A great-grandmother says Mayor Bob Filner asked her if she thought he could "go for eight hours". The woman is the sixteenth to come forward with claims of sexual harassment against the mayor. Peggy Shannon, 67, works part-time at San Diego City Hall's senior citizens service desk to supplement her Social Security income.Rico says it would be one thing if the guy was young and cute, but he ain't:
"My co-workers and I would laugh about it, at first," Shannon said at a recent afternoon news conference. However, she said it got worse. Shannon said Filner grabbed and kissed her. "I knew he was engaged and I felt very shocked," she said. "On the day that Mayor Filner grabbed me and kissed me, I went home and cried."
Attorney Gloria Allred said Filner approached Shannon one time and said: "Do you think I could go eight hours, straight?"
Shannon said she was shocked and hurt. "I was working and had to get myself together to continue my job," Shannon said. "I went home and cried again."
Shannon said she immediately told her supervisor, and Allred said there is an open investigation with the city's Equal Employment Investigations Office.
Shannon described the timeline of Filner's video apology and then his statement that he'd done nothing wrong the next day. "I feel now he was not sorry; it was all bad," Shannon said. "I want to do the right thing for San Diego. Mayor Filner should resign immediately," Shannon said. "I want to protect working women."
The great-grandmother said she is afraid to go back to work, but went back to her post anyway. She sobbed through most of her statement to the media.
"Your days of fun and games and the sexual harassment of women are over," Allred said about Filner. "It is time for you to go." Allred was asked about Filner's therapy and if she thought he really went, based on inconsistent statements by Filner's attorney and his staff, as Team 10 has reported.
Allred said while that was "interesting", she was more concerned with getting his deposition for her case against Filner, filed by his former communications director, the only lawsuit filed so far.
Earlier, attorney Kathryn Vaughn became the fifteenth woman to come forward with sexual harassment accusations against Filner. Vaughn told a local media outlet that she encountered Filner, then a congressman, at a public event about ten years ago. "He made an inappropriate movement on my body, yes," Vaughn said when asked if she was groped. She said she "let it go, and moved on" instead of reporting the incident. Vaughn said she will lead a rally and march demanding Filner's resignation as mayor. The event coincides with the first day that organizers of a recall campaign can collect signature petitions. Allred said she would be in attendance.
Another city employee said she filed two complaints, and other accusers include a retired admiral, a dean at San Diego State University, and two veterans at a meeting of women who had been raped during their military service.
The San Diego Sheriff's Department, which is conducting a criminal investigation, operates a hotline for women to report sexual harassment by Filner. The number is 619-481-0220.
Filner has refused to resign, and maintains his innocence on all sexual harassment claims.
15 August 2013
A great-grandma? Really?
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