Gavin's Saga Continues

News from the Chronicle and the L.A. Times:

Matier & Ross tell a story of how Gavin Newsom came to admit he had a drinking problem: A meeting with John Burton, then an admission to friends and family, and then he dropped the bomb at a staff meeting. The dynamic duo also wax poetic with a description of a lonely, depressed Mayor's circuit of watering holes on the North side of town.

It's really kind of heart breaking. We're glad that Gavin has taken step #1. We just hope he doesn't let political calculations prevent him from fully coming to grips with whatever issues he has to deal with. Really, we don't hate Gavin. We just don't think he's a very good Mayor, and he'd probably be a lot happier as a dashing, philanthropic businessman.

And on a lighter note, those zany Bayview cops are dealing with Gavin's struggles with stoic maturity. See for yourself below. Actually the first 1:30 is a devastating comparison between Gavin's rush-to-judgement of the SFPD videos and his let's-not-rush-into-anything on GleeGate. After that, it's pretty much just a bunch of gloating.

Meanwhile, down south, the chickens made the L.A. Times! The Times also give a thoughtful overview of this whole mess, furthering cementing the tragic arc onto Gavin's story. (Why can't we have a paper like that?) Check out this quote from Bevan Dufty: "He has been profoundly unhappy in personal life and in aspects of his job, and that has shown," Dufty said. "He has taken umbrage at every turn. He's been disdainful of me and my colleagues. It's hard, especially since I viewed myself as an ally."

Somebody give Gav a big hug. And then take him on a long, relaxing vacation. Seriously. We don't know how much more of this we can take.

Gavin's Drinking Problem and Hush Money Problem

Update 4pm: SFist and the ChronBlog have virtually every link imaginable, including links to Le Blog de San Francisco whose design we're totally biting. Sorry about that. For a laugh, check out SFist's report on Gavin on facebook. We live in strange times.

Drinking Problem: Gavin Newsom announces he has a drinking problem and will seek counseling. Ken Garcia is at his crotchety best as he throws Gavin under the bus. SFist thinks this is another PR damage control smokescreen, but Rita still likes Gavin's blue tie. The SFGate chattering class is chattering and the SFGate 2 cents reminds us of the the onion. Fog City Journal reports that Diane Feinstein will ask Gavin to resign. (Update: Feinstein won't.) The Craigslist local politics forum is rocking.

Due to popular demand, we're reposting the video of Gavin's reaction to being asked about his drinking on January 11th:

KCBS has mp3s from Barbara Taylor and Phil Matier. Here's some excerpts from Barabara Taylor's comments:

• "Everyone knows that the Mayor likes to have a lot of wine in the evening."
• "We've all seen him on numerous occasions especially late in the evening in what appears to be an intoxicated state."
• "The assumption is that he got involved with (Ruby Rippey-Tourk) one night when he was drinking." Ouch.

Previously, Team Newsom tried to sweep his drinking under the rug:

• February 1st: KRON reports that Newsom press secretary, Peter Ragone avoided "more than half a dozen questions" before "finally insisted the Mayor doesn't have a problem with alcohol or any other substance."
• January 11th: Dan Noyes asks Gavin about his drinking. Gavin storms off and says ABC-7 should send a different reporter to interview him.

Hush Money Problem: Meanwhile, Dan Noyes reports that the City Attorney is investigating if Gavin is violating campaign finance laws by paying off Alex Tourk with campaign funds. The City Attorney needs more details on the arrangement before it can decide.

Watch the ABC-7 news to see Noyes get this classic quote out of Gavin: "I think I've said everything I was going to say and I think you heard I said everything I was going to say, so I respect your desire not to respect my opinions and respect my right to say everything I just said."

What Does It All Mean?

It's day three of this saga, and already we're sick of it. This whole business is sad and sordid and ugly and depressing, and we're pissed off at Gavin for putting us all through it. We've lost our appetite for scouring the Internet for links to all the angles on this mess. All you folks who got here by googling "Ruby Rippey-Tourk" can look elsewhere for pictures or juicy gossip. We'll leave that to the mainstream media.

