Former COO said Filner cancelled training sessions

SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego Chief Operating Officer Jay Goldstone said no one is to blame for Mayor Bob Filner’s bad behavior, but himself.  A letter from Harvey Berger, Filner’s attorney claims the city failed to provide state required sexual harassment training.  In the letter, Berger points out sessions were scheduled, but then cancelled by the trainer and never rescheduled.

“That is absolutely no true,” said Goldstone.

Goldstone worked in the Filner administration or three months and said during that time the topic of Filner’s lack of anti-sexual harassment training was brought up numerous times by his staff.

“They came to me on numerous occasions concerned that the mayor’s office kept cancelling appointments that had been set up,” said Goldstone.

He said the on-line sessions were mainly to get benefits set up, but anti-sexual harassment training was a portion of the program.

“He would have taken it himself,” explained Goldstone.  “So, it would not have been a trainer who walked him through it.”

The former COO told Fox 5 the fact Filner claims he didn’t cancel the session is simply untrue.

“The cancellations came directly out of the mayor’s office and I’m assuming directly from the mayor or his chief of staff,” said Goldstone.

He said the computer sessions last about two hours and employees complete it on their own time.

“They weren’t all day sessions that would have taken him away from other business,” said Goldstone.

Goldstone served through the Sanders administration and was helping with transition when Filner came into office.  He left the city in March.

“After seeing his management style I just thought it was time to leave,” said Goldstone.

He said training or not, Filner should know what’s right or wrong.

“Whether or not he fully understood what constituted sexual harassment or not, it seems to go well beyond any basic definition,” said Goldstone.