The sheriff sought a bury-the-hatchet meeting with Mayor Ed Lee, the man who tried to remove him from the sheriff’s post, but the mayor refused to sit down with him.
Now the mayor and District Attorney George Gascon are looking at possible legislation to take all domestic violence cases, which now come under the sheriff, out from his control. The DA had asked Mirkarimi to recuse himself, saying the sheriff had a “conflict of interest” because of his conviction for abusing his wife. Mirkarimi denied any conflict of interest and refused to recuse himself, so Gascon is now drafting legislation to force the change on Mirkarimi.
The mayor, DA and sheriff are the only executive officials elected citywide in San Francisco.
Lee, usually very genial, appears angry that the city Board of Supervisors refused to approve his call for firing Mirkarimi. Nine of the 11 supervisors were required to remove him from office. Seven supervisors—a majority but not a big enough majority—voted to fire Mirkarimi.
The mayor is also giving a cold shoulder to the four supervisors who backed Mirkarimi.
More seriously, Mirkarimi may face a recall vote. No one has yet started a petition drive to launch a recall, but many in the city are mulling over the idea.
The Democratic County Central Committee has postponed until November 28 a vote on whether to support recall. The author of the resolution, a retired naval officer, Cmdr. Zoe Dunning, said, “I think we have the votes to pass it, but I didn’t want it to be divisive. Nerves are still pretty raw and emotions are pretty raw. I wanted to do it when people could come to more of a consensus on it.”
Mirkarimi is trying to show he is in command of his new job. After only a few days back at his desk, he put out a news release saying he was actively registering jail inmates to vote. He said he had already registered 400 inmates. Convicted felons cannot vote in most states, including California, but jail inmates are not felons and do not lose the right to vote.
Of the four supervisors who backed Mirkarimi, three are up for re-election this month—John Avalos, David Campos and Christina Olague. Many in the city will be watching to see if the voters dismiss them. That vote may determine whether the recall talk goes beyond talk.
Mirkarimi acknowledged that the 10-month battle over whether to fire him created deep divisions in the city. He called his reinstatement more “bittersweet” than “vindication.”
Mirkarimi said, “I’m truly grateful; and thankful, and I forever will be that humbled servant that has this opportunity to show why I was elected sheriff in the first place.”
Regardless of what happens with the recall talk, Mirkarimi will face re-election three years from now.