Symposium: New Metropolis: Social Change in California’s Cities
Matt Gonzalez
Matt Gonzalez was born in McAllen , Texas in 1965. He graduated from Columbia College in New York City in 1987 where he studied Political Theory and Comparative Literature. In 1990 he received his J.D. from Stanford Law School where he was an editor of the Stanford Law Review and a member of the Stanford Environmental Law Journal. Gonzalez also worked in the school’s East Palo Alto Community Law Project on immigration law matters, and participated in a mediation project at Menlo-Atherton High School . He was a research assistant to the Dean of the School, Paul Brest, on a constitutional law casebook revision (primarily working on gender discrimination and religion clause issues). He also worked for the California Appellate Project which directly handles or supervises all death penalty cases pending in California.
After law school, Gonzalez worked at the Office of the Public Defender in San Francisco for a decade, as a trial lawyer, where he handled all types of felonies. He successfully defended many serious cases, including numerous life-in-prison matters. He was twice jailed for contempt of court (and ordered arrested a third time) for his advocacy. In each instance, the contempt findings were overturned on appeal.
In 1999, Gonzalez ran an impressive campaign for District Attorney where he focused on issues largely ignored by the other candidates including the need to prosecute illegal evictions, environmental crimes, and political corruption. He finished third in a field of five candidates, receiving just over 11% of the vote (20,153 votes). A political novice at the time, Gonzalez surprised many by winning the support of a number of organizations including: The SF Tenants Union, The Richmond District Democratic Club, The Latino Democratic Club, The Noe Valley Democratic Club, The City College Democratic Club, and The Northside Democratic Club. He was also endorsed by the SF Bayview Newspaper, the New Mission News, and SF Bay Times.
In 2000 Gonzalez was named the “Lawyer of the Year” by the La Raza Lawyers Association, and during the summer, he taught an undergraduate class in “Evidence” at New College of California. From early 2000 through 2001, Gonzalez served as a board member of Intersection for the Arts, the oldest, independent, non-profit art and theater space in San Francisco.
On December 12, 2000, Gonzalez became the first member of the Green Party to win elective office in San Francisco , winning over 65% of the vote in a run-off election. He was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing District 5, which includes the Haight, Western Addition, and Inner Sunset neighborhoods.
Since being elected, Gonzalez has been a solid progressive vote. He has supported transgender health benefits for city employees, the acceptance of matricula consular ID cards for immigrant workers, expanded whistleblower protections for city employees, and he was a cosponsor of the successful municipal solar bond. He is working on the creation of a local Community Land Trust, establishing a local minimum wage, creating early voting in each of the supervisorial districts, and on strengthening the Office of Citizen’s Complaints which investigates complaints against Police Officers. He is also working on Saturday closure of JFK Dr. in Golden Gate Park.
He has been involved in successful ballot measures changing how Planning Commissions are appointed, creating an Elections Commission, reforming the Ethics Commission, and adopting Instant Run-off Voting for all municipal elections.
On January 8, 2003, after seven rounds of voting, Gonzalez was elected President of the Board of Supervisors by his colleagues.
Interviews with Gonzalez have appeared in: The Recorder, The San Francisco Observer, The San Francisco Green Party Newsletter, The San Francisco Examiner, The San Francisco Call, and The San Francisco Bay Guardian.
He has been an invited speaker at/or addressed: Berkeley Earth Day, California Green Party State Convention, League of Revolutionaries for a New America, New Orleans Green Party, Haight/Ashbury Food Program, The Golden Gate Breakfast Club, SF Public Utilities Commission Environmental Summit, SF Chamber of Commerce, the Grey Panthers, SF State Political Science Association, Hastings College of Law La Raza Students Association, California Prison Focus, the Maryland State Green Party, and the Campus Greens.
Gonzalez is also a strong supporter of the arts and hosts a monthly art opening in his office at City Hall. The artists shown have included: Tom Schultz, John Bovio, Felix Macnee, Melina Finkelstein, George Long, Laura Allen, Albert Herter, Jose Ramon Lerma, Paul Spencer, Lynn Rubenzer, and Christine Shields.
Gonzalez has written and published a number of essays, book reviews, interviews, and opinion editorials:
“The Demise of Due Process: Murray against Giarratano” in The Stanford Humanities Review, #2/3 (1990), a commentary on the right to counsel in death penalty cases during state habeas appeals;
“Jack Micheline” in The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1999) (ed. Alan Kaufman), a biographical essay on the beat poet;
“The Elusive Jack Micheline” in Ragged Lion (Ellensburg, WA: Vagabond Press/The Smith Publishers, 1999), a memoir of the poet;
“Who Has A Dark Wallet” in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, March 8, 2000, an opinion editorial on the Amadou Diallo verdict;
“Jack Black Rides the Rails Again” in The Recorder, August 23, 2000, a book review of the AK Press reprint of Jack Black’s 1926 memoir You Can’t Win;
“Why I Turned Green” in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, November 15, 2000, an opinion editorial on joining the Green Pary;
“Joe Strummer and Matt Gonzalez Share a Few Pints at Murio’s” in BANG!, September 2001, an interview with the former leader of the Clash;
“Directly Accountable to the People” in the San Francisco Call, November 26, 2001, an interview with San Francisco Public Defender candidate Jeff Adachi;
“Foreword” in Flares by Don Paul (SF: Irresistable/Revolutionary, 2001), foreword to a collection of poetry, songs and prose;
“Their Rubber Hammer Strikes the Sea” in the San Francisco Call, December 17, 2001, an interview with artist Felix Macnee;
“Assessing Hongisto” in the San Francisco Call, January 14, 2002, an interview with former San Francisco Sheriff, Supervisor, and Assessor Richard Hongisto;
“I Never Expected That I Would Get Involved In Politics” in the San Francisco Call, January 28, 2002, an interview with San Francisco Green Party School Board Member Mark Sanchez;
“Let’s Bellyache!” in the San Francisco Call, May 24, 2002, a book review of Suicide Circus: Selected Poems by the Russian Futurist poet Alexei Kruchenykh;
“Jack Hirschman, a Bibliography” in the San Francisco Call, May 24, 2002, a bibliography compiled with the poet Jack Hirschman;
“CHOROSHO! An Auto/biographical Sketch of Jack Hirschman” in the San Francisco Call, May 24, 2002, a biographical chronology written with Jack Hirschman;
“From a Secret Location in the Marina District ” in the San Francisco Call, June 14, 2002, an interview with political journalist h. brown;
“Escaping the Ice Age” in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, June 19, 2002, an opinion editorial in support of a fur ban in San Francisco ;
“Their Rubber Axe Fells the Plain” in the San Francisco Call, February 10, 2003, a second interview with artist Felix Macnee;
“Reclaiming Cinco de Mayo” in the San Francisco Chronicle, May 5, 2003, an opinion editorial about the French invasion of Mexico ; and
“My Green Manifesto” in Comet Magazine, #4, 2003, a playful list of reasons for voting for the Green Party.
Matt Gonzalez resides in the Western Addition, on Hayes Street , between Webster and Fillmore.