San Diego Mayor Allegedly Told Staffer to ‘Not Wear Panties to Work'

Last night, four women appeared on San Diego’s KPBS-TV to break their silence over alleged sexual harassment from Mayor Bob Filner. Allegations first surfaced in mid-July, but the mayor has since refused to resign. Two hours after the show, Democratic party leaders voted in favor of asking the mayor to quit.

The women tell some harrowing stories:

“It made me very, very angry,” said Veronica Froman, a retired Navy rear-admiral who recalled how Mr. Filner had blocked her from exiting a room after a meeting. Then, she said, he slid his finger down her cheek as he asked her if she had a man in her life.

“Enough is enough,” said Ms. Froman, who had previously worked for the former mayor, a Republican. “There are young women working with him and to think that my silence is effecting those young women is devastating. It is time we stood up and say we can not have this amoral man leading our city.”

But wait, there’s more!

On Monday, Irene McCormack Jackson, his former communications chief, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. She said that the mayor had groped and tried to kiss her while she was working in her City Hall office and he had also suggested she should not wear panties to work.

And so on and so forth.

The women said they decided to speak out because they were fearful of retribution in the past, but they don’t want younger lady staff members to be subjected to the same inappropriate bullshit they endured.