Matt Gonzalez | |
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Gonzalez in December 2007.
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Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 5 |
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In office 2001–2005 |
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Preceded by | Election was not district specific |
Succeeded by | Ross Mirkarimi |
Personal details | |
Born |
McAllen, Texas |
June 4, 1965
Nationality | U.S. |
Political party | Independent |
Other political affiliations |
Green Democratic Peace and Freedom Party (affiliated non-member) |
Alma mater | Stanford University, Columbia University |
Occupation | Lawyer, activist |
Matthew Edward Gonzalez (born June 4, 1965) is an American politician, lawyer, and activist. He was an important figure in San Francisco politics in the years 2000–2005, when he served on San Francisco County's Board of Supervisors and was president of the Board. In 2003, Gonzalez, running as a member of the Green Party, lost a close race for mayor of San Francisco to Democrat Gavin Newsom. In the 2008 presidential election, Gonzalez ran for vice president as the running mate of candidate Ralph Nader. He currently works in San Francisco’s Public Defender's Office.
Matthew Edward Gonzalez was born in McAllen, Texas. His father, a division chief for the international tobacco company Brown & Williamson, moved the family to New Orleans, Baltimore, and Louisville, Kentucky, before resettling in McAllen when Gonzalez was eleven years old. After graduating from McAllen Memorial High School, he attended Columbia University, from which he graduated in 1987. In 1990, he obtained a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School.
Gonzalez began working as a trial lawyer at the Office of the Public Defender in San Francisco in 1991.