Here comes Gavin with a baby carriage
By: Brent Begin
Examiner Staff Writer
February 19, 2009
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| Family man: Mayor Gavin Newsom and then-future wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom show their affinity for children last year at City Hall with one of Gavin’s nieces. (Examiner file photo) |
San Francisco’s first couple is expecting to hear the pitter-patter of little feet around their Russian Hill apartment. Mayor Gavin Newsom’s wife is pregnant with their first child, due at the end of the year.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, 34, the actress and producer who married Newsom, 41, in July, kept the pregnancy secret for weeks, but Newsom’s press office confirmed Wednesday that she’s expecting.
The couple declined to speak with the media, but a statement from mayoral spokesman Nathan Ballard said they are “thrilled.”
“We are pleased to confirm that Mayor Gavin Newsom and first lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom are starting a family,” the statement said. “The mayor and the first lady are thrilled to be embarking on this adventure together, and they appreciate your good wishes.”
The mom-to-be was going to break the news in about a month, but one of her friends couldn’t keep it a secret and rumors flew, according to Siebel Newsom’s mother, Judy Siebel, who lives in Marin County.
Siebel knew of the pregnancy for some time, but she’s a “good secret keeper,” the grandmother-to-be said in a phone interview Wednesday. She said she saw the couple earlier this week and they were doing well.
Newsom’s father said he wasn’t in on the news, but had his suspicions.
“I asked my daughter about the rumor and she rolled her eyes,” said Bill Newsom, of Placer County, a former state Courts of Appeal judge. “I’m going to have to sit [Gavin] down and cross-examine him.”
After the news was confirmed by the mayor’s press office, the two families said they were excited, but also anxious to speak to their kids about it.
“I have two female grandchildren. Maybe this will be a boy,” Bill Newsom said, referring to daughter Hilary’s children. “As long as the baby is healthy, I don’t care what the sex is.”
Since the couple married last year, friends and relatives have been pushing the two to have children.
“I was one of those that was prodding and saying, ‘Move it along before I’m stricken by senility,’” Bill Newsom said.
Siebel Newsom’s sister is also expecting a child, which will be the first grandchild for parents Ken and Judy.
“Of course we’re extraordinarily excited,” Judy Siebel said. “We’re just trying to protect their privacy.”
The mayor, who’s preparing for a run for governor in 2010, met Siebel Newsom on a blind date in 2007. The two married less than a year later in a Montana wedding filled with politicos and celebrities, but no press.
Siebel Newsom has acted in several films, including “The Trouble With Romance,” which is scheduled to open in theaters at the end of the month. She also founded an independent film-production company, Girls Club Entertainment, that is developing a documentary about women being underrepresented in politics and other powerful jobs.
All in the family?
Name options the Newsoms have for their first child:
If they keep it in the family
Boy names
| Name | From |
| 1. Gavin Jr. | Gavin |
| 2. Bill | Gavin’s dad |
| 3. Ken | Jennifer’s dad |
| 4. Jack | PlumpJack (Gavin’s company) |
| 5. Tom | Jennifer’s dad’s second cousin and founder of Siebel Systems |
Girl names
| Name | From |
| 1. Stacey | Jennifer’s deceased sister |
| 2. Judy | Jennifer’s mom |
| 3. Tessa | Gavin’s deceased mom |
| 4. Hilary | Gavin’s sister |
| 5. Belinda | Gavin’s deceased aunt (who was also Nancy Pelosi’s sister-in-law) |
Most popular names of 2008*
| Boy names | Girl names |
| 1. Aiden | 1. Ava |
| 2. Ethan | 2. Isabella |
| 3. Noah | 3. Madeline |
| 4. Kaden | 4. Emma |
| 5. Caleb | 5. Abigail |
*From www.babynames.com
bbegin@sfexaminer.com
