Just two days after San Diego Mayor Bob Filner headed to treatment for psychiatric issues, two more women — both military veterans — have stepped forward to accuse him of sexual harassment.
Eldonna Fernandez, a retired master sergeant from the Air Force who served 23 years, said Mr. Filner approached her in 2012 — while he was a congressman — at a public event and bluntly spoke of her beauty and his desire to take her to dinner.
“He looks at my [business] card. He looks at me. He says, ’Fernandez. Are you married? Do you have a husband?’ Very quick, very direct. I said, ’No, I’m divorced.’ ’Well, you’re beautiful, and I can’t take my eyes off you, and I want to take you to dinner.’ I was really shocked and I was like, ’Uh, OK,’ ” she said, CNN reported.
That exchange was followed by a phone call and voice mail that Ms. Fernandez described as creepy.
It went like this, she said, in CNN: “Hi, it’s your newly favorite congressman, Bob Filner. You know, the one who fell in love with you at your last speech. … I don’t want to wait ’til you come back to have dinner with you.”
Ms. Fernandez was joined by Army veteran Gerri Tindley in publicly claiming Mr. Filner harassed them in various ways, from outright groping to making verbal and offensive passes, CNN reported.
Mr. Filner denies the charges and says he will be proven innocent by “a full presentation of the facts,” CNN reported. He served 20 years in Congress and then went on to serve as mayor of San Diego, beginning in 2012. He refuses to resign while the charges go forth.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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