Former Mayor, San Diego Business Leaders Call for Filner's Resignation

Former Mayor, San Diego Business Leaders Call for Filner's Resignation

Former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and 31 San Diego businesses are calling for Mayor Bob Filner to resign in light of sexual harassment accusations because they are hurting businesses.

Sanders is now president and chief executive of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. He was mayor from 2005 – 2012 and before that he was a police chief. The Business Leadership Alliance met on Thursday afternoon to decide if they should call for his resignation. From The LA Times:

Sanders said that business leaders have been reluctant to get involved because it would look like an effort to remove a mayor that they do not like. But things have reached a breaking point, Sanders said in a round of media interviews.

Sanders said that business is “paralyzed” because of uncertainty. He noted that in at least three high-profile cases, one involving construction of a new Jack ‘n the Box restaurant [sic], Filner has used his mayoral authority to withdraw city permission to build.

Mark Cafferty, CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, said any talks about expanding businesses in San Diego are about the Mayor and the allegations. Additionally, he cannot send his female employees to meet with the Mayor. From San Diego 6:

“It has become impossible to ignore how interconnected our region’s economic development efforts are with the mayor’s office,” Cafferty said. “This interconnectedness is becoming more of a detriment every day.”

Fellow Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Debbie Wasserman-Shultz have called on Mayor Filner to resign. However, President Barack Obama has remained silent on the issue.  

The Deputy Mayor of Escondido came forward yesterday and said Filner she had a creepy experience with the Mayor, bringing the total to nine women alleging inappropriate behavior by Filner.

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