Will Matt Run for Mayor?Paul Hogarthbyline‚ Jan. 22‚ 2007It’s the burning question on the mind of every progressive who wants to see a challenge to Gavin Newsom in this year’s Mayoral election. Matt Gonzalez has said repeatedly that he will not run, while he stresses the need for progressives to field a candidate. But at this point, there really isn’t any other plausible candidate who can run. And if there’s one thing that we all know about Matt -- he’s unpredictable, and has been known to make sudden decisions that rock the political establishment. Whatever he’s telling people now about running or not is simply irrelevant. In 2000, Matt Gonzalez switched his party registration from Democrat to Green after the general election and during a hotly contested runoff for Supervisor. In August 2003, he entered the Mayor’s race right before the filing deadline – and finished ahead of other progressive candidates to face Newsom in the run-off. Right after his narrow defeat, Matt shocked the political world by announcing that he was leaving the Board of Supervisors – although he was at the pinnacle of his political career and could have easily won re-election. With the Mayor’s race heating up, will Matt once again surprise us and take on Newsom for a second time? |