San Francisco Mayor to Seek Treatment for Alcohol Use

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who gained national attention by championing same-sex marriage, announced on Monday he would seek treatment for his alcohol abuse, an announcement that follows his admission of an affair with his campaign manager's wife.

Newsom, 39, said that although "my problems with alcohol are not an excuse for my personal lapses in judgment," he had stopped drinking and wanted professional help staying sober.

"Upon reflection with friends and family this weekend, I have come to the conclusion that I will be a better person without alcohol in my life," Newsom said in a statement. (AP)

Sworn into office in 2004, Newsom, 39, almost immediantly began defying a California law that defined marriage as a union between and a man and a woman, until a court ordered the city to stop allowing homosexuals to marry.

Last week the divorced mayor admitted to a romantic involvement with the wife of his campaign manager and former deputy chief of staff, who resigned Wednesday after confronting the mayor about the relationship.

Rumors of a possible substance abuse problem have dogged Newsom since the San Francisco Chronicle reported that he appeared intoxicated at a vigil for a wounded police officer in late December. His office would not comment to the newspaper at the time.

Newsom said Monday that he would get treatment from Mimi Silbert, the founder and director of the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco, a residential program for hard-core addicts, including ex-convicts and prostitutes. Although the mayor plans to work with her on an outpatient basis, the program will not be easy, said Silbert, who met with Newsom over the weekend.

"The good thing, to me, is that he came and asked for help from a place he knows would not be light," Silbert said.

Delancey Street, which she founded in 1971, does not rely on the 12-step philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous but works to address the underlying reasons for excessive drinking, she said.

Citing privacy reasons, Silbert would not elaborate on how specifically she planned to help Newsom, whom she described as "very serious" about getting help. (AP)

Newsom says he just wants to focus on his work right now and that he doesn't see how his binge drinking and sleeping with his friends wives could could possibly affect his duties as mayor. Newsom is planning on running for a second term in November.

(AP, Reuters, San Francisco Examiner)