Tweet! I'm running for governor

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome, perhaps best known for his support of same-sex marriage - whether you like it or not - has announced that he's running for governor.

And his Web site reports that he used Twitter to make his big announcement.

"Today, I am announcing, via Tweet, my candidacy for governor because California needs a new direction," is the word on Newsome's home page. This reporter now wants to know if Earl Warren, Pat Brown or Ronald Reagan ever used the word "tweet" to announce their gubernatorial campaigns.

Another question: Will any San Bernardino County or California politicians ever get busted for accidentally Tweeting bad behavior? Who will be the first politico to brought down by a "smoking gun memo" in the form of a Tweet?

The Tweet announcement isn't that surprising, seeing as other gubernatorial candidates have followed the leads of 2008's presidential candidates and embraced social networking technology.

Democrats Newsome, Jerry Brown and John Garamendi all have Facebook presences, as do Republicans Tom Campbell, Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman.

Garamendi and Brown also submitted entries in the "25 things" fad that spread through Facebook a few months ago. The candidates and others who participated listed 25 random notes about their lives.

Here is an excerpt from Brown's list:

6. My official portrait as Governor was quite controversial and the legislature refused to hang it. My Father said if I didn't get a new one, I could never run again. It is now hanging and I am still running.

And one from Garamendi's:

3. Patti and I lived without running water and electricity in a mud hut for two years while serving in Peace Corps in Ethiopia.