Although the Mayor's office has yet to make an official announcement, the Chronicle is now reporting that Mayor Lee made clear his stance on Ross Mirkarimi's guilty plea. In a private meeting between Mayor Lee and Mirkarimi yesterday, the Mayor reportedly gave the sheriff an ultimatum regarding his current political career: either resign by 4 p.m. today, or face an official misconduct trial. The 4 p.m. deadline gave Mirkarimi roughly 24 hours to make up his mind.

Even if Mirkarimi decides to fight the misconduct charges, Mayor Lee would get to pick a replacement to fill in while the proceedings are going on. Aside from that, however, the Mayor will keep his hands clean of the whole mess. The Ethics Commission (ostensibly an independent group) will gather the facts and give the Board of Supervisors a recommendation on whether or not to uphold the misconduct charges. It will take nine of the eleven Supervisors on the Board to remove Mirkarimi from the Sheriff's office, and that will be a tricky vote with five progressives on the board.

Mayor Lee's office is expected to make an official announcement about the misconduct charges later this afternoon.

Previously: All Ross Mirkarimi coverage on SFist
[Chron]