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Bob Filner Apologizes Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations: 'I Have Failed' (VIDEO)

'I Have Failed To Fully Respect The Women Who Work For Me And With Me'
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Senior Editor, Breaking News, HuffPost

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San Diego Mayor Bob Filner apologized Thursday as allegations that he sexually harassed women continued to stir controversy.

"I begin today by apologizing to you. I have diminished the office to which you elected me. I have reached into my heart and soul and realize I must and will change my behavior," he said in a statement, according to NBC San Diego.

"As someone who has spent a lifetime fighting for equality for all people, I am embarrassed to admit that I have failed to fully respect the women who work for me and with me, and that at times I have intimidated them," Filner said in the statement. "I am also humbled to admit that I need help. I have begun to work with professionals to make changes in my behavior and approach. In addition, my staff and I will participate in sexual harassment training provided by the city. Please know that I fully understand that only I am the one who can make these changes."

Filner had refused to respond to allegations earlier, even when several high-profile San Diego figures and former allies of the mayor called for him to step down over the controversy.

The AP reported earlier:

A letter to Filner from former Councilwoman Donna Frye obtained by station KPBS said she recently received "credible evidence" that the mayor harassed more than one woman. She asked that the City Council schedule a special election to replace him.

Frye didn't immediately respond to a phone message from The Associated Press, but was scheduled to appear at a news conference Thursday.

Frye's urging came two days after Filner's fiance, Bronwyn Ingram, announced in an email to her team of volunteers that she was breaking their engagement.

"I am extremely disappointed and heartbroken, both for what Team First Lady could have accomplished, and for me, personally; however, this is the only action I can take given the devolvement of our personal relationship," Ingram wrote.

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Before You Go

10 Dumbest Excuses for Political Sex Scandals
Mark Sanford(01 of11)
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Hiking the Appalachian Trail. Said a staffer: “I apologize for taking so long to send this update, and was waiting to see if a more definitive idea of what part of the Trail he was on before we did so.” (credit:Getty Images)
Kwame Kilpatrick(02 of11)
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“I cheated on my wife and I lied about it. The maturity I didn’t have was how to balance that job with family and spirituality… [I was] hard headed. I didn’t realize that until I was sitting in solitary confinement.”Kilpatrick exchanged an endless stream of text messages with city official Christine Beatty, who was also married at the time. Kilpatrick, then the Mayor of Detroit, covered up the affair, and after lying about it in court, plead guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice, resigned, and served four months in prison. (credit:Getty Images)
Larry Craig(03 of11)
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“(I have) a wide stance when going to the bathroom,” the Senator said, in response to his arrest for propositioning an undercover cop by tapping his foot in an airport bathroom.Craig was allowed to finish his term in the Senate but has rarely been heard from since. (credit:Reuters/Landov)
Barney Frank(04 of11)
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House of Representatives member, Democratic Congressman for nearly 30 years, and the first openly gay member of the House, Barney Frank, was pretty awesome… until he had an affair with Steve Gobie, a male prostitute, in 1989. While Frank was single at the time, he still paid for sex, which was illegal in his state of Massachusetts. But then Frank also hired the prostitute to run errands and live at his home… where Gobie kept on working as a prostitute. Nope, he’s not working here as a prostitute, he’s just my pool boy. (credit:Reuters/Landov)
Eliot Spitzer(05 of11)
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Wait, what’s this? Gremlins? “There are no excuses,” Spitzer told Matt Lauer. “I have tried to address these gremlins; confront them. What I did was an egregious violation of trust to my family, to my colleagues, to the state, and I’ve paid a price and appropriately so.” Well, at least he didn’t make excuses, right? (credit:Getty Images)
Bill Clinton(06 of11)
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“That depends on what your definition of ‘is’ is.” (credit:Reuters/Landov)
John Ensign(07 of11)
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“While I stand behind my firm belief that I have not violated any law, rule, or standard of conduct of the Senate, and I have fought to prove this publicly, I will not continue to subject my family, my constituents, or the Senate to any further rounds of investigation, depositions, drawn out proceedings, or especially public hearings. For my family and me, this continued personal cost is simply too great.”In other words, I am innocent but would rather look guilty than have the Feds look through my trash folder. (credit:Reuters/Landov)
David Vitter(08 of11)
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“Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there with God and them.”I’m a public figure, but my possible involvement in illegal prostitution and diaper-wearing is none of your business because I invoke Jesus. (credit:Getty Images)
John Edwards(09 of11)
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“I have no idea what you’re asking about. I’ve responded, consistently, to these tabloid allegations by saying I don’t respond to these lies and you know that… and I stand by that.”That’s ex-Senator Edwards, telling the press that allegations he had fathered his mistress’ love child were hogwash. A few months later, he admitted he had fathered the love child while his wife was dying of cancer. (credit:MCT/Landov)
Anthony Weiner(10 of11)
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“Tivo shot. FB hacked. Is my blender gonna attack me next? #TheToasterIsVeryLoyal”Representative Weiner tried to convince us he had just Tweeted a picture of his crotch because a hacker had actually posted it, but at a press conference a few days later, he admitted to sending the photo, having online relationships with six women (not including his wife), and being a dumbass. (credit:Landov)
BONUS: Silvio Berlusconi(11 of11)
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“Better to have a passion for beautiful women than to be gay.”That’s the then-married then-Italian Prime Minister telling a friend that, hey, it was okay to host orgies at his villa that may have included hookers and teenage girls because… well, you read the dumb quote. (credit:Landov)
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