By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO–I think it is in the city’s best interest if Mayor Bob Filner reasserts his position as the elected leader of our city and stops feeling he has to avoid public appearances or meetings with the news media.
For the benefit of the City of San Diego, Mayor Filner needs to change the public conversation to the important issues that face the City of San Diego, and which will continue to face us whether he, or someone else, is in office. He needs to again assert leadership on public policy issues. To do that, he needs to make public appearances, discuss his views, propose policy initiatives.
Even Filner’s most vociferous critics will concede that on various matters of public policy, he has consistently come to the aid of society’s underdogs, always trying to elevate the status of the “have-nots.” However long his tenure may be in office, the mayor should continue his quest to make our society more equal and to improve the quality of life in San Diego.
The mayor took an important step toward accomplishing the latter goal when he appointed Walt Ekard, the county’s former chief administrative officer, to run the day-to-day business of the city.
Now, I believe, it is in both the City of San Diego’s and Mayor Filner’s best interests to channel to the justice system all discussion about whether his behavior with women amounts to sexual harassment. If the media wants to talk to him about these issues, the mayor politely should refer his questioners to his attorney. The attorney then can decide to respond or not respond as appropriate.
On the other hand, if the media wants to talk to Filner about other policy issues — such as how to tend to the problems of the homeless, prepare for the centennial of Balboa Park, cooperate with Tijuana, appropriately utilize our beaches, further develop our mass transit system, assure that our police and fire services are at appropriate strength, and so on and so forth — then the mayor should be prepared to discuss these issues in depth with the media. In fact, he should seek such opportunities.
Assuming that Donna Frye and attorneys Cory Briggs and Marco Gonzalez persuade Filner’s alleged victims to file a claim against the city, or a lawsuit, the mayor and his detractors eventually will have the opportunity to resolve the issue of alleged sexual harassment in an appropriate forum.
Mayor Filner should know that the accusations of sexual harassment will only define his years of public service if he stops being the public policy leader he once was.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com