Eric Jaye and Gavin Newsom Are Totally Broken Up!

Meet the new boss (Garry South)...

​In a major shakeup of his gubernatorial campaign, Gavin Newsom's longtime political strategist, Eric Jaye, has left the building. Jaye cited a "fundamental difference in how to run the campaign" as the reason for his surprising departure. It appears that consultant Garry South, who helped get Gray Davis elected governor, will take over as the Main Man in Newsom's campaign.

Reading between the lines it sure sounds like a power struggle erupted between South and Jaye -- and the local guy lost.

Political consultant Jim Ross, a friend of Jaye's who worked on Newsom's 2003 bid for mayor, portrayed the rift in the campaign as a battle between new-style and old-style politics.

photos | Will Harper

Not the same as the old boss (Eric Jaye)?

​Ross says while Jaye pushed Newsom to do retail politics with Town Halls around the state and via online social networking, South championed a more traditional approach with the candidate making fund-raising calls to pay for TV spots.

"Instead of running a campaign of engaging people," Ross says, "they're going to run a campaign of engaging big-dollar donors."

If that's true, it'd undermine the message of Newsom's campaign -- that's he's a different kind of politician.

At this point, though, it's just speculation. We left messages for Jaye and South and will update you when we hear back from them.