Allied Gardens August 2013
• Del Cerro • Grantville • College Area • Northern La Mesa • Rolando • San Carlos • Fletcher Hills On the Internet at www.MissionTimesCourier.com
Volume XIX – Number 8
NO LOVE FOR FILNER MAYOR LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
MUST RESIGN By Genevieve A. Suzuki
There was a time when men like Don Draper ruled the office. It was OK to ogle a woman as she walked down the hall at the office or make remarks about her sex appeal to co-workers. Thankfully, those days have been long over – not that you’d know that by Mayor Bob Filner’s alleged actions. On July 11, attorney Marco Gonzalez, joined by San Diego City Councilmember Donna Frye, announced he represented sev-
By Jeremy Ogul After weeks of scandalous but anonymous accusations made through third parties, a city worker who accused San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of sexual harassment finally went public July 22. Irene McCormack Jackson, who worked in City Hall as Filner’s communications chief, filed suit against Filner in San Diego County Superior Court. Jackson and her attorney, Gloria Allred, announced the lawsuit in a damn-
ing press conference. Allred and Jackson claim Filner frequently put Jackson in a headlock and dragged her around, whispering unwelcome sexual comments in her ear. He told her he wanted to see her naked, that he wanted to consummate their relationship, that he wanted to marry her and that he wanted her to come to work without her panties on, Allred and Jackson said. “We did not have a relationship other than work,” Jackson said. “That is all I wanted, and I never
gave him any reason to think otherwise.” Jackson, a veteran journalist and former vice president of public policy at the Port of San Diego, said she took a $50,000-pay cut to join Filner’s administration because she believed in Filner’s agenda. She quickly began to feel uncomfortable at work, however. “His behavior made me feel ashamed, frightened and violated,” Jackson said. See FILNER page 11
City Leaves Kumeyaay Lake Campground Out in the Cold
These expenses include maintenance and upgrades of equipment such as power transmission lines and the implementation of new technologies that will allow the company to meet the conservation and renewable production standards set forth by state law. The operating budget does not include power generation or purchasing costs. Under the current rate struc-
eral women who are alleging they were sexually harassed by Filner. Frye did him one better by asking for Filner’s resignation. Filner replied later in the day by releasing a mea culpa DVD that all at once disgusted and incensed me as a woman and as a person who works in San Diego. “When a friend like Donna Frye is compelled to call for my resignation, I’m clearly doing something wrong,” said Filner, who continued by claiming he reached into his “heart and soul” and realized he “must and will” change his behavior. Filner further said he’s spent a lifetime fighting for equality for all people and he’s embarrassed to admit he “failed to respect” women who’ve worked for him and that at times he’s “intimidated” them. “It’s a good thing that behavior that would have been tolerated in the past is being called out in this generation for what it is – inappropriate and wrong,” he said. Was there a time machine that pulled Filner from the ‘60s and plopped him into 2013? In fact, I have female colleagues in the law who have been raging against sexual harassment since the ‘50s. Worse, I’d think that Filner, who once taught history, of
See RATES page 11
See RESIGN page 17
By Jeremy Ogul
Just a few months ago it looked like the city of San Diego had finally scrounged enough money to reopen overnight camping at the Kumeyaay Lake Campground in Mission Trails Regional Park. Those plans were foiled in June, however, when the city’s pension board voted to charge the city more than the mayor or the city council had anticipated. As a result, about $4 million See KUMEYAAY page 2
SDG&E Rates Set to Rise Sept. 1 By Andy Cohen
Many San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) customers are about to see their utility bills go up. The company, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, received approval May 9 from the California Public Utilities Commission to increase the rates charged to some consumers, with the new rates taking effect Sept. 1. Utility rates in the State of California are set on a four-year
basis. Every four years, the state’s utility companies must present a proposed operating budget that will meet their expenses plus a profit margin for investors.