San Diego council nixes mayor's request to pay legal fees

Catalina Camia and William M. Welch | USA TODAY

The San Diego City Council rejected Mayor Bob Filner's request that the city pay his legal bills Tuesday and voted to sue the mayor to recover any costs the city incurs over a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by his former communications director/.

The council took the actions on a pair of unanimous votes on the same day an eighth woman went public with accusations the mayor made unwanted advances.

"This is part of due process," City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said. "If Bob Filner engaged in unlawful conduct and the city is held liable, he will have to reimburse us every penny the city pays and its attorney fees."

The dispute over legal costs comes as a pair of competing recall efforts against Filner, who is accused by eight women of behavior such as groping, unwanted kissing and sexual advances, began in earnest Monday.

Lisa Curtin, director of government and military education at San Diego City College, became the eighth woman to go public with allegations about Filner when she told KPBS that he made unwanted advances to her during a meeting in 2011, when he was a Democratic member of Congress, the station reported.

Curtin said that Filner asked to meet with her privately at the conclusion of a business meeting, and that once alone with her he asked about the wedding ring she was wearing. She replied that she had been married for 25 years, she said.

"He then asked me if it could come off while I was in D.C. and if I would go out with him," Curtin said. "I said I really didn't think so. And at that point, he pulled my hand closer to him and he reached over to kiss me. I turned my head at that moment and on the side of my face, I got a very wet, saliva-filled kiss including feeling his tongue on my cheek."

Curtin said she did not report the incident to police at the time but has since reported it to the San Diego Sheriff's Department, which has established a hotline for reports of alleged misconduct by the mayor.

Irene McCormack Jackson, Filner's former aide, filed suit against the mayor and the city last week alleging, among other things, that the mayor told her he wanted to see her naked and asked her to work without wearing underwear.

Filner apologized for his behavior and said he would undergo "intensive therapy" for two weeks starting Aug. 5. The former Democratic congressman, who was elected to the city post in November, has rejected repeated calls to resign.

Seven of the nine San Diego City Council members have called on Filner to step down. Resignation calls have also come from top Democrats such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the state's senior senator, and national party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

"Intimidating women is not in Mayor Filner's job description,'' council member Kevin Faulconer said. "His employer -- San Diego taxpayers -- shouldn't have to bail him out of the mess he created.''.

Filner has hired a private attorney, Harvey Berger, to defend him in the lawsuit.

Filner is the first Democratic mayor of the nation's eighth most populous city in 20 years.

Contributing: Associated Press

Follow @ccamia on Twitter.