San Diego Mayor Filner decides to pay his own expenses for Paris trip

SAN DIEGO -- Just when Mayor Bob Filner may need his own money to pay for legal bills, he has decided to personally pay $9,399 for his airfare, lodging and meals on a recent trip to Paris.

Filner had initially asserted that his expenses were paid by a nonprofit group, as permitted by law. But reporters found that the group, the Organization of Iranian-American Communities, does not have nonprofit status with the IRS.

On Wednesday, amid his other problems, Filner released a statement saying that he would reimburse the organization, all except for $440, the limit allowed by state law for gifts.

The 70-year-old Democrat was invited to speak at the annual rally in late June of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which supports greater democracy for that country. While a member of Congress, Filner attended the annual rally on several occasions.

Filner’s promise to reimburse the organization did not stop the controversy about the trip and the fact that the city paid for two police officers to accompany him as a security detail.

“I’ve been looking into Mayor Filner’s Paris junket because the story doesn’t add up,” said Councilman Kevin Faulconer. “As audit committee chair, I plan to keep asking questions.”

Felipe Monroig, president of the San Diego County Taxpayers Assn., said “It’s clear the mayor’s trip was little more than a vacation.” He called on Filner to reimburse the city for the airfare, lodging and meals of the police officers: $21,244.

Filner’s statement about the Paris trip came just a day after the City Council voted 9 to 0 not to pay his legal bills for his defense against a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by his former director of communications, Irene McCormack Jackson. The council also voted to sue Filner to force him to pay the cost of any damages assessed against the city because of the lawsuit.

Seven of nine members of the City Council have asked Filner to resign. Along with the lawsuit, seven women, in interviews, have also accused Filner of sexual misconduct.

Filner insisted that the trip, along with allowing him to express his views about Iran, also could help bring jobs to San Diego. He went to the city of Lille in the Nord Pas-de-Calais to tour facilities involved with energy and sustainability programs, he said.

Filner’s then-fiancee traveled with him, paying her own expenses, Filner has said. The couple has since broken up.

According to an Iranian website, Filner introduced his fiancee as the “first lady of San Diego” and said that, in America and Iran, “it’s the women who are going to set us free.”

tony.perry@latimes.com