It wasn't too much of a surprise to see persons of sense prevail in Ohio. The Buckeye State is, after all, the essence of middle America. But here is some more good election news from a place that does not give us much. Vivian Ho and Michael Cabanatuan report for the San Francisco Chronicle:
Former Chief Deputy Sheriff Vicki Hennessy won her bid Tuesday to unseat Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who cast himself as an innovator in the hidebound law-enforcement community but was dragged down by a series of personal and professional controversies.
In the race to lead the agency whose primary role is overseeing San Francisco's jails, Hennessy ran a low-key campaign that drew support from the deputies' union and nearly every politician at City Hall. She called herself an effective manager. Mirkarimi claimed she was too much of an insider to push through needed reforms.* * *[Mayor Ed] Lee was quick to blame poor leadership for the department mishaps to follow, including the release of a man from jail who could have been deported but is now charged with fatally shooting 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle on an Embarcadero pier in July. The case sparked a national immigration debate.
The reason why the SF sheriff's "primary role is overseeing San Francisco's jails" is that San Francisco is a consolidated city and county. The Police Department handles law enforcement on the street for the entire jurisdiction, and there is no "unincorporated" county area for the sheriff to patrol, as there is in the other 57 California counties.
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