Carole Migden's Story Changes

A day after it was reported that she was involved in as many as three car accidents last Friday, openly gay State Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) revealed today that she has been undergoing treatment for leukemia for the last decade. Migden is one of the most powerful openly gay elected officials in the state (if not the country), having already served 3 terms in the State Assembly, one term on the State Board of Equalization and is in her first 4 year term in the State Senate.

However, earlier this year openly gay Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), the author of the marriage equality bill, announced that he would be running in the June 2007 primary election against Migden.

It will be definitely interesting to see what impact the overwhelming coverage of the State Senator's recent "erratic driving" activities will have on the race for the emocratic nomination for the 3rd State Senate district (which covers San Francisco, Sonoma and Marin counties).

In a statement Friday, Migden said the accident occurred after she took her eyes off the road while reaching for a ringing cell phone.

But before the crash, the CHP received the calls about Migden's driving as she traveled more than 30 miles east on I-80 from the Bay Area.

"We have drivers calling from apparently down in Berkeley all the way up to where she crashed," CHP Officer Marvin Williford said. "Her driving was just erratic.

"Unfortunately, she crossed three different CHP districts, so by the time we got into position in one area, she was in a different jurisdiction."

Two witnesses who called 911 said Migden glanced off the concrete barrier dividing traffic on I-80, several miles before her accident, the CHP said.

"Based on her (Migden's) statement and the damage to her car, we know that she hit something. We're trying to determine where she hit it," Williford said.

In her statement to officers, Migden said "she did feel she brushed up against something," Williford said, although there is no mention of that in the statement released Friday by the senator's office.

Hmmmmmmmmm!