Former President Bill Clinton used a joint appearance Monday at Los Angeles City College to praise San Francisco Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom for his environmental record.

"San Francisco may be the greenest city in the entire country and it's because of his leadership," Clinton, who had endorsed Newsom Sept. 15, said at the college's Martin Luther King Jr. Library. "That's why I'm here today because Gavin Newsom has walked the walk, he just doesn't talk about it.

"I spent a lot of my life doing this so I'm thrilled he has done it and wants to do it on a larger scale."

Steve Glazer, a senior adviser to Attorney General Jerry Brown, the front-runner in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, said in a telephone interview that as governor from 1975-83, "Jerry Brown's leadership led the nation in environmental stewardship and alternative energy."

Clinton and Newsom visited Los Angeles City College's new Science and Technology Building to talk to faculty and students about education for green technology jobs, including in solar installation and weatherization.

The site was chosen "to underscore Newsom's determination to restore excellence to California's education system and reject a budget process dominated by special interests and favoritism that hurts our kids and our economy," Newsom campaign manager Nick Clemons said.

Newsom, who will turn 42 Saturday, said "this is a proud day for me as someone who has grown up admiring President Clinton."

"It's a big deal to have President Clinton's support at any time in a campaign," Newsom said. "It's an even bigger deal in a Democratic primary this early to have his support and so Mr. President, from the bottom of my heart, thank you very much for instilling this faith in this effort in this campaign."

Clinton later joined Newsom for a campaign fundraiser at the Biltmore Hotel.

Clinton's endorsement, announced Sept. 15, is already paying dividends for Newsom in his uphill race against Brown, according to Dan Schnur, director of USC's Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics.

"Two weeks ago you were hearing whispers about whether Newsom might run for a down-ticket office instead," Schnur told City News Service. "You're not hearing those whispers anymore."

The endorsement gives Newsom "a huge shot of credibility," Schnur said.

"Normally this is the type of endorsement you want to save closer to the primary, but Newsom has needed to do something dramatic to let people know he intends to seriously contest this nomination," Schnur said. "There's no better way to send that signal than this."

Schnur said that "with the possible exception" of President Barack Obama, "there's no more valuable endorsement in Democratic politics than Bill Clinton."

Clemons said Clinton "will be an incredible asset in reaching Democratic voters with Mayor Newsom's vision of reforming Sacramento to get our state back on track."

Clinton will participate in additional events on Newsom's behalf later in the campaign, Clemons said.

When asked for his response to Clinton's endorsement, Glazer said, "Can you quote shrug? It's no surprise. I don't expect it to have much effect."

Brown had earlier downplayed the significance of Clinton's support of Newsom.

"The people in California are hurting," Brown told NBC4 when the endorsement was announced. "When they elect the next governor, they're going to say, `What are you going to do about my life?' not `Who's standing behind you?' but `Are you standing behind us?"'

To Schnur, a "significant factor" in the endorsement was Bill Clinton's continuing dislike of Brown for his accusation during the 1992 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination that he illegally steered state contracts to the Rose Law Firm, where his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, was a partner. Bill Clinton denied the accusation.

"Most people have long since forgotten about the bad blood between Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown in 1992," Schnur said. "Bill Clinton is not one of those people."