REPORT: San Diego Mayor Wants "Time Off" For Therapy After Sex Harassment Allegations
Filner is expected to make a public statement at noon pacific time. He has been accused of sexual harassment by seven women, some of them quite prominent in San Diego.
A large majority of the San Diego Democratic Committee has called for Filner to resign, as has Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
It's not obvious what it would mean for Filner to take "time off." In 2006, then-San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre issued a letter making clear that, unlike in some other California cities, there is no provision in San Diego's city charter for a temporary transfer of mayoral powers.
If Filner resigns or is removed from office, there will be a special election to replace him, and the chairman of the City Council will exercise mayoral powers in the interim. But so long as Filner remains mayor, there will be some powers (such as the ability to veto legislation) that only he can exercise.
In other words, the "time off" gambit isn't likely to work.