Ross Mirkarimi to keep his job as San Francisco sheriff
(CBS/AP) reports that yesterday San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted in favor of embattled Iranian-American sheriff Ross Mirkarimi so he will keep his job, despite charges stemming from a New Year's Eve dispute with his actress wife.
When the vote was announced, Mirkarimi supporters burst into cheers. The sheriff kissed his wife, Venezuelan actress Eliana Lopez, who began crying with joy. The couple hugged their lawyers, then were swarmed by well-wishers. "The system worked in this case," Mirkarimi said outside the board chambers. "It took us a long way to get here. It has not been easy."
Mirkarimi was elected last fall and was mired in controversy before his swearing-in ceremony. In March, Mayor Ed Lee suspended him without pay after the sheriff pleaded guilty to a charge related to the dispute with his wife, who suffered a bruised bicep. Mirkarimi was sentenced to three years of probation and fined. But later Lee took the unprecedented step of trying to remove Mirkarimi permanently as sheriff.
John Avalos, one of the Supervisors who voted in favor of Mirkarimi yesterday, said the domestic violence case was a serious offense but did not rise to official misconduct that would warrant removal of an elected official under the city charter. "It is a dangerous precedent to set and a slippery slope to be opening this process as a political tool," Avalos said.
A blog published earlier described Mirkarimi's problems as a politically motivated witchhunt by the Mayor:
"Never in the history of San Francisco has there ever been a well funded, daily, weekly, and monthly orchestrated prosecution of any elected official until now -- Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi. There is an elaborate campaign to oust Ross Mirkarimi - one of the highest elected officials of Iranian descent in the nation.
The November 2011 election witnessed three major races: Mayor Ed Lee, District Attorney George Gascon, and Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi. Ross wasn't suppose to win in the minds of a powerful enclave that outspent him two-to-one, fielding a well known downtown, police-backed candidate. Even Ross's closest allies were surprised that he won with such a high majority of the 11 supervisorial districts. This was the first time a citywide progressive candidate won executive office since the election of Mayor Art Agnos in 1987.
This did not go unnoticed by the San Francisco Chronicle, who didn't support Ross's candidacy, but who showed their post election cards in a beaming editorial congratulating the Mayor and District Attorney, but failed to recognize the newly elected Sheriff - whom incidentally, received more votes than Mayor Ed Lee. A very unexpected political stage was set. But that imploded quickly.
As Ross was preparing for his transition from serving seven years as the popular District 5 Supervisor to his January 8th inaugural as the 35th Sheriff, assuming a staff of over 1,000 employees and an annual budget of approximately, $170 million, the exuberant climate changed.
On December 31, 2011, Ross, his wife, Eliana Lopez, and son, went out for lunch. In the car ride, a disagreement with his wife reoccurred regarding the length of her impending trip to her home-country of Venezuela. Six months earlier, she took another trip with their son that lasted over two months. Ross missed them terribly and didn't want to be separated for another long period of time..."
Read the rest here.
Related: Ross Mirkarimi: First Iranian-American Sheriff in America
