Latest news with #BobFilner
New York Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Bob Filner, Mayor of San Diego Who Left Amid Scandal, Dies at 82
Bob Filner, a progressive Democrat who served two decades in Congress and then successfully ran for mayor of San Diego, promising to shake up City Hall — but whose career imploded within months amid a storm of sexual harassment charges — died on April 20. He was 82. His family announced the death. The announcement did not give a cause or say where he died, but The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that he died in an assisted living home in Costa Mesa, Calif. Mr. Filner, who was known for his brash and combative style, resigned as mayor under pressure in August 2013, after 18 women accused him of sexual misconduct in his time as mayor and during his years in Congress. The women included a retired Navy rear admiral, a university dean and Mr. Filner's former communications director, who said that Mr. Filner had told her he wanted to see her naked and asked her to work without underwear. He left office denying any wrongdoing. But two months later, he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of false imprisonment and misdemeanor charges of battery involving two other women. He was sentenced to three months' home confinement and three years' probation. 'I never intended to be a mayor who went out like this,' he said. His humiliating downfall overshadowed a long record of liberal activism in which he represented largely low-income, racially diverse districts of San Diego and Southern California, and a career as a progressive champion that traced to his jailing in Mississippi as a Freedom Rider in 1961. He was the first Democrat elected mayor of San Diego in 20 years and came into office with sweeping plans for a liberal agenda for California's second-largest city, which was more conservative than other big cities in the state. He battled the city's business establishment, including the conservative editorial page of The Union-Tribune, which in a cartoon compared him to the Joker in the 'Batman' movies. A former college history professor at San Diego State University, Mr. Filner entered electoral politics in 1979 by winning a seat on the San Diego school board, which led to a seat on the City Council in 1987. He was elected to Congress in 1992 from California's newly drawn 50th district, which included most of the state's border with Mexico, with a large Hispanic population. In the House, Mr. Filner helped establish the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Over his 10 terms he rose to chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. He championed labor, environmental and civil rights issues. As a sophomore at Cornell, he had volunteered in the summer of 1961 for the Freedom Rides, protests against segregated bus terminals in the Deep South. Arriving by bus in Jackson, Miss., Mr. Filner was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace and inciting a riot. Rather than post bond, he followed the protesters' agreed-on tactics and accepted a two-month jail term in the notorious Mississippi State Penitentiary, known as Parchman Farm. 'The Freedom Ride changed my whole life personally and politically,' Mr. Filner later said. Robert Earl Filner was born on Sept. 4, 1942, in Pittsburgh, to Sarah and Joseph Filner. His father was a labor organizer who went on to run a series of metal trading businesses. After serving prison time in Mississippi, Mr. Filner returned to Cornell, where he earned a degree in chemistry in 1963 and a Ph.D. in the history of science in 1969. He then moved to San Diego and taught college history there for 20 years. His two marriages, to Barbara Christy in 1966 and Jane Merrill in 1985, both ended in divorce. He is survived by a son, Adam, and a daughter, Erin, from his first marriage; two grandchildren; and a brother, Bernard. In July 2013, just seven months into Mr. Filner's four-year term as mayor, he was engulfed in a blizzard of sexual harassment accusations. A former City Council member who had once worked for Mr. Filner, Donna Frye, held a news conference in which she declared that several women had accused the mayor of unwanted advances, including groping and kissing. 'Bob Filner is tragically unsafe for any woman to approach,' Ms. Frye said, calling on him to quit. Mr. Filner apologized for any misbehavior he might have committed, calling himself a 'very demonstrative person' and a 'hugger of men and women.' But he refused to step down. Within days, Irene McCormack Jackson, his former communications director, filed a lawsuit and said at a news conference that the mayor would wrap his arm around her neck and pull her 'like a rag doll, while he whispered sexual comments' in her ear. More accusers came forward, including military veterans who said Mr. Filner had used his position of authority to pressure them for dates or intimate contact. Elected Democrats and former political allies demanded that the mayor resign. The chorus included Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who published an open letter calling on him to step aside. He did so on Aug. 23 but remained defiant, suggesting that he was being pushed out by 'a lynch mob mentality.' He later pleaded guilty to a felony charge of restraining a woman and to two misdemeanor charges of kissing a woman against her will and touching the buttock of another woman. The plea deal was reached by Kamala Harris, who prosecuted the case as the state attorney general. 'This conduct was not only criminal, it was also an extreme abuse of power,' Ms. Harris, who was later the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee facing Donald J. Trump, said. 'No one is above the law.'
