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San Diego Mayor Bob Filner: A Roundup Of The Sexual Harassment Allegations [UPDATED]

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Bob Filner, when he was a congressional representative, speaks to committee members during a Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation hearing at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol on July 5, 2006. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)
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A third woman has come forward to accuse San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of sexual harassment as more people call for his resignation after just eight months in office.

Morgan Rose, the founder of the nonprofit group America's Angels Campaign, told CNN Wednesday that after she heard about the other accusations, she called a victim's hotline. She said she didn't want to come forward at first for fear her nonprofit would suffer.

Among Rose's claims of Filner's bad behavior:

  • At a 2009 meeting at a Marie Callender's in Chula Vista, when Filner was a congressman, he tried to kiss her at least four times.
  • She says he looked her up and down, stared into her eyes and said, "Your eyes have bewitched me."
  • He then told her, "You'll have to excuse me for what's about to happen. It's your fault."
  • He moved to her side of the booth, sat beside her, pinned her to the wall, and put his arm around her. She said his advances were only interrupted when his cell phone rang.

Political consultant Laura Fink, who served as the deputy manager of Filner's congressional campaign, has her own run-in with the allegedly handsy politician in 2005 at a fundraising event.

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One guest told Filner that Fink "had worked her tokus off," Fink recalled. "The congressman told me to turn around and patted me on the bum and said, 'Nope, it's still there' and laughed." She wrote to Filner's chief of staff and demanded that Filner apologize, she said. She said that he did "mumble" an apology.

The first woman to publicly accuse Filner of harassment is his former spokeswoman, Irene McCormack Jackson, who sued him for sexual harassment Monday.

Among the incidents she's recounted in her 11-page lawsuit, according to Reuters, she says Filner put her in a virtual "head lock" he suggested they get married and asked, "Wouldn't it be great if we consummated the marriage?"

Just last month in the press secretary's City Hall office, he reportedly told her, "When are you going to get naked? Come on and give me a kiss."

"The past six months turned out to be the worst time of my entire working life," McCormack Jackson said at a news conference. She resigned in June.

San Diego city councilwoman Donna Frye has also accused the mayor of harassing women whose names have not been released. One said that the mayor had made unwelcome advances and "jammed his tongue down" her throat. Another woman said that Filner groped her and suggested she stop wearing panties.

The numerous accusations have prompted the the City Council President to advise "uncomfortable" city employees to use an "alternative workspace" farther from the mayor' office "to ensure a safe work environment and maintain productivity," Time reports.

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In a statement issued Monday evening, Filner said he was "saddened" by the accusations, but that he does not plan to resign. Last week he said he believes he will be vindicated by "a full presentation of the facts." But he has also acknowledged, "I need help," and added, "I'm clearly doing something wrong."

"I am embarrassed to admit that I have failed to fully respect the women who work for me and with me, and that at times I have intimidated them," Filner said in a statement earlier this month. "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."

Time notes that on July 9, Filner's fiancée publicly dumped him in a letter citing "the devolvement of our personal relationship."

UPDATE, JULY 26, 3:52 P.M.: At a press conference today, Filner announced he is not resigning, but will go to therapy for two weeks, the Union-Times reported. Since the microphone he was speaking into failed, soon people were tweeting that it was also suing him for harassment.

Related:
Stay Classy, San Diego: Mayor's Office Looks Like It's Imploding (Again) [UPDATED]

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