I don't know Ross Mirkarimi.
In fact, before he was elected sheriff of San Francisco and until news of his domestic dispute with his wife was made public, I had no knowledge of him nor his politics.
Of course, I do know him now and unless you've been on Mars, most of you out there know his story and its subsequent outcome.
It's not a pretty picture, that's for sure, but that's not the point here.
What stands out and has not been talked about in these parts is the onslaught of Bay Area media people--columnists, newspapers, radio people asking, pleading--in some cases, for Mirkarimi to "do the right thing" and resign. And maybe he should, but is it right to see such an apparent case of piling on by a large contingent of the 415 media masses to shove Mirkarimi to the ground?
This is not to condone what he's done. Mirkarimi, by virtue of his plea deal, at the least, has admitted his personal liabilities. He's obviously a guy with several issues and he more than likely slapped his wife around. Not good, but domestic violence, unfortunately, is rather profound. Then again, Mirkarimi being sheriff, (until he was suspended by Mayor Ed Lee) should have known about the issues surrounding his status.
That said, the repeated jousts from the SF media asking him to resign is out of place. That's for the people of this city and its leaders to decide. Mirkarimi is done as a public figure anyway and even if he makes it past the Board of Supervisors ethics panel, he's more than likely to get shoved out by a recall petition. Which is fine with me. That's the right thing to do. Repeated calls for Mirkarimi's ousting from the SF press corps, however justified, doesn't cut the mustard from this corner.
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If not hurting your wife and pleading guilty to a crime that included jail time inn your own jail, what *would* be sufficient to justify calls for his resignation, Rich?
ReplyDeleteCheck out Christine Craft's midnight hour today. She interviewed Mirkarimi's former girlfriend of 8 years. I believe justice was not served in this case. On a side note, THANK GOD Ms. Craft was on, I could not take the moronic NY comedian one more time.
ReplyDeleteAnybody married man knows a wife can push buttons. And as we know-what they call abuse nowadays can be a bruise. As far as his former girlfriend?..Ross seems to like the hot chick who can also have a temper.
ReplyDeleteThats going to be his downfall. It was even a smartass hotchick (Madison) who made his life the hell it is now.
Yes,after listening to Christine Craft I believer Mirkarimi's being railroaded, but I don't know by who. Who are his enemies?
ReplyDeleteSometimes Christine really annoys me, but it was a pleasure to listen to her, i.e. a professional broadcaster. last night than be subjugated to that person from New York.
ReplyDeleteThere is no allegation that Ross Mirkarimi ever "SLAPPED" around anyone..No slapping,hitting, bloodying, or breaking. There was one grab of an arm in a car as Eliana and Ross were having another heated argument over her plans to take the young child back to a very dangerous village in Venezuela. ONe grab of an arm followed by Eliana angrily pulling her arm away..thus a bruise..see today's Matier and Ross column. If that's worthy of being called a batterer.then millions of people, men and women need to be arrested immediately.
ReplyDeleteMirkarimi's girlfriend of eight years is Evelyn Nieves. She is an extremely well-respected journalist, writer for the New York TImes, former San Francisco bureau chief for the Associated Press. They lived together..neither was married to anyone else .Her credibility is impeccable. At least the Bay Citizen mentioned her once when she expressed incredulity over Ross being called an abuser. The New York Times carried that story..No other media in San FRancisco even bothered to talk with her..Extremely strange.IS PHil Bronstein really that powerful? Remember he was called as a witness for the trial that never happened..The involvement of him and his wife(the daughter of the founder of Borders) with Ivory Madison is a major part of this story.
Mirkarimi is being railroaded big time..and the local media bear a significant part of the blame for his kafkaesque nightmare..They seem to have put their instincts for digging into a story on hold.
The domestic violence harpies have made this case their cause celebre for epitomizing domestic violence. It's all a heap of dingoes' kidneys(as Shann Nix used to say!)
And one more little thing which I certainly can only question and sugget. Ronn Owens frequently expresses his affection for Mike Hennessey..former sheriff. Ronn should invite him on the radio ..right now, by golly. Why won't he? I don't know..perhaps because Hennessey still supports Ross..his choice for his replacement. Wouldn't Ronn like to hear why? or wouldn't his other close bud..Phil Bronstein enjoy that?
Thank you, Christine.
DeleteThis has troubled me all along. I am a woman and have gotten in heated discussions with my man friend and have suffered bruises that were caused in the manner you describe. A grab of the arm--the jerk away--the bruise.
It is NOT domestic violence. To me anyway.
I feel that Mirkarimi was railroaded totally and it was very very telling that his own WIFE did not want to proceed with charges....and yet the whole thing went to trial anyway.
Thank you for your excellent journalism. I just watched the Edward R. Murrow movie last night and it heightens my awareness of how things can go if people are not vigilant!
Nope, sorry - this doesn't sell me.
DeleteNone of us are perfect. I've certainly had arguments with my wife. But I've never, ever come close to bruising her. I've never, ever come close to bruising any of my girlfriends. It's very easy to do. I just don't even think about touching her when I'm angry.
The man is the elected Sheriff of the City and County of San Francisco. I do, in fact, expect him (or her) to be perfect with respect to physical violence against his (or her) significant other. Bright line rule, no room for grey. No apparently difficult questions about whether breaking blood vessels in anger is domestic violence.
Lanie is different and the millions of people Christine references are different. Most of them are not elected officials responsible for the incarceration of thousands of people a year for their crimes and alleged crimes. He must be better than the average.
Putting him on the same level misses the point of who and what he is and what his obligations are.
