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By E. A. Barrera
April 29, 2025 (San Diego) -- Bob Filner was an 18-year-old hero who spent time in jail trying to register voters in the segregationist South during the Civil Rights movement.
His political career was always aimed at making life better for the poor and the working people of San Diego and America. His two-decade teaching career at San Diego State inspired students to get involved in the political process.
His work for Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey inspired me and all who knew him.
As a young college kid, I worked on his 1987 campaign for city council.
I met some of my closest, lifelong friends during that time as a member of the San Diego State University New Democrats. All of us worked on his campaign.
I loved every moment.
Bob was a 45-year old SDSU college History professor and member of the San Diego Unified School District Board.
We called him Bobo and we made funny masks from pictures of his face… and he laughed along with us.
He taught me about campaign work and more important, about why a life involved in the political process is a life serving the good of this nation. Politics matters. Government can and has done tremendous good for hundreds of millions of people.
Filner believed in education, compassion, opportunity and the rights of anyone who worked hard to have a good life, regardless of creed, color or past.
We in the SDSU New Dems all put in so many long hours to get Bob elected, but we always knew Bob worked harder than anyone... and this effort spoke to us with moral authority.
It was a wonderful time in my life and in many ways, not a day of my life since has passed without some positive effect from the memory of that campaign and those days.
What happened later -- what Bob Filner did to tarnish his legacy -- is well known. It is a testament to the follies of power. He abused his power. His self-confidence became arrogance. His abusive actions were ultimately a betrayal of all the good he inspired, all the work and idealism he stood for, and above all – they were a betrayal of the women he hurt, and the efforts of all of us who admired him and worked to get him elected.
I worked for Bob twice – once as mentioned in 1987; and again at the beginning of his successful mayoral race in 2011.
I helped organize his young volunteers in those first few months I spent with his campaign in the Summer and Fall of 2011.
He had college-age volunteers on that campaign as well. Those volunteers in 2011 were the same age as we had been back in 1987 and they had all the same idealism and energy.
But already it was clear there was a difference. A cynicism and arrogance existed in 2011 that did not exist in 1987. Whereas Filner in 1987 campaigned with joy and humor, in 2011 he often seemed angry – and bitter.
He openly castigated and bawled-out his staff in front of those young volunteers. He flirted with some of the young women. His campaign team was condescending, arrogant and they thought of themselves as superior. They could be sneaky, and they lied, and were too clever by half.
This was the influence of the older Filner. There was none of the fresh hope and idealism that should have existed, since what Filner ultimately wanted to do as Mayor was continue his good work started in his youthful fight for civil rights.
Bob Filner wanted to bring power and money to justice. He wanted to take San Diego government from the hands of the downtown hoteliers, developers and wealthy interests, and put it back where it belonged – in the hands of the people who depend on good government.
In the hands of working people and the citizens of San Diego and America who need public policy based on equity. He wanted to bring to government the fairness of the American ideal. Those people trusted Bob to do the right thing as a member of the City Council, Congress and Mayor of San Diego.
He did a lot of good – but eventually he failed them. He failed at the end because his character failed. His arrogance overcame his ideals.
Moving forward, the Bob I prefer – and choose – to remember will be that 45-year old college professor running for a seat on the city council. Working 20-hour days and loving every minute of it... all the while make a bunch of young 1980s college kids love every minute of it in the process.
This is a sad day for San Diego, for American politics – and for all of us who formed the bonds of strong friendships under Bob Filner’s tutelage.
So long, Bobo.
The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org
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