San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom hopes to continue garnering support for his bid for California governor after discussing issues with Palo Altans as part of a series of Town Hall meetings on Wednesday.

Newsom has traveled all over the state of California to talk at Town Hall meetings. According to Newsom, Wednesday was the 15th or 16th in the series.

“The purpose of these meetings is to have a chance to dialogue with locals about what is on their minds in a precise and specific way,” Newsom said.

The first issue Newsom mentioned was health care. Newsom agrees with President Barack Obama’s assessment that it is cheaper to invest in health than to treat sickness.

Since Newsom became mayor, 63 percent of uninsured adults became part of a health access program called Healthy San Francisco. According to Newsom this plan can be implemented on a larger scale.

“If we can do it in San Francisco, we can do it in every county or state in California,” Newsom said.

During Newsom’s term, San Francisco became the first city in California to submit its carbon dioxide footprint to third party validation, and has already rolled back its carbon dioxide levels by 6 percent.

“[San Francisco has] one of the most aggressive green-building standards in America, the highest recycling rates in America…and $10,000 rebates for installing solar energy,” Newsom said.

He wants California to turn compost into energy, increase alternative fuel use, and lead the nation in electric vehicles.

A key issue, which was the focus of many of the audience’s questions, was Newsom’s plan to alleviate the current economic crisis. According to the San Francisco Weekly, California’s unemployment rate in February was 10.9 percent but in San Francisco it was only 8.3 percent. Newsom said the drought California is facing has caused the loss of over 40,000 jobs.

According to Newsom, green technology is the future of California. He says jobs in green technology cannot be outsourced, and can turn the economy around. Focusing on small business can also contribute to dealing with the economic crisis.

“You have got to support entrepreneurs and small business, which is the backbone of our economy,” Newsom said.

Newsom said that although his beliefs are not always popular, he adheres firmly to them.

“You may not always agree with me, but you will know where I stand,” Newsom said.

Sophomore Samara Trilling, who attended the meeting, said she was impressed by Newsom’s honest and straightforward manner, but she felt he still adjusted his speech to appeal to the audience.

“He [Newsom] is good at presenting his views in a clear way, but he obviously has an interest in making them attractive to his audience,” Trilling said.