Filner says he'll play a role
in mayor's race:
He outlines plans for grass-roots alliance offering 'leverage'
San Diego Union Tribune
By Gerry Braun STAFF WRITER
February 2, 1999
Rep. Bob Filner bowed out of the San Diego mayor's race
yesterday -- as a candidate, if not necessarily as a force to be
reckoned with.
Following the announcement that he will seek a fifth term in
Congress next year, Filner, a former city councilman and San
Diego's highest ranking Democrat, said he intends to keep his
hand in hometown politics by helping to determine who
succeeds Susan Golding in 2000.
He outlined plans to create a grass-roots political alliance that
would throw its collective might behind the mayoral candidate
most likely to govern as a Mayor Filner would.
Filner would not disclose the group's membership, but he said
it would draw from organized labor, ethnic minorities,
environmentalists, seniors and educators and other interest
groups seeking "more leverage on the race." The alliance
would publicly interview the prospective candidates before
making its determination, he said.
"Clearly the year 2000 is an important one," Filner said.
"Generally, when there is an open seat, a new direction for the
city is determined.
"This is the coalition I think will be the winning one for this
election. It's the one I would have relied on."
Filner expressed some regret that he will not be running for
mayor himself, declaring that the city desperately needs new
leadership to build an economy that works for all its citizens,
not just certain segments of the community.
"We are in danger of becoming a polarized city, racially and
economically, and that is the one thing that begins the death of
the city, as we've seen in other parts of the country," he
warned.
His own mayoral campaign platform, he said, would have
included greater development of the Port of San Diego into a
true maritime center, expanded programs to help school-aged
children and greater cooperation along the border.
Filner asserted that he could have won the race, had he entered
it. "I certainly thought I had the experience to do this job," he
said. "I had the ability to raise the money that was necessary
and I would have run an aggressive campaign."
But after much contemplation, he said, he determined that he
could accomplish more for San Diego by remaining in
Congress, where he expects the "curtain will be brought down
on an impeachment-obsessed Republican majority" next year
and he will become chairman of a subcommittee or committee.
He noted that San Diego has not had a Democrat with this
much seniority in the House since 1980, when nine-term
incumbent Lionel Van Deerlin was defeated by Republican
Duncan Hunter.
Filner said he made his announcement yesterday, rather than
waiting to see if political factors changed, because "other
people's decisions sort of depend on mine."
"Anybody who hasn't made a decision for this kind of
important job soon isn't going to be able to run an effective
race," he said. "You have to have a long preparation time."
Among the prospective mayoral candidates, perhaps the one
most interested in the outcome of Filner's deliberations was
City Councilman Juan Vargas, who planned to run for Filner's
House seat had the congressman run for mayor.
Vargas said yesterday that he still has not decided whether he
will run for mayor. "I don't think it's a secret that I would love
to be mayor of this city . . . but I'm still in the process of
seeing if it is something that is achievable," he said.
Despite past differences with Filner -- including an
acrimonious congressional primary in 1996 -- Vargas said he
looks forward to sitting down with Filner and his allies.
"It's an interesting concept," Vargas said of the organization
Filner envisioned, adding, "I don't know how workable it is."
Copyright 1999 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Go back to:
San Diego Politics Online
