The Patriot Post® · Ousted: San Fran Sheriff Who Released Illegal Murderer

Among the numerous off-year election losses for Democrats around the country in Tuesday, San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi was ousted in a landslide loss to Vicki Hennessy, a former sheriff’s official. Mirkarimi wasn’t exactly the most competent sheriff, having failed a marksmanship test and briefly lost his driver’s license after an unreported accident. But his real claim to infamy was the deliberate release of Mexican illegal immigrant Francisco Sanchez, who subsequently murdered Kate Steinle this past summer and thus became the ugly face of sanctuary city policies. Sanchez was deported several times and federal immigration officials requested that Mirkarimi hold him, but the sheriff refused. While Hennessy mildly criticized Mirkarimi for the release, it doesn’t appear she’s exactly a border hawk or that the release was the only or even primary factor in Mirkarimi’s defeat. San Francisco became a sanctuary city for illegals in 1989, and even in the face of Steinle’s murder, the city council unanimously refused to change that. So while Mirkarimi’s defeat is welcome, this is still Nancy Pelosi’s territory. We don’t expect any seismic shifts away from mindless leftism.

By the way, did we mention Barack Obama just released 6,000 prisoners?