Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom is pretty much what you would expect of a California Democrat; he is an environmentalist, a supporter of same-sex marriage, an advocate for low-income housing, and a leader in statewide education reform. Rather than merely calling for change, Newsom has been breaking the status quo to best support the causes he champions. 

On Friday, Newsom appeared as the keynote speaker for the Second Annual California Economic Summit in Los Angeles. The summit focused on the immense disconnect between various groups of Californians—coastal and inland residents, northern and southern Californians, and wealthy and low-income populations—in an attempt to help unify the state, create more jobs, and continue strengthening the economy.

In his seven years as the mayor of San Francisco, Newsom worked to make the city more environmentally conscious. He signed it into the Kyoto Protocol; abolished the use of plastic bags, Styrofoam, and plastic water bottles; began a citywide composting system; secured the most stringent green-building standards and boosted the city’s recycling rate to 80 percent.

His extensive work earned him the title of the nation’s greenest mayor in 2010—the second time he has been awarded that honor. He has high hopes as San Francisco continues moving towards its goal of eliminating municipal waste altogether. 

See also: Bill Clinton Stand By S.F. Mayor For Governor 

Lt. Gov Newsom has made leaps and bounds for the LGBTQ community as well. In 2004, in violation of current state law, he directed San Francisco’s city-county clerk to authorize marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Although the Supreme Court of California later annulled them, Newsom gained nationwide attention for his passionate defense of marriage equality.

See also: Prop 8, Banning Gay Marriage, Will See Another Delay

“I’m most proud of our efforts with homelessness,” he said of his time as mayor. He moved more homeless people into supportive housing in his term than any other San Francisco mayor in the state's history. His implementation of Care Not Cash reduced the city’s homelessness by 25 percent. 

Newsom also created Healthy San Francisco (HSF) to provide universal healthcare throughout the city. It is significantly less expensive than traditional healthcare and allows participants to select primary care providers from among several local hospitals and clinics, both public and private. There is no denial of treatment based on pre-existing medical conditions and the system tries to minimize tedious paperwork.

As a voting member of both the Board of Regents of the University of California and the Board of Trustees of the California State University system, Lt. Gov. Newsom was the only UC Regent to vote against a tuition hike in 2012.

He also aligned himself with educational interests by establishing Kindergarten to College, a program that initiates a college savings account and a fifty-dollar deposit for every kindergartener to better ensure higher education in the future. 

See also: Bill Clinton, Jerry Brown, and Gavin Newsom Rally Young Voters At UCLA

Despite him emphasis on major social reforms, Newsom is also conscious of the state's economic needs.

“We are getting our clock cleaned in terms of productions not just by the usual suspects like Canada and New Zealand, it’s notably states like Louisiana, New York State, Michigan, New Mexico, Georgia," said Newsom. "They’re offering huge incentives—up to thirty, in some cases forty, percent rebates—on production and so we have to reconcile that."

"[California's tax incentives] need to be much larger and they need to be more serviceable, meaning they need to be made more available with more flexibility in terms of the ability to access them," he continued. "This is a dominant call from almost everyone in the industry and the challenge is two-fold: one is, you have to pay for it and two, you have to communicate effectively that this is not just for subsidies for big studios, this is about real job creation.” 

See also: L.A. Film And TV Industry Jobs? Mayoral Candidates Offer Plans To Ensure They Exist

Newsom wants his constituents to view him as more than the sum of his policies. For a man as busy as Newsom, social media provides him with a forum to constantly reach out to and connect with people without neglecting his more formal duties. In fact, in 2010, a Samepoint study named Newsom the Most Social Mayor in America's largest 100 cities.

“I’m all about government transparency,” he said. “A lot of politicians are having one way conversation in a society where two-way conversations are becoming increasingly important.”

Lt. Gov. Newsom spoke of his desire to keep his constituents constantly in the know, not just during election season. He has openly commented on drug trafficking, immigration, marijuana legalization, the three strikes law, and several other controversial subjects. 

What else is in store for this budding politician?

“If, in the next three years, the opportunity presents itself,” he said, he’d love to run for governor. “If not, I’m fine with going back to just being a father.” 

Contact Staff Reporter Sarah Collins here. Follow her on Twitter here.