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DEBRA SAUNDERS: Gavin Newsom, boy mayor
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 2/2/7 | Debra J. Saunders

Posted on 02/02/2007 7:59:56 AM PST by SmithL

IT'S TIME for the 39-year-old boy mayor to grow up.

Look, I'd rather not be writing about Gavin Newsom's personal life. Newsom has been a good mayor for San Francisco, and that is what counts the most.

Like many who have watched him, I've tended to figure that, as Newsom is divorced, good-looking and holds a high-profile political office, he's going to get around.

When Matier & Ross reported that Newsom had been dating 20-year-old Brittanie Mountz, I questioned -- not for the first time -- his judgment. I wondered what Newsom would have to talk about with someone so young -- if they talked. But it was his personal life. If Mountz was seen drinking what looked like a glass of wine in public -- someone may have broken the law, but there are bigger wrongs in this wide world.

Then there was the chatter about Newsom showing up at the hospital well into his cups to comfort the family of slain police officer Bryan Tuvera. Again, it was late on a Friday night. I thought, well, even a mayor is entitled to some time off the clock. Let him be human.

Newsom's admission that he had an affair in 2005 with his campaign manager's wife, however, is impossible to overlook. Newsom not only betrayed Alex Tourk, a friend and one-time deputy chief of staff, but raised the question of Newsom's character. He betrayed a friend and loyal aide, let down his staff and lost his patina of professionalism. The affair was not simply bad judgment, it was cruel.

And stupid.

Now voters have to ask themselves: If Newsom could treat a good friendas badly as he treated Alex Tourk, how does he treat people who aren't his friends?

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: anytwosomenewson; gavinnewsom; sanfrancisco; sanfranciscovalues
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To: SF Republican
By the way, if Newsome was a Republican he would not be Mayor of San Francisco.

You seem to be itching for a fight today. I'm not. I hope something nice happens for you today.

21 posted on 02/02/2007 8:35:07 AM PST by uncitizen
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To: Mr. Lucky
For ...your ... correct use of the pluperfect past verb

Did i do that? If i did, i'm really sorry!

22 posted on 02/02/2007 8:37:15 AM PST by uncitizen
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To: uncitizen

So does this mean that if Eisenhower or Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt had an affair, that means they would have betrayed regular Americans?


23 posted on 02/02/2007 8:48:12 AM PST by Democratshavenobrains
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To: SmithL
20 years old, yet holding a glass of wine...


24 posted on 02/02/2007 8:50:30 AM PST by D-Chivas
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To: SmithL

Yet another in a long line of sexually deviant San Francisco mayors. What a waste of a beautiful city.


25 posted on 02/02/2007 8:52:55 AM PST by UncleDick
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To: Mr. Lucky
WHAT?! To be understood, he should of said: 'No, if the media would've been different, this story would've been written differently.'
26 posted on 02/02/2007 8:53:20 AM PST by Revolting cat! (We all need someone we can bleed on...)
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To: uncitizen

No, have no intentions of fighting, just did not and do not understand the point you were trying to make. Sorry if I came across as heavy.


27 posted on 02/02/2007 9:02:21 AM PST by SF Republican
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To: UncleDick

> Yet another in a long line of sexually deviant San
> Francisco mayors.

Chasing 20 year old females in skirts is "deviant"?

Who knew?


28 posted on 02/02/2007 9:05:46 AM PST by voltaires_zit
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To: D-Chivas
For all you know, that could be Sparkling Cider, or water.
29 posted on 02/02/2007 9:11:28 AM PST by NathanR (Après moi, le deluge.)
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To: uncitizen

> No, if the media were different, this story would've been
> written differently. Get it now???

Setting aside, for the moment, the fact that we'll never be able to test this because (as someone else pointed out) the John Birch Society will be led by a card carrying socialist a long time before San Francisco gets a Republican mayor, how do you think this "would've been written differently"?


30 posted on 02/02/2007 9:12:16 AM PST by voltaires_zit
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To: NathanR

> For all you know, that could be Sparkling Cider, or water.

Why on earth would he care if the accusation was true or not?

Per the Karl Rove playbook, the only thing that matters is that the accusation is made.


31 posted on 02/02/2007 9:13:43 AM PST by voltaires_zit
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To: Democratshavenobrains
So does this mean that if Eisenhower or Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt had an affair, that means they would have betrayed regular Americans?

I didn't say anything about betraying regular Americans. I said the people of SF deserve to know what they've got, and that they probably don't care anyway.

32 posted on 02/02/2007 9:19:39 AM PST by uncitizen
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To: SF Republican
By the way, if Newsome was a Republican he would not be Mayor of San Francisco.

Who would have thought that NYC could have four consecutive terms of GOP mayors? If things get bad enough in San Fransisco I suspect it could happen there too.

33 posted on 02/02/2007 9:23:26 AM PST by jalisco555 ("Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us and pigs treat us as equals" Winston Churchill)
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To: voltaires_zit
...how do you think this "would've been written differently"?

The story would be much more hostile in it's judgment of what Newsom has done and would probably contain more sordid details in an attempt to enrage the community.

Altho, this is all hypothetical because we're talking about SF here and as someone else on this thread said, in SF there wouldn't be a GOP mayor. And SF being what it is there would be very little if any outrage in the community.

34 posted on 02/02/2007 9:33:15 AM PST by uncitizen
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To: SF Republican

I would agree except the woman with whom he had the affair was his subordinate. The mayor has now put the city in a position where they can be sued.


35 posted on 02/02/2007 9:35:29 AM PST by art_rocks
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To: art_rocks

> The story would be much more hostile in it's judgment of
> what Newsom has done and would probably contain more
> sordid details in an attempt to enrage the community.

Seems to me she pretty much came out and called him immature, unwise, impulsive and dishonorable. I'm not sure it gets much more hostile than that.

And I don't think it's a Rep/Dem thing. Seems to me that Giuliani got a pretty easy time of it for being a horndog, too, didn't he?

Maybe you're comparing it to cases like the preacher in Colorado? Those guys got raked over the coals, not for being horndogs, but for being lying hypocrites.


36 posted on 02/02/2007 9:47:01 AM PST by voltaires_zit
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To: voltaires_zit

LOL


37 posted on 02/02/2007 9:55:07 AM PST by NathanR (Après moi, le deluge.)
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To: voltaires_zit

I was trying to make the point that it normally wouldn't matter if a mayor is having an affair. When the same mayor is having an affair with an employee who works directly for them, the mayor has exposed the city to a potential lawsuit.


38 posted on 02/02/2007 10:33:19 AM PST by art_rocks
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To: D-Chivas
20 years old, yet holding a glass of wine...

The laws do not apply in SF.

39 posted on 02/02/2007 10:43:42 AM PST by My2Cents ("I support the right-ward most candidate who has a legitimate chance to win." -- W.F. Buckley)
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To: uncitizen
Middle ground???

Some in SF actually work at jobs and pay taxes.

We're talking about SF here. This man broke laws while he was mayor. He isn't a mediator he's an instigator.

Rule #1 in re SF Politics: Laws are only to be applied to or against anyone -- but not those running the city!

40 posted on 02/02/2007 11:26:42 AM PST by Alia
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