It took six weeks, a legion of accusers, two recall campaign initiatives, and one big nightmare, but Bob Filner has reportedly agreed to give up his office.
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has agreed to resign as part of a deal reached this week with city officials, NBC 7 News has learned.
Filner, spotted leaving City Hall with packing boxes Wednesday night, will formally vacate the office following a closed session of City Council Friday, according to several sources.
City officials announced just before 7 p.m. Wednesday a proposed solution had been reached in the scandal that has consumed the city of San Diego since it first broke July 10.
It appeared that Filner held on as long as he did as part of a specific strategy — the outgoing mayor needed to reach a settlement agreement with his accusers. Once that was resolved — a deal was reportedly reached last night — Filner, a 70-year-old former Democratic congressman, was willing to quit.
Obviously, the sexual misconduct allegations made Filner a national pariah, but his brief, scandal-plagued tenure was also marred by misuse of public funds and alleged “pay to play” schemes with local developers. As for what’s next for San Diego, the local NBC affiliate reports that City Council President Todd Gloria will become the acting mayor and the city will hold a special election in the fall to fill out the remainder of Filner’s term. Good riddance.
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