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Loser democrat sex pervert Bob Filner will resign over sexual harassment scandal
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Alex Boozer
Sep 5, 2013, 1:15:44 AM9/5/13
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BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!
(Reuters) - San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, facing a sexual
harassment lawsuit and a string of allegations of inappropriate
behavior toward women, said on Friday he would resign as the
head of California's second-largest city.
A visibly emotional Filner addressed the San Diego City Council
after members emerged from a closed meeting where they voted 7-0
to accept a settlement that requires him to step down, effective
August 30, in exchange for the city joining in his legal defense
in the lawsuit.
Filner, a 70-year-old Democratic former congressman elected San
Diego mayor last year, had faced mounting pressure to step down
after acknowledging behavior toward women that he said was
unsuitable.
While Filner pledged to resign, his speech to a room full of
reporters, accompanied by occasional cheers from supporters, was
also defiant at times as he described being forced out of office.
"Certainly it was never my intention to be a mayor who went out
like this," Filner said, before making an apparent reference to
his 1960s work with civil rights group the Freedom Riders.
"You know I started my political career facing lynch mobs, and I
think we have just faced one here in San Diego," he said. "In a
lynch mob mentality, rumors become allegations, allegations
become facts, facts become evidence of sexual harassment which
have led to demands for my resignation and recall."
Filner's former press secretary, Irene McCormack Jackson, sued
him in July, accusing him of sexually harassing her. Since then
17 more women have come forward to say he groped them or made
other unwanted advances.
Jackson's lawsuit is at the center of the settlement between
Filner and the city, which sued him last month seeking to hold
him responsible for any damages arising from the lawsuit.
As part of the deal, the city will join in his legal defense,
according to an outline of the arrangement from the City
Attorney's office which will be responsible for representing the
mayor.
The city could also underwrite up to $98,000 in attorney fees
for Filner's private legal defense, the document said, and while
the city would pay for some forms of damages that may arise, it
would not cover punitive damages.
'NO INTENTION TO BE OFFENSIVE'
During his speech, Filner, the first Democrat elected mayor of
San Diego in two decades, also acknowledged that he had offended
women.
"I had no intention to be offensive, to violate your personal or
emotional space," he said.
High-profile attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Jackson,
welcomed Filner's pending resignation.
In a statement, Allred noted that Filner in his speech had taken
credit for protecting seals on San Diego beaches.
"Unfortunately, he failed to give as much protection to the
women who came into contact with him as he gave to the seals,"
she said.
Jackson, in her own written statement, said Filner "will not be
missed."
Jessica Levinson, an associate clinical professor at Loyola Law
School in Los Angeles, said Filner's only bargaining chip in
discussions with the city had been his threat to remain in
office.
"It sounds like it's an actual compromise, both sides get
something," she said. "Ultimately what San Diego needs is for
Filner to step down and for them to have a functioning mayor
who's allowed in City Hall, and that the city doesn't fear that
if he's allowed around women something bad is going to happen."
Under the city charter, City Council President Todd Gloria will
assume the role of mayor until a special election is held within
90 days of the effective date of Filner's resignation.
If no single candidate in the special election wins a simple
majority, then a runoff election would be held between the top
two vote-getters within 49 more days.
The scandal will not hurt the chances of future Democratic
candidates, said Steven Erie, a political science professor at
the University of California at San Diego.
"I don't think it's damaged the Democratic brand for the simple
reason that almost every major Democratic politician demanded
Filner resign within about a week or so" of the scandal
erupting, Erie said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/24/us-usa-sandiego-mayor-
idUSBRE97L0Z120130824
(Reuters) - San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, facing a sexual
harassment lawsuit and a string of allegations of inappropriate
behavior toward women, said on Friday he would resign as the
head of California's second-largest city.
A visibly emotional Filner addressed the San Diego City Council
after members emerged from a closed meeting where they voted 7-0
to accept a settlement that requires him to step down, effective
August 30, in exchange for the city joining in his legal defense
in the lawsuit.
Filner, a 70-year-old Democratic former congressman elected San
Diego mayor last year, had faced mounting pressure to step down
after acknowledging behavior toward women that he said was
unsuitable.
While Filner pledged to resign, his speech to a room full of
reporters, accompanied by occasional cheers from supporters, was
also defiant at times as he described being forced out of office.
"Certainly it was never my intention to be a mayor who went out
like this," Filner said, before making an apparent reference to
his 1960s work with civil rights group the Freedom Riders.
"You know I started my political career facing lynch mobs, and I
think we have just faced one here in San Diego," he said. "In a
lynch mob mentality, rumors become allegations, allegations
become facts, facts become evidence of sexual harassment which
have led to demands for my resignation and recall."
Filner's former press secretary, Irene McCormack Jackson, sued
him in July, accusing him of sexually harassing her. Since then
17 more women have come forward to say he groped them or made
other unwanted advances.
Jackson's lawsuit is at the center of the settlement between
Filner and the city, which sued him last month seeking to hold
him responsible for any damages arising from the lawsuit.
As part of the deal, the city will join in his legal defense,
according to an outline of the arrangement from the City
Attorney's office which will be responsible for representing the
mayor.
The city could also underwrite up to $98,000 in attorney fees
for Filner's private legal defense, the document said, and while
the city would pay for some forms of damages that may arise, it
would not cover punitive damages.
'NO INTENTION TO BE OFFENSIVE'
During his speech, Filner, the first Democrat elected mayor of
San Diego in two decades, also acknowledged that he had offended
women.
"I had no intention to be offensive, to violate your personal or
emotional space," he said.
High-profile attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Jackson,
welcomed Filner's pending resignation.
In a statement, Allred noted that Filner in his speech had taken
credit for protecting seals on San Diego beaches.
"Unfortunately, he failed to give as much protection to the
women who came into contact with him as he gave to the seals,"
she said.
Jackson, in her own written statement, said Filner "will not be
missed."
Jessica Levinson, an associate clinical professor at Loyola Law
School in Los Angeles, said Filner's only bargaining chip in
discussions with the city had been his threat to remain in
office.
"It sounds like it's an actual compromise, both sides get
something," she said. "Ultimately what San Diego needs is for
Filner to step down and for them to have a functioning mayor
who's allowed in City Hall, and that the city doesn't fear that
if he's allowed around women something bad is going to happen."
Under the city charter, City Council President Todd Gloria will
assume the role of mayor until a special election is held within
90 days of the effective date of Filner's resignation.
If no single candidate in the special election wins a simple
majority, then a runoff election would be held between the top
two vote-getters within 49 more days.
The scandal will not hurt the chances of future Democratic
candidates, said Steven Erie, a political science professor at
the University of California at San Diego.
"I don't think it's damaged the Democratic brand for the simple
reason that almost every major Democratic politician demanded
Filner resign within about a week or so" of the scandal
erupting, Erie said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/24/us-usa-sandiego-mayor-
idUSBRE97L0Z120130824
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