Three of Mayor Bob Filner’s biggest ers, including former City Councilwoman Donna Frye, have called on him to resign over allegations of sexual harassment.
Frye and local attorneys Cory Briggs and Marco Gonzalez each sent letters to Filner this week asking him to step down. The trio declined to answer questions until they hold a t news conference at 10 a.m. Thursday.
The resignation requests from Frye and Gonzalez were first reported by KPBS, which posted copies of the letters Wednesday afternoon, while Briggs posted his online earlier in the day.
In Frye’s letter to Filner, she asked him to do the “honorable thing” and resign in response to the allegations.
“As one who ed you for mayor and encouraged others to do the same, I cannot describe how anguishing it is to ask that you now vacate the office,” Frye wrote. “I have recently received credible evidence of more than one woman being sexually harassed by you. Despite past rumors, I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. However, those who have spoken to me recently would not make the allegations lightly or without cause and I believe them. I cannot in good conscience remain silent on this, even if those who have spoken to me choose to do so out of fear of retribution or the possibility of a media circus where they could be twice victimized.”
Frye served as Filner’s director of open government from December to April before reg and made clear to KPBS she was not among the alleged harassment victims.
Gonzalez told KPBS he represents “multiple women” who claim sexual harassment by Filner. In his email to Filner, Gonzalez notes a recent meeting he had with the mayor to discuss his treatment of staff, particularly women.
“Unfortunately, I and numerous of my colleagues have reached the point where we do not believe your behavior will change, and thus must request that you immediately relinquish your position as mayor,” Gonzalez wrote. “To write this email was not an easy decision for any of us, but we now firmly believe resignation is the appropriate choice for you to minimize the damage to your constituency and the city.”
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Filner didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday from several media outlets, including U-T San Diego.
Filner took office in December promising to shake up City Hall, but his tenure has been marked by clashes with other city leaders and several controversies. They include questions over a developer’s $100,000 civic donation, an unannounced trip to and the resignation of two top aides who cited his treatment of staff as the reason for their departures.
Rumors of Filner’s inappropriate behavior toward women have dogged him for years and became an issue in last year’s mayoral campaign when District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis criticized him for how he treated her and other female attorneys. The fact that three of his staunchest ers have now lobbed similar criticism is far more damaging to the mayor’s reputation.
Filner’s fiancée, Bronwyn Ingram, also went public with their breakup on Monday. She cited the “devolvement” of their relationship but gave no other explanation for their split.
Prominent leaders from both sides of the political aisle called on Filner to explain himself Wednesday.
San Diego County Democratic Party Chairwoman Francine Busby said Filner needed to personally respond to the allegations as soon as possible.
“I take this very seriously and the San Diego County Democratic Party takes this very seriously because we stand by women,” Busby said. “We are seeking more information as we speak and we are asking that Mayor Filner personally respond and address the allegations.”
Councilman Kevin Faulconer, a Republican, said, “It saddens me that the city of San Diego is crumbling under Mayor Filner’s scandals, including these most recent sexual misconduct allegations. These allegations are very serious and Bob Filner owes the public a full explanation.”
Democratic political consultant Chris Crotty said he still thinks Filner’s mayoral tenure is salvageable as long as he takes the latest allegations as a wake-up call to change his ways.
“I think if he came clean and acknowledged that this is an issue, as opposed to not answering phone calls and not being forthright, that a majority of San Diegans that ed him will still him,” Crotty said.
Former Councilman Carl DeMaio, who lost to Filner in the mayor’s race, emailed ers Wednesday saying he had hoped Filner would rise to the occasion as mayor.
“Sadly, the evidence is mounting that Bob Filner is simply incapable of leading our city,” he wrote. “Bob Filner has brought such strife and turmoil to City Hall that we are seeing important issues that matter most to San Diegans being pushed to the side. This is no way to govern a city. San Diego deserves better.”
DeMaio, who is running for Congress next year, said he is discussing options with ers and civic leaders on how best to stabilize City Hall and would soon announce a plan of action.
Filner’s woes extend beyond harassment claims and his personal life. Briggs, a prominent environmental attorney, filed a lawsuit this week over the developer donation that Filner accepted and later returned. Briggs described as a “pay-to-play scheme” for the mayor’s approval of revisions to a project in Kearny Mesa.
He said it was with “great dismay” that he sent a letter Tuesday to the Mayor’s Office asking Filner to resign.
“My request that you step down is made reluctantly,” Briggs wrote. “I share many of your views about what’s wrong with the city and about what needs to be done to put the city on the right track. But your transgressions of core, nonpartisan principles of governance are likely to cause long-term damage to the movement to clean up City Hall.”
Briggs didn’t cite any specific examples in the letter, but the lawsuit he filed on behalf of San Diegans for Open Government said the $100,000 donation from Sunroad Centrum Partners to the city violated the city charter, municipal code and state environmental law.
The lawsuit challenges the actions taken by the mayor and city “as part of a pay-to-play scheme in which politicians agree to give away public property and/or grant development approvals in exchange for a developer’s donation to the politicians’ pet projects — without any nexus between the amount paid and the value of property given away or the community impact that the affected neighborhood’s residents will suffer.”
The developer, Sunroad Centrum Partners, sought Filner’s approval for revisions to a project in Kearny Mesa. Filner dropped his opposition after the donation was made with the money going to unrelated projects — a veterans plaza and bike initiative.
Filner said he recently returned the money after he discovered a top-level in his office had accepted the contribution as a consideration for the mayor’s for the project changes.
The in question — Allan Jones, former deputy chief of staff who has since left Filner’s office — has said the mayor was well aware of the donation. FBI officials have made inquiries at City Hall about the transaction.
Briggs is seeking a judge’s ruling that the project’s approval was illegal and should be voided.
If Filner were to resign, City Council President Todd Gloria would take over the essential duties of the mayor, according to the city charter. The city would have to hold a special election within 90 days.
There could be a long line of high-profile contenders should Filner vacate his seat, including Faulconer, DeMaio and City Attorney Jan Goldsmith on the Republican side and Gloria and former mayoral candidates Nathan Fletcher and Frye on the Democratic side.
