machine
(Retrieved 10-20-15.)
- ^
Anderson, Lessley and Jack Cheevers (October 8, 2003)
"The Great Left Hope."
SF Weekly. (Retrieved March 2, 2016.)
- ^
"Why I Turned Green"
.
San Francisco Bay Guardian
. November 15, 2000. Archived from
the original
on March 5, 2005
. Retrieved
October 20,
2008
.
- ^
Epstein, Edward (November 18, 2000)
"Supervisor Candidate Turns Green: Gonzalez's move costs him Democrats' support
San Francisco Chronicle.
,
- ^
Shaw, Randy.
Beyondchron
(January 3, 2005),
"Matt Gonzalez's political legacy"
. January 3, 2005
. Retrieved
May 10,
2006
.
- ^
Reed, Christopher.
The Guardian
, December 7, 2003.
Reed, Christopher (December 7, 2003).
"Democrats face fresh votes blow"
.
The Guardian
. London
. Retrieved
May 10,
2006
.
- ^
Wildermuth, John.
The San Francisco Chronicle
December 16, 2003,
Wildermuth, John (December 16, 2003).
"Fall of the machine"
.
The San Francisco Chronicle
. Retrieved
May 10,
2006
.
- ^
Wildermuth, John; Gordon, Rachel; Chronicle Political Writers; November 12, 2003)
"Mayoral hopefuls come out swinging in debate?Gonzalez questions Newsom's spending"
San Francisco Chronicle
- ^
Mayoral Runoff Debate (November 11, 2003)
"Mayoral Debate"
Commonwealth Club Archives
- ^
Suzanne Herel (January 3, 2005).
"Forever the rebel with a cause, Gonzalez exits left at City Hall:Idealist energized young liberals in strong run for mayor"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
. Retrieved
February 29,
2008
.
- ^
Gordon, Rachel (October 22, 2002).
"Brown speaks on State of the City"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
. Retrieved
October 18,
2008
.
- ^
"Why Newsom is our choice"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
. December 7, 2003
. Retrieved
February 28,
2008
.
- ^
Mary Spicuzza (February 13, 2008).
"Wikipedia Idiots: The Edit Wars of San Francisco"
. Archived from
the original
on February 18, 2008
. Retrieved
February 13,
2008
.
- ^
Bay City News (January 8, 2003).
"Gonzalez named new prez of S.F. Board of Supervisors"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
.
- ^
Gordon, Rachel (January 9, 2003).
"Green Party scores a win on S.F. board / Gonzalez's election as president shocks Democratic leaders"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
.
- ^
Feinstein, Mike
Summer 2003
.
"Matt Gonzalez Elected President of San Francisco Board of Supervisors"
Archived
February 25, 2006, at the
Wayback Machine
Green Focus
- ^
Lelchuk, I.
Lelchuk, Ilene (December 10, 2004).
"Last word on government: Graffiti installation in Gonzalez's office gets mixed reviews"
.
The San Francisco Chronicle
. Retrieved
May 10,
2006
.
San Francisco Chronicle
on the web, December 10, 2004.
- ^
Gordon, Rachel (August 9, 2003).
"Gonzalez joins race for mayor / 9 candidates now vying for S.F.'s top post"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
.
- ^
Rob Wrenn (December 19, 2003).
"Absentees Proved Crucial in Newsom's Victory"
.
Berkeley Daily Planet
. Retrieved
February 29,
2008
.
- ^
Norman Solomon (December 11, 2003).
"Breakthrough And Peril For The Green Party"
. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.
- ^
McCarthy, Kevin.
The Nation
, December 5, 2003.
"Gonzalez for Mayor"
. Retrieved
May 10,
2006
.
- ^
Dean E. Murphy (December 7, 2003).
"Left Faces Left in San Francisco Runoff Vote for Mayor"
.
New York Times
.
- ^
Sappenfield, Mark (December 9, 2003)
"Poets and Yogis: Green Party mayoral candidate taps the city's distinctive culture."
Christian Science Monitor.
- ^
Gordon, Rachel et al (December 10, 2003)
"Newsom: The Time for a Change Is Here."
San Francisco Chronicle. (Retrieved June 10, 2016).
- ^
Matier, Phillip; Ross, Andrew (November 5, 2003).
"Gonzalez: He must take buzz citywide"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
. Retrieved
August 8,
2008
.
- ^
Woodward, Tali.
"Cutting the Golden Parachute"
. Retrieved
May 10,
2006
.
See also Knight H.,
"Lawsuit filed to toss school chief's raise."
San Francisco Chronicle
, June 23, 2005, accessed April 8, 2006.
- ^
Hogarth, Paul (January 3, 2007)
"Gonzalez Law Firm Scores Minimum Wage Victory"
Beyond Chron
- ^
Matier, Phil; E. Ross (January 17, 2007)
"Yalies' case ? not mayor's race ? brings Gonzalez back to spotlight."
San Francisco Chronicle
.
- ^
Ralph Nader for President in 2008 ? Join with us today
- ^
Alexovich, Ariel (February 28, 2008).
"Nader Announces Pick for Vice President"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
Thomas, Luke (March 4, 2008).
"Matt Gonzalez leaves Green Party Increasing ballot access for presidential run cited"
.
Fog City Journal
.
- ^
"Nader leads Wall Street protest"
.
Green Left Weekly
. October 18, 2008
. Retrieved
March 29,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
Ball, Molly (November 3, 2008).
"Third-party candidates for vice president debate"
.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012
. Retrieved
April 5,
2017
.
{{
cite news
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
Matier, Phillip and Andrew Ross (February 1, 2012)
"Matt Gonzalez is representing firm suing S.F.."
San Francisco Chronicle.
(Retrieved Mar 16, 2017.)
- ^
Editors (February 2, 2012
"Matt Gonzalez Is Suing The City That Pays Him."
Archived
September 14, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine
SFist. (Retrieved Mar 16, 2017).
- ^
"Immigrant charged in slaying has strong defender in Matt Gonzalez - SFChronicle.com"
.
www.sfchronicle.com
. July 13, 2015
. Retrieved
May 2,
2019
.
- ^
Richard Gonzales (January 5, 2018)
"Immigrant Acquitted of San Francisco Killing Sentenced On Lesser Gun Charge"
,
NPR.
(Retrieved Dec 20, 2018)
- ^
"Defendant in Kate Steinle shooting case sentenced to time served"
.
The Mercury News
. January 5, 2018
. Retrieved
May 2,
2019
.
- ^
Burke, Katie (Summer 2019)
"Meet Mano, San Francisco's Interim Public Defender."
San Francisco Bar Association. (Retrieved December 8, 2020).
- ^
"Chief Attorney Matt Gonzales remembers the friendly and fiery sides of Jeff Adachi"
.
- ^
Eskenazi, Joe (March 22, 2019)
"Manohar ‘Mano’ Raju to succeed Jeff Adachi as Public Defender."
Mission Local. (Retrieved December 8, 2020.)
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Carlsson, Chris, ed. (2005)
The Political Edge
, City Lights Foundation Books: San Francisco, CA.
ISBN
1-931404-05-4
.
- Walter, Nicole (2004)
Go Matt Go!
Hats Off Books: Tucson, AZ.
ISBN
1-58736-346-1
.
External links
[
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]
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