Bob Filner Reaches a Deal With San Diego

On the same day that an 18th woman accused Bob Filner of sexual misconduct, the troubled San Diego mayor reportedly reached a mediation deal with the city.

On the same day that an 18th woman accused Bob Filner of sexual misconduct, the troubled San Diego mayor reportedly reached a mediation deal with the city. The details of that deal, reached after three days of negotiation, are going to stay under wraps until Friday, according to CNN. At that point, the city council will vote on the negotiation in a closed session.

While the unfolding scandal of San Diego's first progressive mayor in decades has been anything but predictable, there are a couple educated guesses out there on what might happen next. As the Atlantic Wire reported on Monday, the mayor might offer his resignation in exchange for immunity or a lighter punishment in the face of any charges filed against him (he's already being sued by one former employee). Filner, and his legal team, have walked a fine line between admission and denial: the mayor has indicated that he conducted himself inappropriately, but denies that his actions constitute sexual harassment legally. In any case, the pressure to resign — which he's resisted so far — only mounted after Filner took three weeks away from city hall, in part for therapy related to the sexual harassment accusations. Filner is currently the subject of a recall petition, which started circulating around San Diego on Sunday. Even if that recall succeeds, and Filner's opponents get to elect a new mayor, the whole recall process would take months.

Today marked Filner's first public appearance since his break from office. After stopping at his offices, the mayor left for the negotiating session at another location. 10 News has a few more details on those negotiations, noting that they seem to include attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing Filner's former communications director Irene McCormack Jackson in a suit:

Sources have told Team 10 that Filner's resignation was part of the talks. Meanwhile, U-T San Diego reported that a key point in the discussion surrounded limiting the amount of money that the taxpayers and the city would have to pay McCormack Jackson.

Meanwhile, it looks like the Democratic National Committee is getting ready to throw their weight behind any effort to remove Filner from office. Yesterday, the DNC indicated that they were ready to vote on a resolution calling for his resignation, and would support the current recall campaign should the mayor refuse.

Eighteen women, three of whom are former employees, have accused the mayor of everything ranging from inappropriate comments to groping and kissing without consent. Filner, 70, served in congress for two decades before becoming San Diego's mayor at the beginning of this year.