Joseph Alioto

As Gavin Newsom mulls a bid for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2010, he might want to consider the track record of his predecessors: no Mayor of San Francisco has been elected Governor since James Rolph won in 1930. The last three Mayors-turned-gubernatorial candidate have lost: Dianne Feinstein lost her bid for Governor in 1990 to Pete Wilson; Joseph Alioto was defeated by Jerry Brown in the 1974 Democratic primary; George Christopher lost the 1966 GOP primary to Ronald Reagan. Alioto was the only sitting Mayor to run for Governor, although Christopher was the incumbent when he lost a bid for Lieutenant Governor in 1962, running on a ticket with unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Richard Nixon.

Would history have taken a different path if Hubert Humphrey had chosen San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto as his running mate? In late August 1968, just days before the Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago, Humphrey aides leaked the names of the leading candidates for the Vice Presidential nomination: Edmund Muskie, the Senator from Maine who was eventually picked ; Senator Fred Harris of Oklahoma; former Ambassador to France Sargent Shriver, the father of First Lady Maria Shriver; and Alioto.

San Francisco’s political elite continue to abandon embattled state Sen. Carole Migden sending more endorsements to her upstart challenger, termed-out 13th District Assemblyman Mark Leno.

On Monday, Leno was endorsed by San Francisco Police Commission member Joe Alioto Veronese, an early Democratic rival of Leno’s against Migden before pulling out of the race on March 7 after about a year of pre-primary campaigning.

“This is a little strange for me standing behind this sign,” said Alioto Veronese, gesturing to a Leno-for-senate placard.

As Gavin Newsom mulls a bid for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2010, he might want to consider the track record of his predecessors: no Mayor of San Francisco has been elected Governor since James Rolph won in 1930. The last three Mayors-turned-gubernatorial candidate have lost: Dianne Feinstein lost her bid for Governor in 1990 to Pete Wilson; Joseph Alioto was defeated by Jerry Brown in the 1974 Democratic primary; George Christopher lost the 1966 GOP primary to Ronald Reagan. Alioto was the only sitting Mayor to run for Governor, although Christopher was the incumbent when he lost a bid for Lieutenant Governor in 1962, running on a ticket with unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Richard Nixon.

The race to watch this spring is the Democratic primary for State Senate in the 3rd district, where incumbent Carole Migden faces the most serious challenge of her political career in a contest with Assembly Appropriations Committee Chairman Mark Leno and former Assemblyman Joe Nation. Watch for more than $5 million to be spent on this race, where a victory in the Democratic primary is tantamount to election.

Joe Alioto, Jr., the grandson of the late San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto, is running for San Francisco Board of Supervisor in District 3, where incumbent Aaron Peskin is term-limited. He becomes the second member of the Alioto political dynasty to seek office this year: his cousin, San Francisco Police Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese, dropped his bid for State Senate in the 3rd district Democratic primary, where incumbent Carole Migden faces a fierce challenge from Assemblyman Mark Leno.

Would history have taken a different path if Hubert Humphrey had chosen San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto as his running mate? In late August 1968, just days before the Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago, Humphrey aides leaked the names of the leading candidates for the Vice Presidential nomination: Edmund Muskie, the Senator from Maine who was eventually picked ; Senator Fred Harris of Oklahoma; former Ambassador to France Sargent Shriver, the father of First Lady Maria Shriver; and Alioto.