San Diego Sues Mayor Bob Filner Amid Widening Sexual Harass Scandal
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The San Diego City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to sue Mayor Bob Filner to shield the city from liability in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the mayor by his former press secretary.
The City Attorney’s Office said in a statement that the council voted unanimously in closed session on Tuesday to authorize the filing of what amounts to a new lawsuit against the mayor.
“If Bob Filner engaged in unlawful conduct and the city is held liable, he will have to reimburse us every penny the city pays and its attorney fees,” City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said in a statement.
Seven women have publicly accused Filner of unwanted sexual advances.
One of them, former press secretary Irene McCormack Jackson, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit on July 22. The City Council’s action is meant to protect city funds in that case.
The other women include a retired U.S. Navy admiral and a college dean.
The decision by the City Council on Tuesday to authorize a legal action against the mayor came on the same day the council was set to discuss a request from Filner’s private attorney, Harvey Berger, that the city pay the costs of defending the mayor in the sexual harassment lawsuit. That discussion was set for Tuesday evening. Goldsmith has declined to defend the mayor.
Filner, a 70-year-old Democrat, faces mounting pressure to resign over the allegations against him. Last week, he acknowledged a “failure to respect women” and vowed to attend two weeks of counseling beginning on Aug. 5, but he has refused to step down.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
