Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement regarding the Board of Supervisors’ 7-4 vote against sustaining charges of official misconduct against Ross Mirkarimi, which required at least nine votes to sustain the charges for removal as San Francisco’s Sheriff:

“I strongly disagree with the action taken by Supervisors Avalos, Campos, Kim and Olague this evening. I believe, and the Ethics Commission and a majority of the Board of Supervisors agrees with me, that the facts clearly demonstrate that Ross Mirkarimi’s actions and his domestic violence related conviction falls below the ethical conduct we expect of our elected Sheriff and constitutes official misconduct.

The Board’s decision returns a convicted domestic batterer to lead the Sheriff’s Office, and I am concerned about our City’s nationally-recognized domestic violence programs. I will do everything in my power to ensure that abusers continue to be held accountable and that victims and witnesses of domestic violence will not be silenced.

Domestic violence has no place in our City, will never be considered a private family matter, and will never be tolerated. We will move forward from these official misconduct proceedings recommitting ourselves to standing up for women and families.

I thank City Attorney Dennis Herrera and his team for their counsel and hard work, and I thank the Ethics Commission for their service and thoughtful deliberation.”