Best Up-and-Coming Power Couple

In the pantheon of powerful pairs to be found preening on opening night at the San Francisco Opera, some stand out more than others. There are, of course, Mayor Willie Brown and Carolyn Carpeneti, da lame duck's fund-raiser and mama of baby Sydney. Then there are the Shultzes, as in the increasingly decrepit former secretary of state George, and his toothy spouse Charlotte, nee Swig, nee Mailliard. And let's not forget perennial mayoral candidate Angela Alioto, who qualifies, for various reasons, as a couple. But power is most interesting when it's on the upswing, and that certainly appears to be the case with Supervisor Gavin Newsom and his wife Kimberly. She's the ex-assistant district attorney who nearly dump-trucked the case against attorney Bob Noel and his dog-loving paramour, Marjorie Knoeller. Rich kid Gavin, in case you've forgotten, is the guy who wants to expel homeless panhandlers from San Francisco ("Let them not eat sourdough!"). Newsom's newest best buddy, freaky-deaky campaign manager Jack Davis, must have told the pretty supe that demonstrating the humanity of a coral snake will make him the next Willie come fall.