Yes, we know that sex between two consenting adults is no crime. And no, we're not prudes or sensationalist media whores. But the real story is about trust and integrity. How can we trust our Mayor when he rewards his good friend and most loyal staffer by sleeping with his wife, and then hiding it from the poor bastard for a year and a half--even though half of the political insiders in town knew all about it? What other ugly secrets is he hiding?

How can we trust a Mayor who does that to a friend? How can we trust a Mayor who refuses to answer any questions about the affair? Or any questions from the Board of Supervisors? Or any questions from the public unless he can pre-screen them? How can we trust anything this administration says when their Press Secretary blatantly lies on camera and then refuses to apologize?

We all love this City, and it deserves better. Gavin says that he's "committed to restoring (our) trust and confidence"? Prove it. Are you committed enough to come out of your bunker and face tough, unscripted questions? Are you committed enough to meet with the Board of Supervisors, like the voters asked you to? Are you committed enough to face questions from people who disagree with you?

It would be one thing if he had a strong record in office. But from public safety to police reform to MUNI, the Mayor's record is full of empty promises, leaving him nothing to fall back on except his now-tarnished image and reputation.

Update 2/3: SFist covers the aftermath on the "day after the day after," from national coverage to analysis of how this will affect the rest of Gavin's term to what it means for Gavin's credibility.

What's next?

Update 5:15pm: Fog City Journal reports that the City Attorney refered questions to a private attorney who said "if both parties are willing, there's nothing illegal about sleeping with a subordinate." SFMike paints a vivid picture in words and photos of the vibe in City Hall today.

Over at BeyondChron, Randy Shaw reports that "neither city department heads nor the mayor can have a sexual relationship with a subordinate under city ethics laws, as well as under state sexual harassment law. That’s what will likely lead City Attorney Dennis Herrera to file charges against Newsom by the end of the week."

Fog City Journal reports that "Sources reveal a sexual harrassment lawsuit is being considered by Ruby Tourk against the Mayor's Office and/or the City of San Francisco."

Ken Garcia contributes this tidbit: "Ruby Tourk took a leave of absence for nearly three months last year before returning briefly and then going off to work for Benefit magazine." If Ruby Rippey-Tourk is considering a retaliation lawsuit, we've been told that the statute of limitations is six months from when she left the job. Reportedly she left for the leave of absence around mid-May. That suggests that she left for good around August or September. That would place the deadline for filing a retaliation suit around February or March. If anyone has any clarification about any of that, please post in the comments. Stay tuned . . . .

What Can We Say?

TourkGate Blog Roundup 1:30pm: SF Republican intimates some bad things about Ruby. From the right, we hear from Houston Republican, RightWingCafe. From the gossip world, Popsugar.com and Starked SF. Then there's Viewpoint Journal and The Binary Circumstance. The Wall freaks out about finding another "Moderate" candidate. Watching the Wall freak out is such a guilty pleasure. Elsewhere, BoiFromTroy is sad to announce that Gavin is a breeder. Someone called Japadamus. Seth Gitell on Newsom vs. Boston Mayor Menino. Whew, this is exhausting. We might have to give it a rest for awhile. Okay, two more: the Mayor & the Hair offers to go out with Gavin and take him to Legally Blonde: the Musical. And Beth Spotswood takes the news hard but show serious resolve and gumption.

TourkGate Update 12:30pm: Press conference coverage is everywhere: SFist live blogs it, the SFGate news blog has comprehensive coverage. Also SFGate, ABC-7, and KCBS has a podcast, DailyKos has several posts. Steve Jones is somber. KRON piles on about the "underage girlfriend" and the "Scientologist," as well asthe olympics, 49ers, but ignores SFistGate and Question Time. KTVU blatantly appropriates "Gavin Newsom Watch." Hey KTVU, we called dibs. We're putting you on notice.

TourkGate Update 11:00am: Gavin is having a press conference at 11:30. The article includes quotes from Ed Jew and Ross Mirkarimi.

TourkGate Update: Wow. Gavin Newsom had an affair with Ruby Rippey-Tourk (pronounced Turk), wife of his campaign manager, Alex Tourk, who resigned today. We're looking around and seeing that the whole world is watching Gavin, so for now, we're going to sit back and watch with them.

