Longtime Filner staffers had to know, so why was behavior allowed to continue?

By Andy Cohen

LA Times columnist George Skelton recently wrote about the similarities between sports and politics, about how the most successful players in both professions possess similar qualities, similar competitiveness.  “Arrogance and egos afflict both, for example,” he wrote, “although politicians tend to be more charming.”

In a way, politics should be viewed as a team sport, and every politician is only as good and as competent as the staff he hires to work for him.   [Read more…]

By Andy Cohen

Embattled San Diego Mayor Bob Filner announced in a press conference this afternoon that beginning August 5 he will be entering a two week rehabilitation clinic. He announced no intentions to step down as the city’s mayor.

The treatment program he will enter, he said, will be a full time residential program. He intends to return to full time duties at City Hall on August 19.

“The behavior I have engaged in over many years is wrong and inexcusable,” Filner said in his prepared remarks. “It has undermined what I have spent my entire career working for.”

“I am responsible for my conduct. I must take responsibility for my conduct by taking action to make sure it never happens again,” said Filner.

The mayor said that his entry into a behavior modification program is only the first step in what he called an ongoing process to prove that he can and has changed, even at age 70. “I must become a better person,” he said.   [Read more…]

Civic leaders insist city cannot function with Filner as mayor, call for investigation into Balboa Park traffic mitigation.

In a hastily arranged press conference, City Council President Todd Gloria and Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer reiterated their demands that Mayor Bob Filner resign “for the good of the city.”

“While a shroud of shame hangs over the mayor’s office, the city council and our city employees are here working for you,” said Gloria in his opening remarks.

“A bipartisan supermajority of the city council, including Council President Gloria and myself, has called on Mayor Filner to resign so the cloud of uncertainty he has created can be lifted from San Diego. But unfortunately the mayor has decided that his own ego is more important than the reputation of our city, leaving San Diegans to wonder if anything can be accomplished at City Hall under his leadership,” said Faulconer.   [Read more…]

With Filner’s days as mayor apparently waning, it’s a sure bet that San Diego’s “shadow government” will be restored to full authority by the candidates who would seek to replace him.

By Andy Cohen

Last November, San Diego—well, at least liberals in San Diego—celebrated the beginning of a brand new era in local government and politics. For the first time in over two decades the voters of this city elected a Democrat as mayor. But more than that, they elected a candidate that not only said he would change the culture at City Hall, he actually had the backbone to do it.

Bob Filner was the right candidate at the right time for a city whose policies for far too long had been dictated by the moneyed special interests, particularly the Downtown variety. Filner represented a whole new course for San Diego’s city government. Instead of a City Hall dominated by the local business and corporate interests, average San Diegans finally had a champion who promised he would care more about them than about the big hotel lobby or the big time developers who constantly had their hands out for public properties that they could profit from.

Filner stood up to the Tourism and Marketing District, insisting that if they were going to spend money to enrich themselves, then the risk needed to fall on their shoulders instead of the taxpayers’ if their tax scheme was deemed illegal by the courts. He insisted that Balboa Park could be returned to pedestrians, limiting vehicle traffic and opening the Plaza de Panama up for all to enjoy without spending $45 million and destroying a national historic landmark to do it. And for just over $300,000, he did exactly that.   [Read more…]

By Andy Cohen

Former City Councilwoman Donna Frye and attorneys Cory Briggs and Marco Gonzalez summoned the local media to discuss explosive allegations that came to light yesterday regarding sexual harassment claims against Mayor Bob Filner. All three have delivered letters to the mayor calling for his immediate resignation; Frye and Gonzalez for the harassment claims, and Briggs due to what he called a lack of “open, accountable, responsible government.”

It was the most anticipated press conference in San Diego perhaps in years, and perhaps the most bizarre, with the participants who summoned the local media refusing to directly answer questions with any detail. Members of the press who attended left more unsatisfied than when they arrived. No facts were offered, no supporting evidence, simply more allegations. Trust us, the hosts insisted. The accusations are true.

“We are putting our reputations on the line,” said Gonzalez, refusing to elaborate on how many women have come forward claiming harassment on the part of the mayor, or offering any specifics.   [Read more…]

Democrat Scott Peters is forced to begin defense of his Congressional seat against Tea Party challenger, 17 months away from the next election.

It’s July 2013, seven months removed from our last federal election, 17 months away from the next one, and already the cycle is starting all over again. It’s madness. Democrat Scott Peters was sworn in as the Congressional representative for the 52nd District just six months ago, and already he’s being forced to begin campaigning to defend his seat.

On May 30, failed Republican mayoral candidate and former San Diego City Councilmember Carl DeMaio announced his bid to challenge Peters. County Republicans have begun to fall all over themselves to endorse him, perhaps symbolizing their desperation to regain credibility after losing the mayor’s race for the first time in over 20 years and losing their county Congressional majority with Peters’ defeat of incumbent Brian Bilbray.

This is sure to be one of the most expensive Congressional races in California history, following a 2012 race that was one of the most expensive in the country. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, there was more than $15.6 million spent on the 2012 race between Peters and Bilbray ($8.5 million by outside groups). It’s only been a month since DeMaio declared his candidacy, and already he has reportedly raised nearly $500,000 for his campaign.   [Read more…]