Eliana Lopez Goes After Mayor Lee, City Attorney Accuses False Martyrdom

Here we go: Eliana Lopez has been condemning the District Attorney's office for publicly releasing cellphone video of her displaying a bruise and talking about her marriage to Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi ever since it hit the Internet a little less than two weeks ago. After her husband proclaimed everyone in the media should be ashamed of themselves for releasing the video, Lopez's attorney is now going after the mayor by filing her own complaint with the Ethics Commission.

Paula Canny, attorney for Lopez, contends that the video damaged her client's reputation now that it has "gone viral". (The virality of the video is somewhat debatable though ? a copy of the video uploaded to YouTube by the Examiner has 1,200 views and her acting reel actually has about the same number of views. There are no view counts for SFGate's copy.) Canny also contends it should never have been released to the press under the Sunshine Ordinance in the first place, because the material on the video doesn't show any public officials at work in an official capacity.

Anyhow, the City Attorney's office is still rolling their eyes at the developments from Lopez. The City Attorney's spokesman Matt Dorsey said Team Mirkarimi was "playing martyr" before pointing out "opposing counsel dropped the ball" when they didn't seek a protective order to block the video's release. Apparently Canny didn't even show up at the hearing.

Lopez and her son, meanwhile, have been abroad in Venezuela visiting her family since March, with no immediate plans to return to San Francisco. For someone who apparently wants to stay out of the public eye, Lopez is doing a great job of letting her voice be heard without actually putting herself in the spotlight. Still, she might want to fax her attorney a note to actually show up to those important hearings.

Previously: All Eliana Lopez and Ross Mirkarimi coverage on SFist
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