The Chronicle broke the story. Fog City Journal reports that Ruby Rippey-Tourk is considering a sexual-harassment lawsuit. CBS-5 has video coverage, including interviews with Phil Matier, Chris Daly, and Willie Brown. The Wall and the Junto have their say. So do SFist, the SFGate blog and NWZCHIK, with comments galore. The DailyKos community weighs in, and with the exception of a few comments, shows themselves to be predictably tone-deaf about San Francisco politics. The AP has picked this up, so check Google news to watch the story spread across the nation.

Daniela Kirshenbaum alludes to other even more sordid rumors that are out there and pleads with all the parties involved to come clean. We'll echo her sentiment. Please, can we avoid the bunker mentalities and the lawyering-up and the spin doctoring and deal with this mess in as frank and mature a manner as possible?

And to any Fox News readers who happen to stumble onto this corner of cyberspace, we ask you to not believe the hype. This has nothing to do with "San Francisco Values" or gay marriage. This is plain, old-fashioned human weakness. Original Post: Fog City Journal and the SFGate NWZCHIK are reporting that Newsom campaign manager, Alex Tourk is resigning for "personal reasons." First Steve Kawa, now Tourk. Whew, watching Gavin is turning into a full-time job. The brain trust seems to be down to Mike Farrah, Eric Jaye, and some guy name Byorn. Who's next?

Gavin News Roundup

BREAKING NEWS!

SFist totally busts Peter Ragone for posting comments under an assumed name! Going all the way back to last May, Peter has (allegedly) been posting as "John Nelson" or "Jonell." Not surprisingly, his posts have been supporting Gavin and calling SFist biased. Also not surprising is the fact that Peter has ignored SFist's multiple attempts to contact him.
Update: The plot thickens. Ragone claims John Nelson is his best friend and Jonell is his wife. Luke Thomas says Ragone says his privacy was invaded. Bill wonders if SFist violated their privacy policy. Stay tuned . . . .

SFist continues to be the gold standard for Gavin coverage.

ABC-7 seems to be the only local TV covering Round 1 of Question Time, with Carolyn Tyler doing an impeccable job as usual.

The Chron covers Question Time and the announcement of Gavin's 2nd Town Hall in the Bayview. (The chickens are coming! The chickens are coming!)

Dan Noyes details how media-phobic Gavin and Ragone (Gavagone?) have become. Gavin won't do one-on-one interviews, and Ragone won't even answer his phone. (He must be too busy posting on SFist.)

The Chron on Gavin's skipping the Mayor's conference for a Swiss vacation. And the Examiner editorializes with a bit of a snotty tone. The Mayor's conference is a bunch of perfervid, gold-diggers. The WEF may be passé, but at least the glitterati are more creative than those mayoral knuckle-draggers. Whatever.

The Examiner on Question Time. Hey . . . where'd they get that headline? We called dibs!

The Bay Area Reporter scores an interview with Gavin. (Maybe they can give Dan Noyes some tips.) Highlights include blatant lying about the foot patrol legislation, yet another claim that he "never dated" Brittanie Mountz, and hopes that the chickens will "take off their masks and participate."

Fog City Journal has the dirt on a heated exchange between Gavin, Aaron Peskin, and Ross Mirkarimi. Also, Tony Hall says a new poll shows Gavin's approval ratings in the high 30s. Ouch!

Over at The Wall, a couple of Gavin's 2003 precinct captains won't be signing up for Team Gavin again.

Matier and Ross on Gavin and the 49ers. Poppa York says "Hunters Point could be a viable backup site at this point," but Baby York says "Right now, it's not even a backup site." Hmmm.

The Chron's Editorial Board weighs in on the wi-fi boondoggle. According to them, we should be happy to get a measly 300 kbs (even though much of Silicon Valley is now rocking free 1 mbps wi-fi), and Internet connectivity is "an amenity, not a necessity such as water, law enforcement or sewage." That's the kind of forward thinking we've come to expect from the City's paper of record. (Oh, the shame.)

Beyond Chron starts a chorus of "Run, Matt Run." Will anyone else pick it up?