Thank you Christine for your thorough coverage of this story. Asking Ronn Lowenstein to do anything of substance is asking too much. His loyal producer Jared Hart would probably deem this subject matter "boring", after all they want that young vibrant demographic. On a side note, it is such a disgrace that a screaming lunatic like Timoteo Monteminor is allowed to hold court so early in the day. The younger demographic is nursing a hangover at 10am, listening to the EIGHTY EIGHTY EIGHT TEN must be like getting your head drilled in. Here is hoping Christine gets a regular slot soon, even at KSCO.
ReplyDelete"it is such a disgrace that a screaming lunatic like Timoteo Monteminor is allowed to hold court so early in the day..." Wow! Mean AND racist! As a 50 year old woman, I look forward to TIM MONTEMAYOR. He is intelligent, an excellent interviewer, and he is able to secure guests unlike almost anyone else at KGO these days.
DeleteI wish Christine had a regular shift at KGO. Besides needing a woman's prospective on the news of the day (in addition to Pat's weekend shift), she is one smart and capable talk radio host.
Could we stop with the Lowenstein moniker already?
DeleteLanie: Lowenstein is his real last name. He is a big Israel supporter and a proud Jew like myself. Except I don't change my name for promotions. Lowenstein is a great last name. Remember Seinfeld's ex girlfriend Shoshana Lowenstein? Yuuuumieeee
DeleteWell, we don't KNOW your name, do we??????
DeleteI think it's respectful to use whatever name people are going by--that's my point.
Thanks for posting, Anonymous.
Lowenstein is not a moniker. It is actually his real name.
DeleteYou do miss the point, doncha Anonymous?
DeleteRich, please make clear what you mean by "columnists, newspapers and radio people...."
ReplyDeleteMy feeling is that columnists, editors, commentators and (radio/TV) talk hosts," ARE doing their jobs when they advocate for a given position, on a given issue. I don't recall anyone who is charged with the responsibility of "straight reporting," making a personal arguement, insofar as the Mirkarimi situation is concerned.
Christine, as usual, makes a strong, articulate case for her point of view. She's very good. Some of her media colleagues, for whom it is job-description appropriate, see the situation differently, and write/voice their opinions.
For our collective sake, I hope that NEVER changes.
just a small afterthought as I scratch my noggin under my hoodie...Why did Matier and Ross wait so long to report the details of the bicep bruise? How long have they known this information?
ReplyDeleteMirkarimi should be forced to wear one of those wife-beater undershirts, because that's exactly what he is: a wifebeater -- a man who physically abuses women. What a contributor to humankind. And even worse, he's from out of town. Another carpet-bagger coming in to SF with his radical views, trying to do damage to my beloved hometown. He got what he deserved and if he was a real man, he'd resign, but he's not a man, so he won't. The price for this insolence, of course, will be the further ruination of his reputation. it's an old cliche but when the media is done with him, he won't be able to run for dogcatcher in SF. And I'm sure his hot wife will divorce him as well, now that he won't be a celebrity politico. He's going to lose it all. Good! It couldn't happen to a bigger doosh. There is a price to be paid for living your whole life like a big a-hole, and now he'll pay it in spades. Luv. It.
ReplyDeletegibberish and poppycock
DeleteChristine's show last night showed crystal clearly why she is so good and also so mysteriously under appreciated. She is not predictable. She will surprise you with views that aren't pc or progressive. She makes you think. Isn't that a good thing for talk radio? I think it is.
ReplyDeleteGive this gal a show, for cryin' out loud!
Mirkarimi is an arrogant bully and is responsible for his own downfall.
ReplyDelete100% agreed.
DeleteMaybe it's time for Mirkarimi to pack his duffle bag and head south with his wife and son. They could start anew, because it's all over for him up here.
ReplyDeleteKGONE had it right all this weekend until just now. Maureen "NY COMEDIAN HACK EXTRAORDINAIRE" Hackglen has been introduced. Talk about going out like a punk for the weekend huh? Why do you continue to bring this hack back you idiot a-holes!? Craft would've been great now. Instead we get this woman. Time to switch the dial. BBC live should be interesting.... No KGONE until next Saturday....
ReplyDeleteMirkarimi enemies are the SFPD, they didn't want him as the sheriff due to his lack of law enforcement experience. He's a smooth operator, I've seen him speak at numerous functions, I admit I was captivated by his charm and wit. My friend interviewed him a long time ago on his Iranian Jewish heritage. I got to see him out of limelight (sort of speak) and more behind the scenes, with just a couple of folks and my friend interviewing him.
ReplyDeleteHe has no career in SF politics. That's a given. It would be wise for him to do his community service time and focusing on re-building his life.
Ross Mirkarimi graduated at the top of his class at the police academy. He was a criminal investigator for the District Attorney's office before he became supervisor. Certain factions in the SFPD dislike him...NOT because of his lack of law enforcement experience, but because as supervisor he successfully pushed to create fewer cops in cars and more on local beats. The sheriff's department is separate from the SFPD.
Deletebut of course ..you wouldn't want to deny him the due process of a hearing (with lots of witnesses) now would you?
DeleteWho give a flying fig about ROSS MIRKARIMI?
ReplyDeleteHis wife, his child,his enemies, his friends, people who savor the intricacies of a political lynching,people with the brains and curiosity and the attention span to peel back the layers of the onion to get to the truth...lots of people,even some people who are doing everything they can to stop the story from getting too close to them.
DeleteAgain...I ask the question...who cares about Ross Mirkarimi? He's obviously a guy who has some anger management problems when it comes to women. The media just seems to love to lap up these kind of stories, but they're repetitive, predictable, and very, very boooorrrring!
ReplyDeletewell then ..you shouldn't call yourself someone who understands the politics of San Francisco..fair enough? too fair.
DeleteI've never understood the politics of San Francisco. It's much too confusing and absurd to consider part of the real world!
ReplyDelete