2003 San Francisco mayoral election

2003 San Francisco mayoral election

November 4, 2003 (jungle primary) December 9, 2003 (runoff)

Candidate Gavin Newsom Matt Gonzalez Angela Alioto Party Democratic Green Democratic First round vote 87,196 40,714 33,446 First round percentage 41.92% 19.57% 16.08% Runoff vote 133,546 119,329 Runoff percentage 52.81% 47.19%   Candidate Tom Ammiano Susan Leal Party Democratic Democratic First round vote 21,452 17,641 First round percentage 10.31% 8.48%

Runoff electoral results by supervisorial district Newsom:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Gonzalez:      50–60%      60–70%

Mayor before election Willie Brown Democratic Elected mayor Gavin Newsom Democratic

The 2003 San Francisco mayoral election occurred on November 4, 2003. The incumbent, Willie Brown, was termed out of office and could not seek a third term. The general election included three top candidates including then Supervisor Gavin Newsom and then president of the board of supervisors, Matt Gonzalez and former supervisor Angela Alioto. No candidate received the required majority, so the race went into a run-off of the two top candidates, which were Gavin Newsom and Matt Gonzalez. The run-off occurred on December 9, 2003, where Gavin Newsom was elected mayor of San Francisco.

Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, though most candidates in San Francisco do receive funding and support from various political parties.

In 2003, then-supervisor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, ran in a large field of challengers, including Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez, Supervisor Tom Ammiano, former supervisor Angela Alioto, city treasurer Susan Leal, and former police chief Tony Ribera. Newsom and Gonzalez took first and second place, respectively, but neither won a majority, so the two advanced to a runoff election.

Newsom ran as a moderate against leftist/progressive Gonzalez, a member of the Green Party. It was the first mayoral election in San Francisco that a Green Party candidate took a noticeable amount of the vote. The election was close, with Gonzalez leading in the polls and winning the popular vote among ballots cast on election day, while Newsom had a larger lead on absentee ballots. The strong showing of the Green Party's performance can somewhat be attributed to Peter Camejo making an rare second-place finish in San Francisco County behind incumbent Democratic governor Gray Davis and ahead of Republican Bill Simon in the 2002 California gubernatorial election, a year prior.

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Matt Gonzalez (G)	Gavin Newsom (D)	Other / Undecided
SurveyUSA	December 2–4, 2003	534 (CV)	± 4.3%	50%	48%	2%

Results

San Francisco mayoral election, 2003

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gavin Newsom	87,196	41.92
	Green	Matt Gonzalez	40,714	19.57
	Democratic	Angela Alioto	33,446	16.08
	Democratic	Tom Ammiano	21,452	10.31
	Democratic	Susan Leal	17,641	8.48
	Republican	Tony Ribera	5,015	2.41
	Libertarian	Michael F. Denny	925	0.44
	Independent	Roger E. Schulke	735	0.36
	Independent	Jim Reid	733	0.35
	Write-in		131	0.06
Total votes			208,028	100.00
Runoff election
	Democratic	Gavin Newsom	133,546	52.81
	Green	Matt Gonzalez	119,329	47.19
Total votes			252,875	100.00