Ruby Rippey, who was involved in an affair with then-Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2007, shared her experiences in a recent Vanity Fair article. She also revealed advice she received from former Vice President Kamala Harris at that time.
Rippey, once married to Newsom’s campaign manager Alex Tourk and serving as the appointments secretary, said Harris, then San Francisco’s District Attorney, advised her privately. ‘I wouldn’t say anything right now, Ruby. Just pause. More time will give you better perspective,’ Harris reportedly advised after the scandal emerged.
The essay describes Rippey’s struggle with alcoholism, the collapse of her marriage, and her path to sobriety. She questions how Newsom’s team depicted the affair in his memoir, specifically refuting a claim that Newsom confessed to her husband. Rippey insists she made the first admission. When asking a Newsom advisor about the book’s truth, she was told, ‘Well, we all remember things differently, don’t we, Ruby?’
The article recounts the start of the affair during Rippey’s time at City Hall, detailing moments spent in a hot tub, hotel rooms, and at Newsom’s Russian Hill penthouse. Rippey described an incident traveling to The Carneros Inn in her boss’s chauffeured car, where Newsom massaged her foot while sitting in the front seat.
Rippey recalls waking next to Newsom, noting the encounters, fueled by addiction and the allure of proximity to power, continued for months. ‘There is sex, but it isn’t the point. The point is proximity — to power, to being chosen,’ she wrote. She recalls Newsom telling her, ‘Hey — you look really good … You’ve lost all your pregnancy weight,’ after her first child’s birth in a Mexican restaurant.
Reflecting on the experience, Rippey acknowledged that although she willingly engaged in the affair, the imbalance of power was significant. ‘Power does not need to coerce. It only needs to exist,’ she stated.
After admitting the affair to her husband via email while he worked for Newsom, Tourk confronted the mayor and resigned. The news became public shortly after, leading Newsom to confess at a 2007 press conference and announce his intention to seek treatment for alcohol issues.
Fox News Digital sought comments from Newsom’s and Harris’ teams, but no immediate responses were received. Madison Colombo, a writer for Fox News Digital, provided this report, drawing on her comprehensive background in journalism.