S.F. Mayor's Aide Accused Of Dirty Tricks

Jan. 29 - KGO (KGO) -- Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors are saying that a top aide to Mayor Gavin Newsom should be fired for pulling political dirty tricks -- a few of which were directed at the ABC7 I-Team.

Gavin Newsom's press secretary apparently has been using phony names to post comments on popular blogs -- including the I-Team's. He's been building up the mayor and blasting his critics and reporters.

Dan Noyes, ABC7 I-Team: "I'm not the one who's looking like a jerk, Peter."

Peter Ragone: "Yeah, that's right. You are, actually."

Take a look at what we go through to get answers from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. He refuses to sit down and be interviewed at City Hall for any of our I-Team investigations, so we have to try to catch him after one of his public appearances.

Gavin Newsom, San Francisco mayor: "Have you made conclusions here, or are you willing to have a conversation with a search for truth and objective fact?"

Dan Noyes: "That's exactly why I'm here."

Gavin Newsom, San Francisco mayor: "Are you interested in that?"

Dan Noyes: "Absolutely."

Gavin Newsom: "And, is that defined, just so I understand where you're coming from, your previous reports?"

Dan Noyes: "Absolutely."

At that point, Mayor Newsom laughs and walks away.

Most times, including this episode about a year ago, Newsom's press secretary, Peter Ragone, is there running interference.

Dan Noyes: "If you don't want to answer the questions that the public wants answers to, that's fine by me."

Peter Ragone: "That's your opinion."

Dan Noyes: "But we are giving you the opportunity to answer the questions."

Peter Ragone: "You're a journalist, you shouldn't have opinions. But hey, you're a journalist, you shouldn't have opinions."

Dan Noyes: "I'm happy to play that on TV and let the constituents decide whether you're answering questions or not."

We often wind up following Newsom into an elevator and outside, where he sometimes will finally give an answer.

Gavin Newsom: "I have a police department that's one of the best in the country."

And just when he does, there's Peter Ragone trying to block our camera.

Gavin Newsom: "So, no, I think it's a wonderful thing."

Dan Noyes: "Thank you, mayor. I appreciate that."

Ragone is now trying a slightly more subtle tactic. He's trolling local websites such as SFist. Editor Jon Shurkin was actually excited when Peter Ragone started posting comments under his own name.

On a discussion of the people in chicken costumes who interrupted Newsom's Town Hall meeting two weeks ago, Ragone told one blogger, "Lighten up and just stop hating on Newsom at all times."

Jon Shurkin, Sfist.com: "Our attitude is sort of it's a public blog, and people are leaving public comments. So you're kind of leaving yourself open."

Then Shurkin did what any web host can do. He checked Ragone's "internet protocol address" -- the identification number for his computer, and found several more postings under different names. It appeared that Ragone was using aliases to make more aggressive comments.

When a blogger posted "Fun pictures of Gavin," someone named "John Nelson" wrote from Ragone's home computer, "This Rita chick is kind of weird with her angry infatuation with Gavin Newsom. ...Get over it sister, he is a good mayor."

Jon Shurkin, Sfist.com: "It's a whole other thing to sort of pretend that he's somebody else and get even more personal, because that, you know as I said, is kind of amateur hour. It's politically stupid."

Another posting on SFist from Ragone's home computer claimed, "Dan Noyes attacks Gavin Newsom every day."

So we wondered -- could Peter Ragone be posting on our I-Team blog? There they were under our investigation of the Yale choir assault -- two comments sent from Ragone's home computer this month, under two different names.

"John Nelson" wrote, "KGO, what a joke. ... Dan Noyes is a sad, sad guy." Five days later, "Byorn" wrote, "Dan Noyes really is a sad, sad guy. You have to wonder how he keeps his job."

Board President Aaron Peskin wonders the same thing -- about Ragone.

Aaron Peskin, president, SF Board of Supervisors: "If I were mayor, he would not be working for me. There's no question about it."

Former Mayor Willie Brown tells the I-Team, "It raises serious questions about (Peter Ragone's) credibility and effectiveness. ... As a journalist, how can you believe what he says?"

San Francisco State journalism professor Yumi Wilson agrees that a press secretary who's supposed to give reporters the straight story should not be criticizing them and spinning the party line, using phony names.

Yumi Wilson, S.F. State journalism professor: "The fact is we don't know if again the person closest to the mayor, the person who is the liaison to the media and the public, is telling the truth and that raises a lot of red flags."

Ragone recently posted an answer to this controversy on SFist. He says, "John Nelson is my best friend, and yes, he does stay at my house all the time. Our sons are best friends also. I think we have the same viewpoints on most things."

Whoever "John Nelson" is, he usually posts from Ragone's home computer around 7:00 in the morning, but also six, seven, and past eight at night.

Aaron Peskin isn't buying Ragone's story.

Aaron Peskin: "It smacks of kind of Nixonian political trickery, and it's just not leaving a good taste really in anybody's mouth."

We tried to reach Peter Ragone to talk about the issue. He rarely picks up his desk number or his cell phone, and the voice mail directs reporters to send an e-mail to a non-existent address.

So again, we went to City Hall.

Peter Ragone, Newsom's press secretary: "I don't think it's any of your business what my friends or family are posting."

Dan Noyes: "How about you, are you posting under phony names?"

Peter Ragone: "Absolutley not, absolutely not."

Ragone told the I-Team "John Nelson" is real, but that he wouldn't let us talk to him. He said he didn't know who "Byorn" is, even though that posting came from Ragone's home computer. By the way, we called all the "John Nelsons" we could find in the city of San Francisco, and none of them said they were Ragone's friend who posted on our site and SFist.

Have a tip on this or another investigation? E-mail the ABC7 I-Team or call 1-888-40-I-TEAM.

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