According to Waggoner, “Because Mirkarimi was not sheriff at the time of the alleged misconduct, Lee’s suspension amounts to an abuse of discretion. We are a city and nation of laws, and there is a legal standard that must be followed. By suspending the Sheriff for conduct that occurred before he assumed office and is not directly related to his job duties, Mayor Lee failed to follow the law.”
Following an uplifting musical program by Larkin Street Glee, TNDC Executive Director Don Falk addressed about 100 guests in the verdant Tenderloin National Forest (a previous alleyway alongside the hotel transformed into a sustainable green/art space).
Asked if a potential Board vote on whether suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi should be removed from office is “weighing heavily” on his mind, Mar told Fog City, “I really cannot make any comment about my former colleague, Ross Mirkarimi, but I’ll just say that I always will be a fair person that listens to all the evidence and does my best to be fair – and I know that is going to be a difficult decision.”
In particular, the Day of Action, which brought demonstrators out in cities across the U.S., trained its sights on Verizon Communications, where management and unions have been locked in a fight over benefits since a contract lapsed in August.
Lee, who had asked Mirkarimi to step down Monday or face suspension, announced his decision to suspend the Sheriff following Mirkarimi’s announcement that he would not resign. Mirkarimi now faces an Ethics Commission probe into whether his conviction rises to the level of official misconduct as defined in the city Charter, a finding that will be presented to the Board of Supervisors for a vote. Nine of eleven supervisors must vote in the affirmative to remove an elected public official from office.
Following the rally, Supervisor Avalos introduced a resolution – co-sponsored by Supervisors David Campos, Christina Olague, Jane Kim, Eric Mar and David Chiu, “Urging city and county officials and departments to protect homeowners from unlawful foreclosures.” The measure also urges mortgage and banking institutions, “especially San Francisco-based Wells Fargo,” to “suspend foreclosure activities and related auctions and evictions.”
Supervisor Avalos will introduce the resolution at the Board of Supervisors meeting at 2pm. The resolution expresses support for the California Homeowner Bill of Rights which are 5 legislative measures introduced at the California State Legislature and designed to provide basic standards of fairness and transparency in mortgage processing, community tools to prevent blight, tenant protections, enhanced law enforcement to defend homeowner rights, and a special grand jury to investigate foreclosure crime.
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