Gavin Newsom’s slick, bumpy, uniquely California story

Let’s get this out of the way: I can’t stop thinking about Gavin Newsom.

I have no choice. In the last few weeks, he’s been ubiquitous online and in the old-school media world with the launch of his memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry.” The California governor has been profiled in the Atlantic, the New Yorker and Vogue. Other national outlets have reported details of the book, and still others are busy undercutting him. “Young Man in a Hurry” doesn’t come out for a month so I can’t say much about it. But if you want to know about the articles written about him, I’m here for you.

Even the most skeptical agree: Newsom has through guts and cunning created a moment for himself. With the Democrats in disarray after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, he stepped into the void.

Here are some highlights: The success of Proposition 50. Challenging Trump on the immigration raids. The re-centering efforts of his podcast. Unleashing a Trump-like social media onslaught — part parody, part mean girl. It may or may not be what the Democrats need to retake the White House, but it’s given the party some energy and direction.

The Atlantic captures the debate about Newsom’s viability: “His new persona… deftly speaks to the needs of a party desperate to regain the White House. But Newsom has a problem: He has been a California politician for decades.”

Most of the big headlines about “Young Man in a Hurry” reframe Newsom’s upbringing. Quick bios have always played up Newsom’s close relationship (and business ties) with the heirs to the Getty oil fortune and links to San Francisco’s political aristocracy.

But in his book and in interviews, Newsom described a more complicated story. He grew up around money but was far from rich. His parents split and his mother worked three jobs and took in boarders to make ends meet, he says.

Yes, he vacationed with the Gettys and lived in Marin County, but “we raised ourselves on giant bowls of mac and cheese and thought nothing of it,” he told the New Yorker. The New York Times says his childhood brought “a sense of psychological turmoil” and that made Newsom realize, as he says in the book, “entry into the Getty world would rob me of my own hard-earned story.”

Vogue concludes that the distinction says something important about Newsom. “ The most compelling aspect of Newsom’s biography is his schizophrenic upbringing.” The New Yorker is a bit more skeptical: “Some former associates dismiss this description as a strategic reinterpretation of a largely privileged youth.”

There were two doozies during his rise: His decision to dine at the ritzy French Laundry during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown helped fuel an unsuccessful recall against him; and the infamous Harper’s Bazaar photo of he and his first wife, former Fox News anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle, embracing on a fancy rug at one of the Getty family’s mansions. The stumbles have become almost as legendary as his biggest wins, such as helping spark the marriage equality revolution.

But the New Yorker noted that Newsom has used his introspection as a way of reconsidering controversial positions to show he can find common ground with people outside of deep blue California. “In public, Newsom speaks often and openly about his errors, fortifying his image as a bumptious, slightly hapless victim of his own enthusiasms. But some think he plays a longer game than he lets on,” the magazine writes.

The cover of “Young Man in a Hurry” shows Newsom, the young man striding through what looks like the streets of San Francisco, his hair slicked back with purpose. Both Vogue and the New Yorker note Newsom’s early style model was the debonair Pierce Brosnan character on the 1980s NBC detective show “Remington Steele.”

Indeed, all the profiles mention Newsom’s looks. The Vogue piece begins this way: “Let’s get this out of the way: He is embarrassingly handsome.” The New Yorker notes he has “enough Oribe Crème in his hair to dress a good Crab Louie.” The Atlantic: “As for his liabilities, well, the word smarm comes up a lot: The teeth are too white, the hair perfectly gelled.”

But Newsom’s appearance is probably the least interesting part of him. Based on what I’ve read, “Young Man in a Hurry” might or not be a road-to-the-White-House story, but it’s definitely a very California story.

• Pilots said Hollywood Burbank airport’s proximity to Van Nuys airport makes it particularly vulnerable to a midair collision.
• The FAA itself has pointed out that Van Nuys — home to many flying schools — has a “wide variation of pilot experience, and aircraft capability.”
• There have been at least 12 near-collisions reported at Burbank since 2018, according to a Times review of reports in the Aviation Safety Reporting Database.

• UCLA has fired a DEI director for comments he made after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.
• 1st Amendment experts question whether such dismissals violate free speech protections for public employees’ off-duty commentary.
• The actions come as universities face Trump administration pressure to clamp down on protest and speech.

• Mayor Karen Bass faces big criticism over her handling of the Palisades fire.
• Austin Beutner dropped out of the race, citing his daughter’s death.
• County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath is still weighing a run.
• Developer Rick Caruso ruled out a run for a second time this year.
• The filing deadline is noon Saturday.

• U.S. judges increasingly object to Trump’s inhumanity, but the higher courts are still on his side, writes columnist Michael Hiltzik.
• Hate the team, love their game, the Super Bowl winner will be the New England Patriots, predicts columnist Bill Plaschke.
• MAGA launches another “save the children” campaign targeting LGBTQ+ families. Don’t be surprised if this effort gains traction in coming months, writes columnist Anita Chabria.

Lynne Charette says sunsets are beautiful near Cal State Long Beach.

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Jim Rainey, staff reporter
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Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend reporter
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