00:00The story that California political observers have been waiting for for weeks is finally out.
00:04It's an essay in Vanity Fair magazine by Ruby Rippey, a former aide to Gavin Newsom,
00:10who had an affair with him when he was the mayor of San Francisco.
00:13At the time, in 2007, it was a scandal that rocked San Francisco politics,
00:18but Newsom admitted the affair and apologized and was re-elected shortly thereafter.
00:23We've never really heard Rippey's side of the story,
00:25and when it came out that she was going to tell the story as she saw it, people had questions.
00:32Was there consent involved? Did Newsom exploit his position, his power, to take advantage of her?
00:37Were there any abuses of public money?
00:40What was she going to say, and would it damage his potential presidential campaign?
00:44The essay tells a very sad story of a young woman who was starstruck by the mayor
00:48and who loved the proximity to power.
00:51In the essay, she takes responsibility for the relationship
00:55and describes actions that she took to initiate or further it.
00:59She also talks about her struggles with alcohol and substance abuse at the time
01:02and says that she's a changed person now with a new life, new relationship, and a new outlook.
01:08The essay was expected to do some damage to Newsom,
01:12but it comes across as asserting the agency of Rippey in the situation,
01:18and so it does seem to dampen the effect and answer at least some of the questions
01:23that Newsom seemed to be facing.
01:25There's also the fact that this all occurred a long time ago,
01:27and as my friend the late Scott Adams would say,
01:30there's a 20-year rule that you can apply informally in politics
01:34that as long as no laws were broken or money stolen,
01:37everybody was a different person 20 years ago,
01:39and it's hard to judge people today by what they did back then.
01:42Still, Newsom is running for president, most likely,
01:44and so he's going to be under the spotlight,
01:45and this story could continue to haunt him on the campaign trail.
01:48But for now, it's simply filling in details rather than causing new concern or new scandal,
01:54and for that, Newsom might actually be grateful to Rippey for coming forward.
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