Filner accuser settles for $250,000

The first woman to come forward publicly to accuse former Mayor Bob Filner of sexual harassment has settled her lawsuit against Filner and the city for $250,000.

The City Council unanimously approved the settlement Monday for Irene McCormack Jackson, 57, who served as Filner’s communications director from January to June 2013. She had accused Filner of repeated sexual advances and lewd comments, such as suggesting she work without her panties and that they should get married, while working for him.

Filner, 71, resigned Aug. 30 after nearly 20 women told similar stories of inappropriate sexual behavior, such as touching and kissing. He is currently serving three months of house arrest after pleading guilty to felony false imprisonment and two misdemeanor counts of battery, stemming from his interactions with three unnamed female victims.

The settlement came a day before a special runoff election between City Council members David Alvarez and Kevin Faulconer to determine who will serve the remaining 33 months of Filner’s term.

McCormack Jackson, who had sought $1.5 million in her lawsuit, and her attorney Gloria Allred planned to hold a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and declined to comment until then.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said he recommended the settlement because the costs to both sides to prepare for a trial set to begin next February would have far exceeded $250,000. He said McCormack Jackson handled the whole situation with dignity and called her courageous for bringing Filner’s behavior to light.

“This is a big step toward putting this behind our community,” Goldsmith said. “I think we do need to move on.”

The terms of the settlement call for McCormack Jackson, who has been on unpaid leave since Sept. 27, to drop all current and future claims against the city related to Filner’s behavior and for both sides to pay their own legal fees. She also voluntarily agreed to resign from city employment on April 1. Goldsmith said he didn’t know why she chose that date.

Filner bears no financial responsibility for the settlement because the city agreed to defend him in the case as a condition of his resignation. The city, however, does reserve the right to go after Filner for damages related to other claims made against him.

Fellow Filner accusers on Monday applauded McCormack Jackson for courageously stepping forward and starting the avalanche that led to Filner’s downfall.

“Irene is a strong woman but this thing really set her for a loop,” said San Diego Port Tenants Association President Sharon Bernie-Cloward, a friend of McCormack Jackson and one of a number of high-profile women who last year accused Filner of unwanted sexual advances. “She deserves every cent and more. She’s like a hero to me. She left her job at the port to work for Bob Filner to make change. You wonder how much worse this would have gotten without her coming forward.”

San Diego political consultant Laura Fink, the second woman to come forward last year, agreed that McCormack Jackson’s lawsuit was a pivotal step in helping force Filner from office.

“Her lawsuit played a significant role in securing Bob Filner’s resignation, curtailing future damage to our great city,” Fink said in a written statement. “She deserves remuneration for her lost wages, and for the reprehensible behavior she has had to endure while simply doing her job.”

It’s difficult to say how the settlement compares with payments in sexual harassment cases because details vary and often are not public.

San Diego County paid a $100,000 settlement in 2002 when then-Treasurer Bart Hartman was accused of sexual harassment. A Los Angeles firefighter won a $220,000 settlement in 2006 after accusing his captain of repeated lewd and sexually suggestive comments and gestures. And Riverside County paid $490,000 to settle a harassment suit earlier this year accusing a top health official of unwanted and inappropriate advances.

McCormack Jackson, a Rancho San Diego resident, is a familiar figure in local newsrooms and board rooms. Beginning as a student intern in 1977, McCormack Jackson logged more than 26 years at San Diego newspapers. At The San Diego Union and its successor, The San Diego Union-Tribune, she was a reporter and assistant city editor. She covered everything from wildfires to murders to hate crimes.

Divorced and the mother of two grown daughters, McCormack Jackson left the newspaper in October 2003 to become the Port of San Diego’s director of communications and community services. At the end of her nine-year tenure, she was vice president in charge of external relations and public policy.

She left that job and took a roughly $50,000-a-year pay cut to work as Filner’s top spokeswoman shortly after he took office. Her annual salary was $125,000 with the city so the settlement she received is essentially two years’ pay.

She left the Mayor’s Office for undisclosed reasons in June and didn’t speak publicly about the departure until July 22 when she filed a lawsuit against Filner and the city. She accused her boss of subjecting her to “various forms of verbal and physical sexual harassment,” including putting his arm around her neck in what became known as a “Filner headlock” to pull her close to him and trying to kiss her without permission.

The comments McCormack Jackson says Filner made included: “I would do a better job if you kissed me,” “When are you going to get naked?” “Wouldn’t it be great if you took off your panties and worked without them on?” and “When are we going to get married? Wouldn’t it be great if we consummated the marriage?”

“I had to work and do my job in an atmosphere where women were viewed by Mayor Filner as sexual objects or stupid idiots,” McCormack Jackson said in July.

The response to Monday’s settlement from city leaders was one of universal praise for McCormack Jackson.

Interim Mayor Todd Gloria said “she deserves the gratitude of our city for standing up courageously against treatment no one should ever endure,” he said.

Both mayoral candidates voted in favor of the settlement.

“This is a fair agreement for taxpayers, and as mayor I will continue to lead our city past this difficult time and restore integrity to City Hall,” Faulconer said. “I commend Irene McCormack Jackson for her courage, and thank City Attorney Goldsmith for working tirelessly toward this agreement.”

Alvarez said, “I am glad to close this chapter in our city’s history and, as mayor, I am looking forward to continuing the stability and confidence that interim Mayor Todd Gloria restored at City Hall.”

The city isn’t quite done dealing with the mess Filner left behind despite Tuesday’s election. Two other women have sued Filner and the city over his alleged misconduct.

Stacy McKenzie, a city parks official, contends the ex-mayor grabbed her from behind, put her in a headlock and rubbed her breasts at an event at a city park. Michelle Tyler was seeking help for a friend, a Marine veteran, when she says Filner demanded a personal and sexual relationship.

Attorney Dan Gilleon, who represents McKenzie, said Monday he thought the settlement seemed low. He plans to file another lawsuit on behalf of Marilyn McGaughy, an advocate against domestic violence who alleged that Filner kissed and groped her while at a school event last year.

“It just doesn’t seem like Ms. Jackson was interested in taking Filner’s deposition and discovering whether there was ample evidence that people in the city knew Mr. Filner was assaulting women and didn’t do anything about it,” he said. “His deposition would be very enlightening.”

Gilleon said he expects to depose Filner as early as March.