LA Times on F-Gate

Published: Monday, May 12, 2008 12:17 PM PDT

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Tony Perry, the Los Angeles Times' San Diego bureau chief, jumped into the San Diego mayor's race today with this story on Jerry Sanders' foul mouth.

Here's what he's got:

SAN DIEGO -- -- A four-letter word has enlivened an otherwise wonkish mayoral race between incumbent Jerry Sanders and businessman Steve Francis, attracting much more attention than the two Republicans' disputes over infrastructure needs and municipal financing.

Annoyed by Francis' multimillion-dollar barrage of television commercials questioning his honesty and integrity, the normally low-key Sanders refused to shake Francis' hand after an Earth Day debate and instead said to him, "... you."

Sanders chides Francis for making what he said public.

"I haven't been tattled on since I was in third grade," the mayor said during an interview in his political consultant's office in the Little Italy neighborhood.

"For some reason, this seems to have resonated with the public," he said. "I'm not proud of it, but I'm not ashamed. I wasn't in a mood to exchange pleasantries."

-- ANDREW DONOHUE