Winnipeg Free Press
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bob Filner, a former U.S. congressman who also had an embattled term as San Diego mayor, dies at 82
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Bob Filner, a 10-term U.S. congressman whose long political career ended abruptly after he was elected mayor of San Diego and driven from office amid sexual misconduct allegations, has died. He was 82. Filner passed away April 20 with his children by his side, according to an obituary published Tuesday in the San Diego Union-Tribune. No cause was given. The newspaper reported that he was residing at an assisted living facility in Costa Mesa in Orange County. Filner largely disappeared from public life after his 2013 resignation speech as mayor that reflected the same fiery, defiant tone that launched the political career of the former congressman and 1960s civil rights activist. But, ultimately, Filner agreed to step down as leader of the nation's eighth-largest city amid the flurry of sexual harassment allegations from at least 17 women. He pleaded guilty months later to charges of false imprisonment and battery involving three women. He was sentenced to three months of home confinement and three years of probation. The city of San Diego spent more than $1 million to settle multiple lawsuits filed by women. He had held the office for less than nine months of a four-year term after becoming San Diego's first Democratic mayor in 20 years. Born Sept. 4, 1942, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Robert Earl Filner waded into politics as a sophomore at Cornell University, when he joined the Freedom Riders in the 1961 in their campaign against a segregated South. He spent two months in a Mississippi jail for inciting a riot after he and others confronted an angry mob at a bus station. In 1970, he accepted a position at San Diego State University, where he taught history for more than 20 years before running for a seat on the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education. He went on to be elected to the City Council and then U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 as a progressive Democrat who fought for veterans, underserved communities and labor unions. As chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, he also helped secure $200 million to provide pension benefits for Filipino veterans who served in World War II as part of the 2009 stimulus bill. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. He resigned from Congress in 2012 to run for San Diego mayor, winning easily. Filner is survived by two children, his daughter Erin Filner and son Adam Filner, as well as by his brother Bernard Filner and two grandchildren. He is also survived by two former wives, Barbara Christy and Jane Merrill.
Associated Press
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Bob Filner, a former U.S. congressman who also had an embattled term as San Diego mayor, dies at 82
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Bob Filner, a 10-term U.S. congressman whose long political career ended abruptly after he was elected mayor of San Diego and driven from office amid sexual misconduct allegations, has died. He was 82. Filner passed away April 20 with his children by his side, according to an obituary published Tuesday in the San Diego Union-Tribune. No cause was given. The newspaper reported that he was residing at an assisted living facility in Costa Mesa in Orange County. Filner largely disappeared from public life after his 2013 resignation speech as mayor that reflected the same fiery, defiant tone that launched the political career of the former congressman and 1960s civil rights activist. But, ultimately, Filner agreed to step down as leader of the nation's eighth-largest city amid the flurry of sexual harassment allegations from at least 17 women. He pleaded guilty months later to charges of false imprisonment and battery involving three women. He was sentenced to three months of home confinement and three years of probation. The city of San Diego spent more than $1 million to settle multiple lawsuits filed by women. He had held the office for less than nine months of a four-year term after becoming San Diego's first Democratic mayor in 20 years. Born Sept. 4, 1942, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Robert Earl Filner waded into politics as a sophomore at Cornell University, when he joined the Freedom Riders in the 1961 in their campaign against a segregated South. He spent two months in a Mississippi jail for inciting a riot after he and others confronted an angry mob at a bus station. In 1970, he accepted a position at San Diego State University, where he taught history for more than 20 years before running for a seat on the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education. He went on to be elected to the City Council and then U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 as a progressive Democrat who fought for veterans, underserved communities and labor unions. As chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, he also helped secure $200 million to provide pension benefits for Filipino veterans who served in World War II as part of the 2009 stimulus bill. He resigned from Congress in 2012 to run for San Diego mayor, winning easily. Filner is survived by two children, his daughter Erin Filner and son Adam Filner, as well as by his brother Bernard Filner and two grandchildren. He is also survived by two former wives, Barbara Christy and Jane Merrill.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
