This morning, the San Francisco Standard reported that two more men have come forward with accusations of sexual assault against District 8 Supervisor Candidate Manny Yekutiel. Yekutiel has denied the allegations, but he has already lost the endorsements of Mayor Daniel Lurie, state Attorney General Rob Bonta, and many others.
KALW spoke earlier today with Standard reporters Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez and Jonah Lamb, who broke the story.
Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez: “The swiftness is absolutely shocking. The Mayor withdrew his endorsement within hours. The Democratic Party is set to vote to withdraw their endorsement. Tons of politicos are withdrawing their endorsements of Manny Yekutiel. You can ask anyone yesterday, who watches politics, ‘Who would win this race?’ They would have said, Manny. But, today, that’s a lot less certain, especially, as his support cratered.
What really made the difference, I think, is that the first person who came forward to Jonah and I with accusations about Manny, he was politically-connected to some of Manny' s opposition. That doesn’t make his allegations any less valid. But to the public, they had doubts. These two men, who came forward, Ryan Clark and his partner, who we gave anonymity to, Ryan Clark has no ties. And the reason he came forward was because he and his partner were so infuriated that people did not believe Brad, and that the Mayor endorsed Manny, even after these allegations from Brad went public. And in Ryan Clark’s eyes, Manny’s a dangerous person.”
Sunni Khalid: “What is the biggest thing that has surprised you, so far, in your reporting?”
Jonah Lamb: “Strangely, it was just a stat that we got from the folks at the Kinsey Institute saying that gay and bi men are just as likely to be assaulted as hetero women. Not a thing that I knew.”
Rodriguez: “This is impressive. The Democratic Party of San Francisco is considering stripping their endorsement from Manny. But you know what? He’s got the most money. He’s got a lot of support in the community, the District 8 community. I can see him deciding to stay in it, thinking he may have some support left.”
After this story aired, Yekutiel announced that he was withdrawing from the race for District 8 Supervisor.
