Great news from the Golden state as Ross Mirkarimi — the now infamous San Francisco Sheriff behind the release of the illegal immigrant accused of murdering Kathryn Steinle — lost in his reelection bid last night:
VOTED OUT: San Francisco voters oust sheriff amid 'sanctuary city' furor https://t.co/kfqBJ5LGFx #sfelections pic.twitter.com/JQsuToxw67
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) November 4, 2015
The winner was Vicki Hennessy, a law enforcement veteran who joined the Sheriff’s department in 1975 and the former interim S.F. Sheriff in 2012 when Mayor Ed Lee first tried to boot Mirkarimi from the job.
The primary responsibility of the S.F. Sheriff is to run the city’s jails and Mirkarimi was under fire after it came to light that the city had released the five-times-deported Francisco Sanchez who later told investigators he shot Steinle by accident:
https://twitter.com/passantino/status/661782304621068288
Now, there is some debate this morning just how much the issue of “sanctuary cities” played in Mirkarimi’s defeat.
When the San Francisco Chronicle endorsed Hennessy last month, they listed Mirkarimi’s stance on sanctuary cities as one of the factors in its decision:
His record — and his readiness to blame others throughout his tenure — suggests otherwise. One of his great misjudgments was to go well beyond sanctuary city law with a March “gag order” that commanded the department to cut off almost all communication with federal immigration authorities.
That order came under intense scrutiny after 32-year-old Kate Steinle was shot and killed at Pier 14 on July 1. The alleged shooter, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, had been released from jail without notifying federal authorities, who were ready to deport him for the sixth time.
And:
Hennessy has promised to lift the gag order and allow the department to communicate with the feds when public safety merits — as should have been the case with Lopez-Sanchez.
But Mirkarimi was a flawed candidate in other ways, including a recent domestic violence incident, escaped inmates, a driver’s licences suspension and an embarrassing incident at the gun range where he dropped his weapon during qualification:
SF Sheriff had domestic abuse rap sheet (!!), was at war w/mayor, generally an oily sleazy type, plus sanctuary city issue. Overdetermined.
— The Nats Won The World Series (@EsotericCD) November 4, 2015
https://twitter.com/vadum/status/661786084611891200
San Francisco Whistleblower Transferred After Revealing Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi NOT Qualified To Possess A Gun https://t.co/iuSc1x93IK
— Reaper ][][][% (@RidgeReaper68) October 17, 2015
Even celebrity power couldn’t save Mirkarimi last night:
Danny Glover supports sheriff whose office released Kate Steinle's accused murderer https://t.co/jIGk7pfHBl
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 4, 2015
Good riddance.
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Andrea Tantaros also notes deafening silence from White House over Kate Steinle shooting
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