Gavin Christopher Newsom was born in San Francisco, California, to Tessa Thomas (nee Menzies) and William Alfred Newsom III, a retired state appeals court justice and attorney for Getty Oil. He is a fourth-generation San Franciscan. His father is of mostly Irish descent; one of Newsom's maternal great-grandfathers, Scotsman Thomas Addis, was a pioneer scientist in the field of nephrology and a professor of medicine at Stanford University. Newsom is the second cousin, twice removed, of musician Joanna Newsom.

As mayor, Newsom focused on development projects in Hunters Point and Treasure Island. He signed the Health Choices Plan in 2007 to provide San Francisco residents with universal healthcare. In 2004, Newsom gained national attention when he directed the San Francisco city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in violation of the state law passed in 2000.  Implementation of Care Not Cash began on July 1, 2004. As part of his Care Not Cash initiative, 5,000 more homeless people were given permanent shelter in the city. As of October 21, 2007, about 2,000 people have been placed into permanent housing with support. Other programs initiated by Newsom to end chronic homelessness include the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team (SF HOT), and Project Homeless Connect (PHC). On October 27, 2004, during a strike by hotel workers on a dozen San Francisco hotels, Newsom joined UNITE HERE union members on a picket line in front of the Westin St. Francis Hotel. He vowed that the city would boycott the hotels by not sponsoring city events in any until the hotels agreed to a contract with workers. The contract dispute was settled in September 2006.  In 2005, Newsom pushed for a state law to allow communities in California to create policy restricting certain breeds of dogs. He requested that then state senator Jackie Speier introduce a change to then-existing California law, which stated that counties could not target specific breeds of dog. The animal control agency under his direction created a working dog task force report that cited Denver, Colorado, as a best practice for a law in California.  In 2009, Newsom came under attack for the City of San Francisco's policy of illegally harboring juvenile criminal aliens. A sanctuary city, San Francisco had long been circumventing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by harboring or sending the aliens back to their own native countries.  In 2009, Newsom received the Leadership for Healthy Communities Award along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City and three other public officials for his commitment to making healthful food and physical activity options more accessible to children and families. In 2008, he had hosted the Urban Rural Roundtable to explore ways to promote regional food development and increased access to healthy affordable food, and he secured $8 million in federal and local funds for the Better Streets program, which ensures that public health perspectives are fully integrated into urban planning processes. He signed a menu-labeling bill into law, requiring that chain restaurants print nutrition information on their menus. In 2010, Newsom was named "America's Most Social Mayor" by Samepoint, based on analysis of the social media profiles of mayors from the 100 largest cities in the United States. That same year, Newsom was removed from the San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee, because, according to SFCDCC chairman Aaron Peskin, Newsom no longer resided in the city.

did he do anything for homeless people in the article
Implementation of Care Not Cash began on July 1, 2004.