Embattled San Diego Mayor Bob Filner late Monday vowed to “move forward” with the city as mayor despite a recall effort to oust him over allegations of sexual harassment.
“Now is not the time to go backwards — back to the time when middle-class jobs and neighborhood infrastructure were sacrificed to downtown special interests,” Filner wrote in his response to the movement, as quoted by U-T San Diego. “We need to continue to move forward.”
Filner highlighted his accomplishments over eight months in office in the response, from labor deals to urban development. The response made no reference whatsoever to the allegations of sexual harassment brought against him by 14 local women that are the basis for the recall effort.
The city’s rules provided the mayor the legal right to give the recall effort a written response, which recall organizers must publish before they can collect signatures. Spokeswoman for the recall effort Rachel Liang told U-T San Diego that the mayor didn’t send a copy of the response to the campaign before the midnight deadline, but the campaign would publish it anyway in accordance with the city’s rules.
It was reported over the weekend that in addition to accusations San Diego women have brought against him, Filner was being investigated for allegedly taking women to a popular downtown hotel.
