Gavin Newsom Goes For It

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has laid low in the marriage equality fight ever since the Yes On 8 side scored big with their "Like It Or Not" ad. But yesterday he launched a new round of fundraisers and media appearances in a last minute bid to turn the polling around.

In the last week of what could be one of the most important political fights of his career, Mayor Gavin Newsom is campaigning heavily against Proposition 8, turning to his supporters with pleas to vote and convince their friends and relatives to oppose the same-sex marriage ban.

The mayor is hosting a private fundraiser at his Russian Hill home tonight and has already picked up $125,000 in contributions from those attending the event. This afternoon, he's holding a forum with employees at Google, and over the next several days he'll be hitting nearly every major Bay Area radio station and staging rallies around the city.

Newsom says he owes it to his constituents in San Francisco to do everything in his power to fight the initiative. But political analysts note that the outcome of Tuesday's election could weigh heavily on Newsom's future in politics, and specifically his potential bid for governor.

At a No on 8 rally at UC Santa Cruz on Tuesday, Newsom told students that he recognized that the outcome of the election could hurt his career - but he wasn't losing sleep over it. "The biggest problem in politics today is that we're risk-adverse. We're afraid of tomorrow's headlines," Newsom said. "I couldn't care less if the rest of my life I'm only known as the ex-mayor of San Francisco. I will regret nothing about standing up on this issue. I get to go to sleep at night having done the right thing."

Newsom released this clip on Friday.