Phil Matier: Mirkarimi Keeps Job As Sheriff, Is SF Back to Normal?

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has retained his job despite an earlier conviction in a domestic violence case involving his wife. Things may spice up a bit at City Hall as a result, not that we need it.

In a final vote by San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, four board members including Christina Olague (who was appointed by Mayor Ed Lee as Supervisor Mirkarimi's replacement to the board) voted last night to allow him to remain in office. Mirkarimi's removal would have required nine votes.

KCBS, CBS 5, and SF Chronicle Insider Phil Matier Reports: 

In a way San Francisco has sort of returned to itself. It's like the saying goes, you can stretch something out, but it will gradually return to its shape. And that's where we are; the mayor made his move effectively suspending Ross Mirkarimi from his elected office. Four of the progressive supervisors on the so-called left wing responded, essentially saying that the mayor overstepped his boundaries and that it didn't cross the line into official misconduct.

Now a lot of legal experts would agree with that, but this whole ordeal became highly politicized, not to mention publicized.

The real winner in this of course is the lawyers because there's a good chance they'll be getting paid and now Ross Mirkarimi is a household name in the Bay Area.

Mirkarimi can say that he was ultimately absolved and returns to work on Monday, while Ed Lee can say it was up to the Board of Supervisors and that he did what he thought was right.

Meanwhile Mirkarimi's wife Eliana Lopez can fly back to Venezuela this Sunday and restart her movie or Telenovela career.

So there you have it—San Francisco can sort of return back to what the city is; a place where a lot of people look at it and scratch their heads and the other half of them nod.

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