Ruby Rippey-Tourk
Posted on 02/02/2007 8:40:57 PM PST by SmithL
For more than a year, the affair between San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the wife of his good friend and campaign manager, Alex Tourk, was a bomb that those around the mayor knew would one day go off.
But it wasn't until last week that the fuse was finally lit, by Tourk's wife herself.
After this week's explosion, people close to the mayor, Tourk and Ruby Rippey-Tourk, revealed what had gone on behind the scenes.
We're told the affair didn't last long -- the mayor has privately said to friends that there were only a couple of encounters. Rumors started making the rounds of City Hall in late 2005, soon after Newsom and Rippey-Tourk were reportedly spotted together in the mayoral town car at a wedding in Napa.
But no firsthand witnesses ever came forward, and the talk receded as Newsom, who was going through a divorce, was spotted with a succession of other women.
The story took on new life last spring when Rippey-Tourk left her job as Newsom's appointments secretary to undergo treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, leaving people to speculate that she had been shipped out before someone started asking questions about her conduct and her relationship with the mayor.
Mayoral staffers and political operatives sensed that they still had a problem on their hands. Several of them, none of whom would speak for attribution, knew that at least some of the rumors were true -- and that, at best, they had just stalled the inevitable.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about the whole story was that it stayed secret as long as it did, without even Alex Tourk knowing about it.
Apparently, colleagues kept it from him in part because they didn't want him hurt.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
come on, this is SanFran...It would only be news if he wasn't sleeping with his staff...or their wives...or their pets...or their....
Just shows that Gavin possesses the lack the class necessary to be an elected official in SF.
...and I thought Gavin was supposed to be a queer.
It’s the lies, stupid! Newsom indiscretions were allowed to fester - Fog City Journal staffers Daniela Kirshenbaum and Luke Thomas
Fascinating piece about how the local media looked the other way, though they knew all about it. These kind of stories guide my thinking on how the major media organs "massage" public opinion.
Yea - this is San Fransisco. The scandal is that he was having an affair with a woman.
Now, if it would have been Bill Bennett - that would have been a different story... (pun intended)
;-)
Well, then, if you didn't want to hurt your friend, Mr. Mayor, you shouldn't have had an affair with his wife.
What an idiot. I'm sure he'll be re-elected in a landslide, unless being hetero is a sin in San Fran.
Perhaps Ms. Rippey-Tourk fell on his sword to convince you otherwise.
I don't think "a couple of encounters" count as an affair. More like a quickie.
You asked for tidbits???
Is this the reason Kimberley Guilfoyle ended their marriage?
I hope she sues and it cost the city a lot of money. Then we can see if everyone will say its no big deal.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Ruby Rippey-Tourk; the guy is twisted after all. He has a thing for women, but only with weird names.
But, Alex is crazy about that stuff.
This is San Francisco. There will be no story here until the Gerbils sue for Palimony.
Re-election funds are so handy .
It is just a democRAT plus on his resume!
Clinton was put on a pedestal for his out wedlock affairs!!
He can go a long way with his hanky-panky behavior. The Dodd/kennedy sandwich did not hurt them a bit either!!!
How dare him have an affair with the opposite sex!
Ruby Rippey-Tourk
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