By Steven T. Jones
Contrary to the demented hopes of conservative ideologues like the Examiner's Ken Garcia, there is no joy on the left over the sordid sex scandal that has now engulfed Mayor Gavin Newsom. Sure, it opens up this year's mayor's race and illustrates some of the character flaws of Newsom's administration, which have manifested themselves in how he conducts himself professionally, not just personally. Read more »

By Steven T. Jones
Now comes word that Alex Tourk has resigned as the campaign manager for Newsom's reelection. For "personal reasons." Yeah right. Does this have something to do with Newsom standing by Ragone, again, just as he did when he let his old chief of staff Steve Kawa resign after a power struggle with Ragone? Or was it something that happened while Newsom was in the Swiss Alps? Read more »

By Steven T. Jones
According to KCBS radio, mayoral flack Peter Ragone has finally admitted to both posting on SFist and other blogs under a false name and lying to reporters about the existence of his imaginary friend, John Nelson. Newsom, who just returned from 10 days in Switzerland, reportedly expressed his displeasure with Ragone, but downplayed the incident.
Apparently, both men think that's the end of this, but it isn't. I had an appointment with Ragone scheduled for 4 p.m. Read more »

By Steven T. Jones
SFist has a nice wrap-up on the fallout from its outing of Newsom flack Peter Ragone as a liar, but the Chron's Matier & Ross not only buried the story halfway through today's column, they also missed the point. Read more »

By Steven T. Jones

Before hitting the latest news of ethics problems in the mayor's office, and the brilliant segment that KGO-TV's dogged investigative reporter Dan Noyes has done to highlight them, it's important to offer some context and perspective.
Mayor Gavin Newsom imported veteran Democrat Party flack Peter Ragone to be his press secretary upon taking office three years ago. Read more »

By Steven T. Jones
Mayor Gavin Newsom may be unwilling to appear in person before the Board of Supervisors, but he's using his trip to the World Economic Forum to reach out to citizens of the virtual world Second Life. Read more »

By Steven T. Jones
The scrappy political blog SFist has consistently, insightfully, and with an infectious sense of voyeuristic glee been dogging Mayor Gavin Newsom and his many missteps of the last year, becoming a go-to site for local political junkies. Read more »