Filner Announces Leave of Absence, Will Do 2-Week ‘Intensive Therapy’

Mayor Bob Filner apologized Friday ”to the women I have offended” but said in a hastily called news conference he will take a leave of absence starting Aug. 5 to enter a “behavioral counseling clinic.” 

“I am responsible for my conduct. ... I must become a better person,” Filner said at City Hall, where he had to repeat his announcement after his microphone failed midway through his first remarks.

Filner didn’t say where his “intensive therapy” would take place, but said his two-week leave of absence would include San Diego City Hall briefings before and after the sessions.

He would not accept questions, including shouted ones asking whether he would resign.

Also see:

• ‘Don't Be a Jerk’: San Diego Talks About Filner Seeking Therapy
• La Jolla's Councilwoman Asks Mayor Filner to Resign
• City to Consider Amending Recall Laws In Wake of Mayor Filner Scandal

The announcement (see text of statement via KPBS) came hours after the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee called on Filner to resign. That follows the same demands Thursday night by the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee.  

Filner rebuffed calls for his resignation in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

Speaking to a packed room of reporters, Filner again apologized for what he called a failure to respect women and for his “intimidating conduct.”

“However, words along are not enough,” he said.  “I am responsible for my conduct and I must take responsibility for my conduct by taking action so that such conduct does not ever happen again.”

The embattled Democratic mayor began his remarks by condemning his own actions.

“Let me be absolutely clear,” he said. “The behavior I have engaged in over many years is wrong. My failure to respect women and the intimidating conduct I engaged in at times is inexcusable.

“It has undermined what I have spent my whole professional life doing and working on, and that is fighting for equality and justice for all people,”

he said. “It is simply not acceptable for me to try to explain away my conduct as the product of the standards of a different generation.”

In a statement taking less than 3 minutes, he said he will return to the mayor’s office Aug. 19.

His news conference was interrupted when the audio system failed, cutting off the multiple live television and Internet feeds of his remarks.

Filner stepped back into his office while the system was repaired, and returned about 10 minutes later to complete his remarks.

During the time he is away, Filner said he would receive daily briefings on city business. The City Council is not scheduled to meet next month.

Since the allegations were first aired two weeks ago, the former congressman has faced a torrent of criticism and calls for his resignation.

Earlier Friday, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, called Filner’s alleged misconduct “reprehensible and indefensible” and called on the mayor to step down “for the good of the city of San Diego.”

Shortly before Filner spoke, land-use consultant Michael Pallamary delivered a letter to the mayor’s office demanding that he step down by 5 p.m. Monday or face a recall campaign.

A “Recall Bob Filner” Facebook page Pallamary started last month has garnered nearly 6,800 “likes.”

Voice of San Diego reported that LGBT activist Stampp Corbin, the owner and publisher of LGBT Weekly, took out an advertisement in U-T San Diego to signal his intent to start a recall campaign.

Pallamary or Corbin would need to collect about 102,000 valid signatures to qualify a recall election for a citywide ballot.

Filner finished by saying, “And my hope is that by becoming a better person, I put myself in a position to someday be forgiven. However, before I can even think of asking for forgiveness, I need to demonstrate that my behavior has changed. And that will only happen over time and only if such incidents never, ever happen again.”

Filner made his remarks a day after the San Diego Democratic Party Central Committee voted 34-6 to condemn his actions and demand his resignation.

“We are not here to determine guilt or innocence,” party Chairwoman Francine Busby said. “However, in the best interest of the city, the San Diego County Democratic Party has voted to ask Mayor Filner to step down, seek the personal help that he needs, and allow San Diego to move forward.”

—City News Service contributed to this report.