San Francisco Mayor Admits Affair With Campaign Manager's Wife
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mayor Gavin Newsom said all the reports about him having an affair with a chief aide's wife are "true," and he's now trying to make up for it.
Newsom said made a "personal apology" to his staff, friends and family members following the resignation of campaign manager Alex Tourk, 39, who had confronted Newsom about an affair the mayor had with Tourk's wife, Ruby Rippey-Tourk.
"I want to make it clear that everything you've read is true and I'm deeply sorry about that. I hurt someone I care deeply about, Alex Tourk and his family and friends, and that is something I'm deeply sad about and sorry for," he said in a brief on-camera statement. He took no questions from reporters on the scene.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I am deeply sorry and am accountable for what has occurred and now have begun the process of reconciling it," Newsom added.
Tourk had served as Newsom's deputy chief of staff until September, when he became manager of the re-election campaign.
"It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the Newsom campaigns and the city of San Francisco and its residents," Tourk said in the statement. He did not return phone calls and e-mails seeking comment by The Associated Press.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Newsom, 39, who is seeking a second four-year term in November, said in the statement that he accepted Tourk's resignation "with great sadness," adding that he was "an extraordinary leader of our campaigns and a tireless public servant."
Tourk "resigned for personal reasons. Personal means personal to us and we are respecting that," campaign strategist Eric Jaye said before Newsom made a public statement.
The mayor apologized to residents of the city for his poor judgment, and promised to restore confidence in his abilities to serve.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We will be working aggressively to advance our agenda in the city and to work hard to build again and restore the trust the people of San Francisco have afforded me," he said.
The San Francisco Chronicle broke the news Wednesday night, reporting that Rippey-Tourk, 34, told her husband that the affair was short-lived and happened about 1 1/2 years ago, when she worked as the mayor's appointments secretary. At the time, Newsom was in divorce proceedings with his then-wife, FOX News host Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Rippey-Tourk, who left the mayor's office last spring and is now a local radio host, did not return the Chronicle's calls for comment, the newspaper said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.