SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 29 (Our California Times) — Ruby Rippey has written a new first-person essay in Vanity Fair about her affair with then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the fallout when the relationship became public, and her struggles with alcoholism and recovery. Because the piece comes from Rippey herself, it adds a personal account to one of California’s best-known political scandals.
What Rippey says happened
In the essay, Rippey describes herself as a San Francisco City Hall aide at the time the affair began. Later coverage based on her account says she was working in Newsom’s orbit when the relationship started.
Rippey says the affair became public in 2007 and changed her life in ways that lasted for years. She writes about the personal damage, including shame, drinking, and the long process of getting sober.
How Gavin Newsom responded at the time
Newsom publicly acknowledged the affair at a news conference in February 2007. As later coverage quoted him, he said: “Everything you’ve heard and read is true.”
The scandal also affected people around Newsom’s office. Rippey says Alex Tourk, her husband at the time and a top Newsom aide, confronted Newsom after learning about the affair and later resigned.
Where Kamala Harris fits in
One of the most discussed parts of Rippey’s essay is her claim that Kamala Harris called her after the affair became public and told her not to speak right away.
Rippey quotes Harris as saying: “I wouldn’t say anything right now, Ruby. Just pause. More time will give you better perspective.”
At the time, Harris was San Francisco’s district attorney. Rippey’s account makes the call part of the public history of the scandal, even though the report is based on Rippey’s recollection rather than a separate public record of the conversation.
Why the essay matters now
The essay brings back a chapter from California politics that involved three people who later remained nationally known: Newsom, Harris, and Rippey herself.
For readers trying to place the story, the key facts are these: Rippey says she had an affair with Newsom while he was mayor of San Francisco; the relationship became public in 2007; Newsom acknowledged it; and Rippey now says Harris urged her to stay quiet when the scandal broke.
The essay is also a personal account of addiction and recovery. Rippey says that part of the story cannot be separated from the affair itself, because the public fallout and her drinking problems were intertwined.
What is still unclear
The public record in the available reports does not show a full, independent transcript of Harris’s call. Rippey is the source for that exchange.
The reporting also varies on Tourk’s exact title in Newsom’s office, describing him as a campaign manager, deputy chief of staff, or political adviser.
So the new essay is best understood as Rippey’s own version of events: a personal explanation of the affair, the scandal that followed, and the advice she says she got from one of San Francisco’s most powerful officials at the time.
