Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney has agreed to help San Diego and Tijuana make a binational bid for the 2024 Olympics, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner said today.
In a presentation on budget proposals to the City Council, Filner said he met with the ex-Massachusetts governor on Monday. The mayor said Romney will be an adviser on the effort.
The mayor said he found Romney, who has a home in La Jolla, to be "incredibly down-to-earth and friendly and creative,'' in a way he didn't come across on television.
"He's an incredibly creative and interesting guy,'' Filner said of Romney. "He wants to help us. He wants to do well for our home.''
The mayor is pursuing the summer games even though it would take a rule change for the Olympics to consider a single bid from two nations.
Romney stepped in to lead the organizing committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which had been beset by scandals.
