Gavin Newsom, who admitted he is known as “the gay marriage mayor,” addressed a crowd at the Graduate School of Business Tuesday – the same day the California Supreme Court heard San Francisco's case for allowing same-sex marriage within the city.

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Jaclyn Tandler

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom discussed his successes in the private and public sectors yesterday at the business school. Newsom also shared his experiences as a gay-rights activist.

Newsom made national headlines in 2004 following his efforts to issue same-sex marriage licenses in the city.

At the 2004 State of the Union address – soon after Newsom became mayor – Newsom said he was "disgusted" by the general attitude of audience members toward the LGBT community. Newsom was surprised to find that Democrats and Republicans alike publicly condemned his actions.

"To this day, there are politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, who want nothing to do with me,” Newsom said of his push for gay marriage. “I have family members who are still outraged with me."

Newsom also focused on the relationship between business and politics. He discussed San Francisco's success since he became mayor in 2004 and how he was able to achieve success in the public sector through his experience in private business.

The mayor described the political scene, unlike that of business, as "risk-averse," partly because constituents are not willing to let politicians make mistakes.

“Let [politicians] try something and watch it fail,” Newsom advised. “At least give them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.”

He warned that change is not something easily accepted in politics, which he described as "prescriptive and simple." He also said that politicians need to "stop talking about [change] and get things done."

Newsom described how he was able to implement universal health care within San Francisco through federal grants, which politicians often ignore amongst budget deficits.

For example, San Francisco has put more money into rebuilding public housing than has been allocated by the federal government for the entire United States. According to Newsom, the city will need about one billion dollars to complete its rebuilding projects while the entire United States budget for rebuilding public housing is only $95 million.

Marc Stad, the second-year GSB student who organized the event, invited the mayor because he thought Newsom "would be good for the school because he could talk about the cross-section between business and politics."

"I think he was a big hit among the students," Stad added.

Newsom told The Daily after the talk that he enjoyed coming to Stanford because he has a "great admiration for what Stanford represents not just to the region, but to the world."

His advice for the Stanford community echoed his advice for GSB students: "take risks and learn from them, and that should be a life-long pursuit."