Mirkarimi Refused Postponement

The San Francisco Ethics Commission Thursday rejected a request by suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi to postpone sending his administrative case to the Board of Supervisors until after the November election.

Mirkarimi's attorneys submitted the request on Monday, arguing  that the board's vote on whether to permanently remove him from office should  not take place while many of the supervisors are running for re-election and  subject to political pressures.

Benedict Hur, chair of the city's Ethics Commission, denied the  request in a two-page response issued Thursday, calling Mirkarimi's arguments  "speculative."

Hur wrote, "There is no evidence suggesting that any member of the  Board of Supervisors will disregard the facts and the law and instead vote to  sustain the charges based upon perceived political pressure."

The Ethics Commission was tasked by the city charter to conduct  fact-finding hearings in the administrative case against Mirkarimi, who was  suspended without pay by Mayor Ed Lee in March following his guilty plea to a  false imprisonment charge in connection with a Dec. 31 incident in which he  grabbed and bruised his wife's arm during an argument.

On Aug. 16, the commission voted 4-1 to recommend upholding the  official misconduct charges against Mirkarimi, with Hur as the lone  dissenter.

The commissioners earlier this week ratified their decision and  approved the transcripts from the various hearings, but delayed a decision on  the postponement request until Thursday.

Hur wrote that the commission will "send the record and its  recommendation to the board promptly upon completion."

Mabel Ng, deputy executive director of the Ethics Commission, said  the panel hopes to send the documents to the board by next Tuesday.

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