East County missing woman found dead
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A missing woman was found dead Sunday in an unincorporated area of San Diego County. Michelle Elaine Moden, 53, who had been missing since April 20, was last seen leaving her home in the 6100 block of Dehesa Road in unincorporated El Cajon, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office. Bob Filner, the ex-mayor of San Diego mired by sexual misconduct, dead at 82 On Sunday, her body was found along with her vehicle, a blue 2005 Chevrolet Silverado, along Sequan Truck Trail, Officer Jared Grieshaber with California Highway Patrol said in a news release Monday. Authorities determined no foul play is suspected at this time. Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact the California Highway Patrol Border Division Major Crimes Unit at 858-944-6300. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bob Filner, the ex-mayor of San Diego mired by sexual misconduct, dead at 82
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Bob Filner, the long-time politician who served as a member of Congress and mayor of San Diego before accusations of sexual harassment and battery forced his exit from public office, has died. He was 82. Filner passed away last week, on Sunday, April 20, a friend of his confirmed to FOX 5/KUSI. A cause of death has not been disclosed. Prior to his death, the former San Diego mayor remained a contentious figure in the city, defined by the stinging sexual harassment scandal that made national headlines and spurred his fall from grace in the mid-2010s. While he initially insisted the allegations were false, he pleaded guilty months after his resignation from office to charges of false imprisonment and battery involving three women. He was later sentenced to three months of home confinement and three years of probation. The city of San Diego also doled out more than $1 million to settle multiple lawsuits filed by women who said they experienced this harassment during his time in office. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1942, Filner spent a portion of his young adult life as an activist, participating in Civil Rights demonstrations. He was notably arrested as a Freedom Rider in Jackson, Mississippi in 1961. Filner moved to San Diego in the 1970s while completing his PhD. Shortly after his move, he became a professor of history at San Diego State University, where he taught for more than 20 years. During this time, he also began working in various capacities for several Democratic members of Congress, including former Vice President Hubert Humphrey when he served as a Senator from Minnesota and Rep. Jim Bates, the San Diego congressmember who made history as the first to be sanctioned by the House of Representatives for sexual harassment. Filner entered public office himself in the late 1970s, defeating a longstanding incumbent to join the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education. He was elected by his colleagues as president of the board in 1982. Several years later, Filner made the jump to the San Diego City Council. He was elected to his first term in 1987 and became deputy mayor in 1990. Then in 1992, the Democrat set his sights on Congress, winning election in the 50th District — the seat spanning south San Diego renumbered as the 51st District after the 2000 census. During his tenure in Congress, he was a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and ascended to the chairmanship of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, considered one of the most important committees in the lower chamber of Congress. Following two decades Congress, Filner announced his candidacy for mayor of San Diego. In 2012, he won over then-City Councilmember Carl DeMaio in the General Election, becoming only the second Democratic mayor for the city since 1971. As mayor, Filner ruffled the feathers of many, drawing controversy on everything from transactional deals on projects coming before the city as seen with the Sunroad scandal — something probed by the FBI — and abrupt personnel shakeups inside City Hall. He resigned in August 2013 as allegations began surfacing of harassing behavior to more than a dozen women in the workplace, some of which dated back to his days on the San Diego City Council and as a member of Congress. After leaving office, he retreated from public view, only speaking out a handful of times. He first broke his relative silence on his misconduct in 2018, offering a public apology while asking for forgiveness during a radio interview on the #MeToo movement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
