Scandal-Plagued San Diego Mayor Heads Off to Therapy

As 2 more women come forward
By Ruth Brown,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 4, 2013 1:58 PM CDT
Scandal-Plagued San Diego Mayor Heads Off to Therapy
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner speaks during a news conference at city hall, Friday, July 26, 2013, in San Diego. Filner said Friday he will undergo therapy after less than a year in office amid allegations that he sexually harassed women. Filner announced his plan Friday for a two-week stay beginning Aug....   (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Scandalized San Diego Mayor Bob Filner will enter his promised two weeks of intensive therapy tomorrow, in an effort to "become a better person." But his accusers remain skeptical that two weeks is enough to address what he has described as a "failure to respect women," and the AP has spoken to many therapists who agree. "It is pie-in-the-sky to think that in two weeks anyone could be a new man," says one therapist, who specializes in compulsive sexual behavior. "People feel after an inpatient stay that they have things under control. However, when they are back in their usual environment, they're confronted with the same triggers that got them into treatment."

Meanwhile, two more women have accused Filner of inappropriate behavior, bringing the membership of the "Bob Filner said/did something creepy to me" club to 10, reports Fox 5 San Diego. Emily Gilbert, a Marilyn Monroe impersonator, says she was performing at a fundraiser in 2012 when "He grabbed me a little too tight, then proceeded to slide his hand down my arm and then did a little grab on my derriere," she says. And at a benefit in June this year, Renee Estill-Sombright says he held both of her hands, told her, "You are so beautiful and I just cannot take my eyes off of you," and asked if he could take her out sometime. "I kind of felt weird," Estill-Sombright says. (More Bob Filner stories.)

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