Gavin Newsom hopes to raise lieutenant governor's profile

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom won the Democratic primary Tuesday for lieutenant governor, getting 55 percent of the vote to Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn’s 34. Now, he’s running against Republican Abel Maldonado, who was appointed to the position last year by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Newsom joined KPCC’s Larry Mantle to talk about the role of lieutenant governor and how he sees his campaign going.

Newsom said that there’s a preconception that the role is largely ceremonial, one that he hopes to change.

“I think every candidate for lieutenant governor has probably said the same thing, and yet sometimes they fall short, not because of lack of desire, or effort, just because it's difficult. You're always in the shadow of the governor.”

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As a larger-than-life personality with statewide name recognition, Newsom, who briefly ran a campaign for governor, thought he might have a better shot.

“You have the bully pulpit. You have the moral suasion,” he said. “You have the ability to convene and organize, and create a framework of collective wisdom up and down the state...I’ve always looked at my role and responsibility to look beyond the job description.”

Yet he dismissed suggestions that he might hope for a win by Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, which could give him a higher profile as a de facto opposition leader.

Instead, he professed a non-partisan attitude toward the race, although he acknowledged it was risky to do so after a party unity event yesterday with Democratic former governor Jerry Brown.

“I want whoever the next governor is to be successful, because if they’re successful, the state's successful,” he said, urging that there be a "fundamental change" in the way Sacramento is run.

Newsom said the position’s three main responsibilities are in the fields of the environment, education and economic growth.

The lieutenant governor is chair of the State Lands Commission, sits on the UC Board of Regents and CSU Board of Trustees, and directs the Commission for Economic Development.

“[Those are] three areas I’m very passionate about, and have a very strong record on,” Newsom said.

Despite his high profile, he said, he hoped to campaign on the issues.

He said that at events, voters cared more about jobs creation, education and the environment than his own history.

“I think people want to focus on tomorrow,” he said. “I think they want to focus on their future, not my past or not any issues associated with personalities.”

Newsom didn’t talk too much about his opponent, Maldonado, but did try to cast him as a political insider.

“I don’t want to be too gratuitous and critique my opponent, but he’s been up there [in Sacramento] 12 years, and he's in the position he's in because of the deals that were made up there," he said. "With respect, I think we can do better and move in a new direction."