Oh boy. Eliana Lopez writes in to the Chronicle from Venezuela, where she is staying with son Theo until the end of April, and she's now comparing what's happened to husband Ross Mirkarimi to the golpe de estado (coup d'etat) that happened in her country in 2002. Gotta say... that's a little bit of a stretch, Eliana! He's just the sheriff!
What's clear from the letter is that Lopez remains committed to her husband, and that she will be returning to S.F. not to initiate divorce proceedings but to stand by her man and fight.
She writes, "I have never been afraid for my safety in the presence of my husband, or for the safety of my son. What I do fear is the mischaracterization of the events as a basis to remove my husband from elected office... I am being used to bring my husband down. I do not approve."
She goes on to lash back at Ivory Madison, who she says was never a friend but from whom she only sought legal advice, and her husband Abraham Mertens, who accused her of trying to get his wife to destroy evidence in an editorial several weeks ago. "When Abraham Mertens called me in the afternoon [of January 4]," Lopez writes, "The words I used were: 'Stop this, you do not have my permission.'" She also insists that what Madison did was "not heroic."
The open letter ends on a passionate, dramatic note in which she calls Mirkarimi, "a wonderful man, a considerate father, and a loyal public servant who is demonstrating his ability to become better in all ways." Then, she addresses him directly, because he is not allowed to be in contact with her, by court order:
Finally, my dear Ross, they do not let us talk but you can read here from me that I love you. You won the election because the people know your hard work; nobody can erase that. Be strong, my dear, knowing that my heart is next to you and you are Theo's everything. I am committed to you, our marriage and our fight for justice and democracy.
This paints a far different, less pessimistic picture of the marriage than her friend Myrna Melgar did last week. And it sure sounds like she misses Mirkarimi and wants to make this work. But yeah, wow. High drama.
[Chron]
PREVIOUSLY: Mirkarimi Allowed Back in His House
Eliana Lopez Speaks Out, Via Friend, About Disempowerment, Her Troubled Marriage
