Bob Filner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bob Filner
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Official portrait, 2013
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| 35th Mayor of San Diego | |
| In office December 3, 2012 – August 30, 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Jerry Sanders |
| Succeeded by | Todd Gloria (Acting) |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California |
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| In office January 3, 1993 – December 3, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | New Constituency (Redistricting) |
| Succeeded by | Juan Vargas |
| Constituency | 50th district (1993–2003) 51st district (2003–2012) |
| Ranking Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2011 – December 3, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Steve Buyer |
| Succeeded by | Mike Michaud |
| Chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee | |
| In office January 4, 2007 – January 3, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Steve Buyer |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Miller |
| Member of the San Diego City Council from the 8th district | |
| In office December 1987 – January 3, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Uvaldo Martinez |
| Succeeded by | Juan Vargas |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert Earl Filner
September 4, 1942 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 20, 2025 (aged 82) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | Barbara Christy (divorced) Jane Merrill (divorced) |
| Residences | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Cornell University (BA, PhD) University of Delaware (MA) |
| Occupation | College professor |
Robert Earl Filner (September 4, 1942 – April 20, 2025) was an American former politician who was the 35th mayor of San Diego from December 2012 through August 2013.
Filner was previously the U.S. representative for California's 51st congressional district, and the 50th, serving from 1993 to 2012. He was chair of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs from 2007 to 2011.
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Early life and education
Filner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood. He is Jewish, the son of Sarah F. and Joseph H. Filner. His father was a labor union organizer, U.S. Army veteran and later international metal trader.
He attended Cornell University, where he worked on The Cornell Daily Sun, a student newspaper, and took part in civil rights demonstrations. In June 1961, after pulling into the bus station in Jackson, Mississippi, as a Freedom Rider, Filner was arrested for "disturbing the peace and inciting a riot." He refused to post bond for his release and remained incarcerated for two months.
He graduated from Cornell in 1963 with a degree in chemistry, and earned his doctorate in history of science from Cornell six years later.
Career
While completing his PhD, he moved to San Diego, becoming a history professor at San Diego State University for more than 20 years.
Filner worked for U.S. Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota in 1975 and for Minnesota congressman Don Fraser in 1976. He also worked for Congressman Jim Bates from the San Diego area in 1984.
His elective career began in 1979, when his opposition to the closing of a neighborhood school led him to run for the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education, defeating a longtime incumbent. His "back to basics" approach to education won him wide praise, and his colleagues elected him president of the board in 1982. He was elected to the San Diego City Council in 1987 and was reelected in 1991; his colleagues elected him deputy mayor of San Diego.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
California gained seven seats after the 1990 census, and one of them was the 50th District in south San Diego (renumbered the 51st District after the 2000 census). The district is one of the most ethnically diverse in the nation, including much of San Diego's southern section, the cities of Chula Vista and National City and all of Imperial County. It includes most of California's border with Mexico, except for the city of Imperial Beach. In 1992, Filner ran in a five-way Democratic primary for the seat and won a narrow victory. One of his primary opponents was his former boss, Jim Bates.
Another opponent was veteran state Senator Wadie Deddeh, who was term-limited. Filner defeated Deddeh by a narrow margin, with Bates finishing third place in the primary. The district was almost 40% Hispanic (redistricting in 2000 made it 53% Hispanic) and heavily Democratic, and his victory in November (with 57 percent of the vote) was a foregone conclusion. He was reelected nine times with no substantive Republican opposition. He ran unopposed in 1998. He chose not to run for re-election to Congress in 2012, opting instead to run for mayor of San Diego. He resigned from the House of Representatives on December 3, 2012, in order to take office as Mayor of San Diego.
Filner had a bitter rivalry with Juan Vargas, another Democratic politician who ran against Filner in the Democratic primary three times. Filner and Vargas accused each other of corruption. However, in the 2012 mayoral race, Vargas endorsed Filner for Mayor of San Diego and Vargas was elected to Filner's seat in Congress.
Tenure
Filner was a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He was also a member of the Congressional Motorcycle Safety Caucus and International Conservation Caucus. He was one of the 31 House Democrats who voted to not count the 20 electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 presidential election, despite Republican President George Bush winning the state by 118,457 votes. In 2008, Filner sponsored a resolution, passed by the House of Representatives, in support of National Aviation Maintenance Technician Day. While in congress, Filner was known for his combative personality, and for personally dealing with constituent issues.
- Veterans issues
Filner served on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and ascended to the chairmanship when the Democrats took over the House of Representatives after the 2006 election. As chairman, Filner advocated for funding for veterans benefits, increased spending on veterans healthcare, and a new GI bill for veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq. Filner stayed on as ranking Democrat on the committee after the Republicans retook the House in the 2010 election.
- Filipino issues
Filner's district in south San Diego had one of the largest populations of Filipino Americans in the country, leading Filner to focus on issues relevant to the Philippines while in congress, especially Filipino veterans. Filner's accomplishments included legislation allowing Filipino veterans to maintain a small stipend from the government if they moved back to the Philippines, burial benefits, and access to VA clinics. In 2009 Filner brokered a deal securing $198 million in pension benefits for Filipino veterans who had served for the United States in World War II in the form of a $15,000 lump sum payment as part of the 2009 stimulus bill. In February 2009, Rep. Antonio Diaz filed a bill in the Philippine House of Representatives seeking to confer honorary Filipino citizenship on Filner and U.S. Senators Daniel Inouye, Daniel Akaka, and Ted Stevens for their role in securing the passage of this legislation.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Aviation
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
- Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs (Ranking Member)
Mayor of San Diego
Election
Filner announced on June 8, 2011, that he would be a candidate for mayor of San Diego in the 2012 election and would not run for re-election to Congress. In the primary on June 5, 2012, he placed second with 30.7% of the vote. He faced city councilmember Carl DeMaio in the November 2012 runoff election. Filner defeated DeMaio, 52.5% to 47.5%. Filner, age 70, won as San Diego's first elected Democratic mayor since 1992 and only its second since 1971.
Tenure
In his first speech as mayor, Filner promised to focus on rebuilding the neighborhoods of San Diego, improving city services, increasing staffing for public safety, bringing jobs to the city, and developing stronger regional ties with Tijuana.
Personal life
Filner divorced from his first wife, Barbara (Christy) Filner, a retired mediation specialist whom he met when they both taught in a summer program in the early 1960s at Tuskegee University (then Institute). They had two adult children, a son and a daughter.
Filner was later married to Jane Merrill, but they divorced in 2011.
At his first news conference after his election as mayor in 2012, Filner introduced his fiancée, Bronwyn Ingram, a disability analyst who worked for the Social Security Administration. On July 8, 2013, Ingram announced by email to a group of her supporters that the engagement had been called off and the relationship was over.
Filner died on April 20, 2025 at 82 years old.
See also
In Spanish: Bob Filner para niños
