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Newsom emphatic about staying on the job
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Gavin Newsom is swamped by reporters as he leaves an event at the Academy of Art University.
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - “Absolutely not.” That is the response from the Mayor’s Office regarding a call for resignation after Gavin Newsom’s public confessions of abusing alcohol and having an affair with a staffer, who was also the wife of his campaign manager.
Supervisor Jake McGoldrick had a private one-on-one meeting with Newsom on Tuesday afternoon and asked him to step down following his admission last week that he had an affair with Ruby Rippey-Tourk, a former appointments secretary and the wife of Alex Tourk.
Newsom admitted to the sexual relationship Thursday after media reports surfaced that Tourk, a long-time adviser and the brains behind some of Newsom’s most successful policies on homelessness, resigned after confronting the mayor about the affair Wednesday.
On Monday, Newsom said he would be seeking counseling for alcohol abuse but would continue with his duties as mayor while doing so.
McGoldrick emerged as the only elected official to publicly call for Newsom’s resignation, with the remaining 10 supervisors, many longtime critics of the mayor’s policies and governing style, taking a less aggressive approach.
McGoldrick said Newsom lacks the “moral fiber” to remain in The City’s top post.
Following the approximate 10-minute meeting with Newsom, McGoldrick said he told Newsom that he should resign “for the good of The City” and for the “good of your own future.”
“The consequences on The City have been extremely negative and there is no reason to put us through this torture,” McGoldrick said. He added, “I ain’t no saint either, but when you commit certain sins you’ve got to do penance.”
When asked if Newsom would resign, Newsom spokesman Peter Ragone said, “Absolutely not,” adding that the mayor will continue to serve his public responsibilities while seeking treatment like many other people who deal with problems related to alcohol.
McGoldrick said Newsom was angry at times during the conversation. “[Newsom] said that he resents that I would try to go after him in a situation like this because basically he’s down, and why would I pick on him when he’s down. I said, ‘Well you are just trying to do what is in fact the worst part of all this, portray yourself as a victim,’” McGoldrick said.
McGoldrick’s public call for Newsom to step down is not being echoed by other members of the Board of Supervisors.
“I personally am taking a wait-and-see approach,” Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin said, who would assume the position if Newsom were to step down. “I have to stay focused on running The City, and I don’t think dividing the government is going to help us stay focused on leading San Francisco.”
It was business as usual during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, as members steered clear of the Newsom topic in board chambers.
Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, who often battles Newsom politically, said, “I’m kind of in a state of shock trying to digest this all. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, and I think it’s best for everybody to hold back and process this.”
One question left unanswered is the kind of treatment Newsom will seek, and how much time it will take away from his role as mayor and his bid for re-election in November.
Newsom’s chief campaign consultant, Eric Jaye, said Tuesday that the time the mayor devotes to recovery would not detract from his job performance or his re-election effort.
“Is he going to be reading fewer novels for the time being? I don’t know, probably,” Jaye said. “But will it take an hour here and there out of the campaign? ... He certainly has time to do that and address this problem and to run a very successful re-election campaign.”
The campaign has not yet tackled the question of whether the mayor’s future fundraisers will need to be alcohol-free events, Jaye said.
“There are many elected officials, people who don’t drink any longer, who are in this environment and they cope by not drinking, and they are all doing pretty well,” Jaye said.
For a related story on Mayor Gavin Newsom, see 'Mayor frustrated with media scrutiny.'
Each day until voters go to the polls Nov. 6, The Examiner lays odds on local figures beating Mayor Gavin Newsom. Check out our exclusive blog: San Francisco's Next Mayor?
Comments from Examiner Readers
4:08 PM MST on Fri., Aug. 10, 2007 re: "Newsom scandals can’t curb campaign cash"
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P. Fitzgerald said:
Hey..."Myself for Mayor!" You mean to say you have never done anything wrong in your entire life? I get so tired of people pointing fingers at other people. You know, Sir, we all are human and we all make mistakes and I am quite certain that all of you have some skeletons in your closets that you keep hidden. It is usually the ones that point the fingers that do. Quit harping on Newsom's past...and that is PAST with a capital 'P' and get over it. He made amends and has moved on. If God can forgive him then I think you can too! You double-standard finger pointer, do-gooders, make me want to vomit. Go clean up your own side of the street and bless your brothers and sisters instead of being the judge and jury. It really sickens me when people are so quick to jump on the bandwagon and condemn those around them that fall prey to defects of character that we all walk around with. Go work on your own defects and ask yourself what would Gandi do when you feel like pointing finger
242 agree | 217 disagree
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Myself for Mayor said:
I've decided that I am going to run for mayor on a simple platform. 1. I am not a panderer. 2. I am not an alcoholic. 3. I am not an adulterer. Has our society's morals really deteriorated so much that we do not care that our elected officials maintain such disgraceful values?
281 agree | 204 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
'Eyed wide open', SF is a complex city? are you brain dead? just give each supv 1 billion dollars and we could elliminate the mayor and his staff and be better off.
278 agree | 218 disagree
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Eyed wide open said:
I can't think of any large accomplishment other than bringing to the forefront some very real humanitarian issues which took bravery and fortitude and keeping an idealistic but irresponsible board of supervisors in check, all with a certain dignity and decency. The opportunistic prudism of the Gonzales camp fooled nobody but the choir. It is certain Matt Gonzales would have done absolutely zero, other than poetry readings, lip service and running the city in to the ground financially, while stoned on pot 24/7 (all, of course, while closely following the precepts of the Christian right). The Matt Gonzales types would have been way over their head in an extremely important and complex city like S.F.. Thankfully the voters knew it then, and Matt knows it now.
274 agree | 287 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The man is obviously planning to run for something beyond mayor at some point, most likely in '08 or '10. The kind of cash he's raising indicates the capacity to run at the very least a Congressional race; or perhaps one of California's statewide offices.
272 agree | 229 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
newsom looks good he's a poser and SF is a poser town.
280 agree | 257 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
please spare us the history rewrite. Newsom's drinking problem was merely an excuse for acting in a sleazy, despicable manner i.e. scumbag
310 agree | 278 disagree
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nobody said:
it's only because he's still young, people will overlook his mistakes. there's always the flip side, someone might contend with him, but so far, we haven't seen anybody in the fighting ring. he's a young person's game, city hall is not for the old heads anymore. he can have more illicit affairs and drink more vino than ever before, and he still might win. this is probably the strangest political scenery yet to date.
316 agree | 287 disagree
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Robert said:
This is one electiong i'm sitting out this time around. Newsom has disappointed me and i'm sure others. What has he done? I can't think of one accomplishment in almost 4 years in office.
283 agree | 283 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Newsom can't curb campaign cash? Well, why do you think the city's budget is $6.2 Billion this year? The contracts, jobs, Newsom has been doling out is translating easily to campaign cash contribution. Get a clue.
273 agree | 305 disagree
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