CBS Says: SF Mayor Gavin Newsom Breaks "The Man Code"

| Thu Feb. 1, 2007 11:07 PM PST

Which, ok if we mean: screwing a friend's/aide's/employee's wife (who is also your appointments secretary), fair enough, but...

"The man code"?

If you're late to this SF party—national implications here, baby, our fair (oh, so fair) Mayor Gavin Newsom was looking good as gov, even prez down the line—the deal is this:

Fifteen months ago, Gavin Newsom, while getting a divorce from Court TV anchor wife Kimberly Guilfoyle (then) Newsom had an affair with the wife of his campaign manager, Alex Tourk. (Worth pointing out Kimberly was also cheating on Gavin at the time. Also worth noting Ruby Rippey-Tourk was his employee.) Tourk's wife recently told him as part of her 12-step mea culpa. Yesterday Tourk angrily confronts Gavin in what seems like was a fairly public place in City Hall, and resigns. Gavin gives ashen-faced press conference admitting Tourk's allegations are true. Which, evidently, everybody knew long before Tourk.

My favorite moment in this thus far is the double whammy of:

Tourk was architect and/or "make it happen" person behind Gavin's Care Not Cash (and its various iterations) homeless program. Which is a cornerstone of Gavin's play for higher office.

Tourk—major fundraiser, deputy mayor, good friend, and guy whose wife is being schutpped—was only being paid $50,000 for the priviledge, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Ignore "the man factor." The thing that Gavin has to worry about is people like me, and all the other 30-40 something women in our office and around the city/state/country. We like Gavin. We think Gavin's cute. But we think Gavin has tacky-ass taste/judgement when it comes to women (and hair gel). Of late, before this latest scandal, there was the "dating the underage Sonoma County State Woman" (I might really get away with saying: Girl. Also catty of me, but: her name is Brittanie!). And before that there was the "dating the CSI spinoff Scientologist, I Didn't Know She Was a Scientologist, and Anyway There's Nothing Wrong With Their Position on Mental Health Care, and What Does that Have to Do With Homelessness, Anyway" blip.

Gavin, baby, there are a whole bunch of relatively age-appropriate, french-tipped, strappy sandaled, overly streaked women in the Marina district. Who are single! I went to my first Marina party ever the other day, and honest to god, they were all talking about you. It shouldn't be that hard to steer clear of some obvious pitfalls.

Because the thing is, deep down we, the less groomed women of this world, and other smart voters suspect this: You're probably just a frat boy. A frat boy whose progressive politics are an accident of geography. Such politics are what it takes to be popular in these parts. Hell, supporting gay marriage probably helped you get laid. Maybe a lot.

And the more your actions indicate that this suspicion might be true, the less you play to us, your base, and others whom you claim not to be courting in a bid for statewide/national office but whom we all know that you are.

So there. You want to go to DC, even 1600? You can be single. You can play the field. Just wise up. Just a little.

And maybe get a dog.

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Clara Jeffery is coeditor of Mother Jones. For more of her stories, click here. You can also follow her on Twitter.

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Comments

Well, I have to say, she is pretty hot... Must have been too tempting... Just remember it takes two to tango. She could have tried to seduce him, blah, blah, blah. All I'm saying is she is hot and as a guy, that would be a hard opportunity to pass up... The mayor must have been thinking with somehting else other than his brain...

When will the American public grow-up and stop drooling over salacious stories of celebrities and politician's private sex lives? Yesterday, I was watching "the Situation Room" on CNN when all of a sudden Wolf Blitzer announces..."BREAKING NEWS!" I sat there glued to the screen waiting to hear something about Iraq, Iran, North Korea or anything of really true importance, when Blitzer announces the news about Gavin Newsom and cuts to his press conferences admitting his affair he had a year and a half ago, as divorced man, with his best friends wife. Breaking News? Come on! Are we really all such sophomoric yentas that this is what we have come to think of as an important news bulletin?

Only in America!

Hey, look around. Our best prez in the past half century got a little on the side and he was impeached. Meanwhile, our worst president (ever) gets away with murder. And I mean murder. If Gavin Newsom is guilty of having a brief tryst with a co-worker, all's forgiven by me. He's White House-bound and in about eight years I plan on voting for him and watching him move into the comfy Oval Office (with wife and some sort of quirky, frisky terrier).

Let's lighten up on Gavin and focus a bit more on what's more urgent. We've got to get someone out there--NOW--to stand up to Guiliani and/or McCain. Hillary's hated and will NOT win, Edwards disappears in the woodwork, and Obama... well, he's young and hopeful and audacious, but he'd better get a whole lot of experience under his belt in the next couple of years.

Bill Clinton had those "demons" too but he is popular, even amongst the feminists. So give the pretty boy a break. I think that he is still a player(excuse me, I mean he still has political potential).

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