You probably haven’t heard of Mike Giorgino. But San Diego Mayor Bob Filner knows him.
Giorgino, then an executive board member of the San Diego County Republican Party, ran against Filner for Congress in 2004, criticizing his “left-wing liberal” stances and “irrational” behavior. Giorgino’s the one who first unearthed the infamous “I’m a Congressman and Can Do Whatever I Want” memo that dogged Filner during the recent mayoral campaign.
Tensions between Giorgino and Filner might just have been rekindled. City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, a big political rival of Filner’s, has named Giorgino his new temporary communications director.
To recap the Filner-Goldsmith feud: Filner has questioned Goldsmith’s competency, accused him of corruption, attempted to cut his budget and crashed a city attorney press conference. Goldsmith has said Filner is “impetuous and will do whatever it takes to intimidate others into submission.”
But Giorgino, who’s worked as a prosecutor in the city attorney’s office for almost four years, said his new role isn’t a swipe at the mayor. Giorgino said he is just filling in the media relations role for the time being because one Goldsmith spokesperson is taking a job in the private sector and the other is going on medical leave.
“This is in no way political,” Giorgino said.
“The fact that I have a little bit of political experience just means that I know how to write a press release.”
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