Reuters: Politics: Backers of embattled San Diego mayor rally amid talks by lawyers

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Backers of embattled San Diego mayor rally amid talks by lawyers Aug 20th 2013, 04:14 1 of 5. Supporters of San Diego Mayor Bob Filner hold a rally in San Diego, California August 19, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO | Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:14am EDT SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Supporters of San Diego Mayor Bob Filner protested on Monday what they said were unfair attempts to oust him over sexual harassment accusations, even as the mayor's lawyers were negotiating with celebrity attorney Gloria Allred over a possible settlement with one of his accusers. The rally by some 100 people came on the first day that Filner, who has resisted mounting pressure to resign in the face of allegations of unwanted sexual advances by 16 women, was due back at work following a leave of absence to seek therapy. Filner was not seen at his City Hall offices by early afternoon, and local media reported he had gone into a downtown San Diego office building where negotiations were under way between his lawyers and attorneys for former aide Irene McCormack Jackson, who sued him for sexual harassment in July. Allred, who represents Jackson, confirmed that the negotiations were ongoing, but said they will not continue tomorrow. She said that retired Judge Larry Irving, a highly respected mediator, conducted the sessions in his downtown office until after 6:00 p.m. Allred did not reveal any details about the negotiations, saying that Irving asked that all parties refrain from talking about them. During the demonstration, Filner's supporters complained that the 70-year-old veteran politician had been denied due process by those seeking his removal from office. The allegations have prompted nearly every elected official of both parties in San Diego, California's second-largest city, to call on Filner to resign, along with the San Diego County Democratic Central Committee. But the mayor has so far refused to stand down. Instead, he has publicly apologized for what he has acknowledged was a pattern of disrespectful and intimidating treatment of women and took a brief leave of absence to enter behavior modification therapy at an undisclosed clinic. His lawyers say he has since left the clinic but was taking some additional time off last week before returning to work. On Sunday, volunteers began collecting signatures seeking to force a recall election for Filner. They will need to amass at least 102,000 valid signatures within 39 days, by September 26, to qualify a recall vote for the ballot, a deadline that some experts have said would be difficult to meet. But Michael Pallamary, a local Republican activist who helped spearhead the bipartisan campaign, said the effort got off to a brisk start with volunteers collecting many thousands of signatures during the first day spent circulating petitions. (Writing and additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sharon Bernstein and Eric Walsh) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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