After a decade on Capitol Hill as a successful Democratic congressman, Bob Filner was elected mayor of San Diego last year. It was not an easy task — San Diego very rarely elects Democratic mayors, and Filner won with only 51% of the vote.
But just a half-year into his first term, it’s no longer clear whether the mayor will be able to remain in office much longer.
Turning up the pressure on Mayor Bob Filner to resign, three former supporters Monday released details of his alleged sexual harassment of women, including the forcible kissing of two constituents and grabbing the buttocks and breast of a staff member.
In a City Hall elevator, Filner told a female staffer that women employees would do better “if they worked without their panties on,” attorney Marco Gonzalez said at a news conference outside City Hall.
Filner’s behavior toward women is so egregious that women who work for him call him a “dirty old man” and coined the phrases “the Filner headlock” and “the Filner dance” to describe how he isolates women and then makes unwanted advances, Gonzalez said.
The 70-year-old is fending off calls for his resignation telling a local television stations that his conduct was misinterpreted by staffers. “I’m a hugger of both men and women,” he said.
First, here’s a radical suggestion: if you’ve been accused of systemic sexual harassment, and the evidence looks really bad, don’t use “I’m a hugger” as a defense.
Second, if you’ve allegedly used crude, sexually suggestive, and wildly inappropriate language around women staffers, whether or not you consider yourself a hug aficionado is irrelevant. As defenses go, this is arguably pretty disgusting.
For his part, Filner has acknowledged mistreating women aides, apologized, and said last week he needs “help” — help he intends to receive while staying in office.









