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Politics

Emerald, Cole Call On Filner To Resign

Myrtle Cole talks in her campaign office.
Katie Schoolov
Myrtle Cole talks in her campaign office.

Saying "enough is enough,'' Bob Filner's last two supporters on the City Council called today for the embattled San Diego mayor to resign immediately.

Councilwomen Myrtle Cole and Marti Emerald issued a joint statement that pointed to new evidence of Filner's conduct, including statements by members of the mayor's staff to investigators about alleged daily harassment and abuse.

Cole and Emerald, who are closely aligned to the mayor politically, joined the seven other members of the panel in calling on him to step down.

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Cole, who won a special election to join the council in May, had previously backed the mayor's plea for due process rights while allegations of sexual harassment swirled around him.

Emerald, who was attending a governance seminar at Harvard University when the scandal erupted, criticized Filner's conduct upon her return but did not call for his resignation at that time.

"Mayor Bob Filner must resign immediately,'' the councilwomen said in today's joint statement. "Disturbing new evidence about the mayor's conduct makes it crystal clear he can no longer remain the chief executive of the city of San Diego.''

After acknowledging their previous support for the mayor, Cole and Emerald said, "We are shocked by his conduct and his lack of respect for women, his employees and the office he holds.''

So far, 14 women have publicly complained of unwanted advances by the mayor, including two city employees.

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One, former mayoral communications director Irene McCormack Jackson, has sued Filner and the city. Another, a manager who only used her first name of Stacy, has lodged two complaints but has not filed a lawsuit.