This Week in the Mayor’s Race: An Emotional Rollercoaster

Former Mayor Bob Filner darkened the door of his old office this week – in the abstract, at least – offering a sobering reminder of why we’re in an election cycle again so soon.

Following this summer’s sexual harassment scandal, Filner pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor battery and one felony count of false imprisonment. His decision spares him time in prison and the messy ordeal of a trial.

Candidates Nathan Fletcher, who landed the endorsement of the Police Officers Association this week, and Kevin Faulconer tapped similar themes in their statements on Tuesday’s development, though Faulconer also managed to work in a plug:

“Bob Filner’s unethical behavior impacted the lives of many woman and left our city reeling in chaos,” Faulconer said. “Our entire city should be grateful for the courage of all the women who came forward. I’m proud that I was able to play a key leadership role in the bi-partisan effort to remove Bob Filner from office. I’m equally proud that the protections we included in our Comprehensive Pension Reform measure mean that taxpayers will not be on the hook for Filner’s mayoral pension. This unfortunate chapter in our history is yet another reminder of the importance of having a mayor whose highest priority is putting San Diegans first.”

Here’s Fletcher’s statement:

“Today, we should take some time to recognize all of the courageous women who came forward and put a stop to Bob Filner’s predatory behavior. It is my sincere hope that his admission of guilt will allow all those he harmed to begin to heal. It’s time to close this ugly chapter and move our city forward.”

A spokeswoman for David Alvarez confirmed Friday afternoon that he didn’t have an official statement.

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San Diegans have a little over a month to get to know the candidates before casting their votes Nov. 19, so this week we launched a series profiling Councilman David Alvarez, from his upbringing in Barrio Logan to his current crusade on the neighborhood’s community plan, which seems already to be biting back.

In the middle of those bookends, Alvarez found himself facing an “establishment” agenda under former Mayor Jerry Sanders. We’ve written before about his criticisms of Sanders.

If you weren’t inspired by Alvarez’s early interest in civic duty, an op-ed from Ocean Beach gave even more credence to what good representation can do for a community. Denny Knox of the OB MainStreet Association spoke very highly of her experience with Faulconer as a councilman:

“He seems to understand how vitally important it is to find a way to compromise and work out solutions while maintaining a keen understanding of the impending fiscal impact. And I believe, now more than ever, that we have to elect those individuals who possess the ability and interest in keeping San Diego on the strongest possible financial trajectory.”

But Scott Lewis’ discovery of yet another time Faulconer backed residents over industry — the opposite of his current stance in the Barrio Logan debate — amplifies the question of whether he’s too willing to play to all sides.

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This week we teamed up with NBC 7 to recap the biggie five things to know about the now-Democrat candidate. Much, much earlier this week (OK, technically last week), we got him on the phone to nail down where he stands on the city’s affordable housing fee (we’re not calling it a “linkage fee” anymore).

Last but not least, in a totally different vein of city development, we ran a Fact Check on Alvarez’s claim that 85 percent of San Diego communities are woefully park-deficient. Considering the limiting standards of the study he’s been citing, we had to give him a Barely True.

We can ask him about that, or anything really, at our mayoral forum coming up Nov. 5. Make sure you edit your calendar, though — so many of you RSVP’d already, we’re moving the event to the Birch North Park Theatre.