On a day when the 18th woman came forward to accuse him of sexual harrassment, San Diego’s beleaguered Mayor Bob Filner reportedly reached a deal in mediation — and if you had to place money based on reports, you’d say he’s likely to resign. The website of KPBS, the public broadcasting station that has been ahead of much of the local media on this story, gives these details:
Mediation is over for mayor Bob Filner, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
A proposed resolution has been reached on the third day of mediation for San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, but the actual contents of the proposal are still confidential. The mayor has been in talks with the City Attorney, members of City Council, and Gloria Allred– the lawyer representing the former communications officer suing the mayor and the city.
Allred has called a press conference in Los Angeles tomorrow, where she and Filner’s former fiancee, Bronwyn Ingram, will speak. Both women have called on Filner to resign in the past. Allred said in a press release that she would address the “latest reports about Mayor Filner and a reported deal with him.”
The San Diego City Council will put that proposed deal to a vote during a closed-session meeting Friday afternoon, 10 News reports.
KPBS confirmed that the Council will meet in closed session at 1 o’clock to consider the settlement. The results of the vote will be announced afterwards in a public session, and the media and the public are welcome to attend.
And this certainly suggests something is in the works about Filner’s term in office:
On Twitter, Diana Palacios, who works in Councilmember Scott Sherman’s office, posted pictures of boxes being loaded into a black SUV she claims belongs to the mayor.
Some details about the 18th woman:
Dianne York, president and CEO of The Spa of La Jolla, told CNN that during a meeting with Filner three months ago, he put his hands on her buttocks while a photo was being taken and others were present in the room.
The first woman to accuse Filner of unwanted advances, groping or, in some instances, forced kissing, was his former communications director, Irene Jackson McCormack. She has sued the mayor and the city for unspecified damages.
Mediation between Filner, lawyers and city officials began Monday. All parties have refused to say whether they would go into a third day of negotiations today — negotiations reported to be dealing in part with the possibility of Filner’s resignation.
GO HERE to read this backgrounder on the Filner scandal.
And here’s my take on it in my weekly syndicated column for Cagle Cartoons.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.