Gavin fiction! It's the first in a three-part posting of a short story imagining a Hillary-Newsom presidency! Stay tuned to A Yank in Kiwi Land for the rest of the story, as well as some good old fashioned bashing of Islam, liberals, and Che Guevara. There's only passing references to Gavin so far, but somehow we don't think this story is going to end well for our dynamic duo.

Tune in Monday

GavinWatch will return Monday with new video content. Here's some more Gavin content to keep you satiated until then:

• Left in SF Calls out Gavin for ignoring the recent rash of homicides. Ann Garrison from the SF Bayview weighs in with a comment calling Gavin "absolutely heartless" and calling out the Mayor and the Supervisors for selling out Bayview/Hunter's Point to Redevelopment.


• SFGate's Culture Blog serves up a fascinating take on Gavin from Beth Spotswood. At first glance, it looks like the typically gushings of a star-struck young woman with an overview of Gavin's "big dreamer" ideas and hands-on style before moving onto swooning at his dreaminess. But dig a little deeper, and you notice a link to a BeyondChron article exposing Gavin's faux-green record, an ironic link to Gavin's feet washing photo-op, and a gleeful recap of Gav's recent midlife-crisis-like love life. Interesting stuff. It's worth reading just to get to the "Carole "Judge Judy meets Alan Dershowitz" Migden or Ross "17th century Conquistador facial hair" Mirkarimi" climax. I hope Beth keeps up with the Mayor's race throughout the year.


• SFWillie (no, not that Willie) looks at Gleegate as a failure of the women's movement because the three people responsible are all women (Chief Fong, D.A. Harris, and Mayor Newsom), before ending with this zinger: "To call Gavin Newsom “a woman” is an insult to women everywhere, and I apologize." Ouch.

Gavin News Roundup

No new videos today, but stay tuned for continuing chicken and non-chicken coverage. For now, here's a quick rundown on the latest Gavin news. For being eleven months out from the election, there sure are a lot of people unhappy with the Mayor:

• The Wall actually has some interesting content with (so far) minimal vitriol:
• Reports of an Arthur Bruzzone op-ed in the Business Times "giving Newsom low grades as a "CEO" for San Francisco." Does anyone have the text of this?
• And a snippet of the latest SFSOS newsletter bashing Gavin on his bungling of the 49ers and whining about "homeless, the panhandlers, the potholes, the prostitution, the drug trade, and . . . absolutely winning the War on Business."

• In the LA Times, Gavin's spokesman, Peter Ragone claims that Ross Mirkarimi "can't walk and chew gum at the same time." You stay classy, Peter.
  

• Bringing glee to SFist, Gavin's favorite tie makes an appearance and Peter Ragone (or an impostor) continues to lead the charge in defending Gavin in the comments.
  


• SFMike has complete coverage of Gavin swearing in a bunch of commissioners. Be sure to check out Gavin's admission that he was unqualified when he was appointed by Willie Brown to the Parking and Traffic Commission back in the day.
  

• In yesterday's Beyond Chron, Randy Shaw puzzles over what's up with Gavin.

• Tim Redmond is puzzled also.

• From the Chron, Gavin told a bunch of corporate fat cats that the City's economy is peachy. My favorite line: "Newsom rattled off a number of statistics that he said reflect San Francisco's economic upswing." Say what you will about Gav, but he can rattle off statistics like nobody's business.

• Gavin gets pissy and misleading about foot patrols - Gavin thinks this question is important enough to put on the ballot: "shall the Board of Supervisors of the city and county of San Francisco tell the police captains in every district how to protect the public, or shall the police captains, lieutenants and sergeants make that determination?"
  
  But if Gavin took the time to read the foot patrol ordinances he vetoed, he would know that they give the police broad discretion in how to staff and deploy foot patrols. From the ordinance: "The officer in charge at each station during the swing and night watches would have discretion to selection which beat to staff with an officer on foot patrol." (It kind of sounds like his failure to read all of Prop J.) Stay tuned for in-depth coverage of Gavin's mishandling of the police and crime.

Did we miss anything? Post in the comments any other juicy Gavin news.