A little bit of potential scandal news has entered the otherwise boring race for the state senate seat being fought by Supervisors Jane Kim and Scott Wiener: Kim has been implicated, according to sources speaking the Chron's City Hall gossip mongers Matier & Ross, in helping precipitate the breakup of the marriage between California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu and current top advisor to the Hillary Clinton campaign Ann O’Leary. Liu was Kim's professor in law school, and as the paper reports, Liu and Kim have been dating for an indeterminate amount of time.
Apparently, O'Leary texted several friends in May to say that she and Liu were separating "because he is in a relationship with Jane Kim."
Sources close to both Liu and Kim confirmed for Matier & Ross that the two are an item, but the timeline isn't totally clear.
SFist reached out to Kim's newly hired campaign manager Christopher Vasquez for comment, but campaign advisor Eric Jaye tells the Chronicle, "This is merely prurient interest masquerading as political reporting."
Perhaps! But it is some slightly juicy prurient interest, no? And let's not forget: Jane Kim got an endorsement from Bernie Sanders before the California primary, and toured around with him when he dropped in on SF.
Walking in Chinatown w/our candidate @BernieSanders to meet our organizers + CTA resident leaders! #FeelTheBern pic.twitter.com/9g0F9MSD1j
— Jane Kim (@JaneKim) June 6, 2016
Liu's name has been mentioned as a possible appointee to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, apparently following Clinton's recommendation, however his nomination has been blocked like many others by Senate Republicans.
Liu and O'Leary issued a joint statement, saying, "It is true that we made the difficult decision to separate. We continue to have respect for each other and provide mutual support in our lives. Our priority is, as it has always been, our shared commitment to being the best parents we can be to our children."
Separately, O'Leary made a statement pointing to long-standing struggles in the marriage, saying, "As many people around us know, Goodwin and I had a good marriage for many years, but we have struggled in the past few. Jane Kim is not the reason my marriage is ending."
The news is all the more sensational, of course, by association with Monday's news that O'Leary's fellow Clinton campaign advisor, Huma Abedin, is separating from her high-profile husband Anthony Weiner as well. That news came as Weiner, a former Congressman and NY mayoral candidate, was caught for the third time (publicly, at least) sexting with another woman.
Previously: Jane Kim Beats Scott Wiener In Pokémon Go Contest