Mayor’s crime czar hands in resignation
By: Brent Begin
Examiner Staff Writer
November 18, 2009
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| Kevin Ryan, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, is the latest in a string of Mayor Gavin Newsom appointees to hand in his resignation. (AP file photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — The second high-profile resignation in the Gavin Newsom administration came when Kevin Ryan, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, resigned Tuesday.
The departure comes on the heels of the mayor’s press secretary, Nathan Ballard, resigning Monday and just weeks after Newsom dropped out of the race to be governor of California.
Ryan was hired away from a private practice by Newsom in January 2008 as a rising homicide and violent crime rate plagued the administration. He made an immediate impact on city policy by reversing a politically embarrassing practice of shielding undocumented youth who committed crimes.
During his two years in the office, making about $150,000 a year, Ryan helped develop several crime initiatives, such as a policing strategy that focused on certain city neighborhoods that came to be known as the Zone Strategy.
“We’ve really accomplished what we were trying to do here,” Ryan said Tuesday of about a 56 percent drop in homicides. “The immigration issue kept me here longer than I thought.”
The 52-year-old Republican says he drafted his resignation letter about three months ago, before Newsom dropped out of the race for governor, around the time when resignations from several high-profile Newsom appointees started to rain. A copy of the letter is dated Nov. 9, and the effective date of the resignation will be Dec. 18.
In July, Eric Jaye — the powerhouse behind Newsom’s two successful mayoral runs — abruptly left Newsom’s gubernatorial bid over a strategy shift. Two others staff members moved on to other jobs at about the same time.
On Monday, Newsom’s press secretary Nathan Ballard handed in his resignation, and recently Jared Blumenfeld, director of Department of the Environment, resigned to join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
As for Ryan, he said he will be teaching a course at USF on white-collar crime. He is also working on a book that could offer some insight into city politics, and he may practice law again.
In a prepared statement, Newsom thanked Ryan for his years of service.
“His counsel and dedication were key to reducing violent crime in The City. During his tenure, Judge Ryan oversaw and implemented numerous reforms that will make San Francisco a safer city for years to come.”
Kevin Ryan
Age: 52
Born: 1957 in Alberta, Manitoba, to Irish immigrants
Upbringing: Grew up in San Francisco; became a naturalized citizen in 1969
Family: Wife Anne, two sons
Education:
St. Ignatius College Preparatory; bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth; law degree from USF
Previous jobs: Deputy district attorney in Alameda County; Superior Court judge in San Francisco; U.S. attorney; partner at private law firm
Examiner Staff Writer Mike Aldax contributed to this report.
