San Diego to get a gay mayor
San Diego has a long reputation as a mecca of political conservatism, but that image could crumble after the resignation Friday of its mayor, Bob Filner, in the face of allegations of sexual harassment. His replacement will be a gay man, making San Diego the nation's second-largest city to be led by an openly gay person.
The City Council voted 7-0 Friday to approve a deal to accept Filner's resignation in exchange for covering some of his legal expenses related to the harassment allegations involving city employees. A spokesman for California Attorney General Kamala Harris said Friday that Harris has opened a criminal investigation into Filner but declined to elaborate.
According to the City Charter rules, City Council President Todd Gloria will become acting mayor when Filner, the city's first Democratic mayor in 20 years, leaves office Friday. An election will be held within 90 days.
Including Gloria, at least four of the potential candidates lining up to replace Filner are gay, including one Republican. It's another significant milestone in the ascending political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community when the nation's eighth-largest city - and one with a well-earned conservative reputation - has a gay chief executive.
The reaction to these milestones in San Diego, where former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson was once mayor: meh. It's not even the first time it's happened in San Diego. The city briefly had an interim mayor who was gay in 2005 after then-Mayor Dick Murphy resigned in the middle of a financial crisis.
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http://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/San-Diego-to-get-a-gay-mayor-4757176.php