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Carpetbagger

Where Does Bob Filner Call Home?

By Robert Kumpel

As pro-abortion Congressman Bob Filner runs for reelection, he faces the redistricting challenge, changing from the 50th congressional district to the redrawn 51st district. Filner's home for the years while he worked at SDSU -- on 5358 Saxon Street, two blocks from San Diego State -- appears in property records to be in the hands of his ex-wife, Barbara Filner. In the early 1990s, before running for congress in the 50th Congressional District in 1992, Filner began occupying what property records call a "second home" in the South Park area, on 2405 32nd Street; that house enabled him to say he lived in the 50th district, since district lines stretched up from the South Bay and included part of central San Diego -- South Park, but not SDSU.

In March of 2001, as Filner became aware that the mostly Democrat South Bay 50th district would lop off South Park, he and his second wife, Jane Merrill, sold the 32nd Street house for $356,000. Filner told the Union-Tribune in February he had moved to Chula Vista's Eastlake neighborhood "while the redistricting process was taking place."

What do his ex-neighbors and new neighbors make of Filner's jumping around?

The single-story green house at 5358 Saxon Street blends in with the rest of the neighborhood. An elderly woman answered the doorbell. When asked if it was Congressman Filner's house, she initially denied it. "No. No, we don't rent from him. His ex-wife lives here. Actually, I don't know where he lives. He's re-married."

Another elderly woman who lived next door: "Of course it's his house! They live there! I've been here since before that house was built and since it was built, the only people who have been coming here are the people who own it, and they are very good neighbors." Later in the day, when asked if she had seen the congressman next door, the woman corrected her earlier remarks. "I just talked to his ex-wife. He doesn't really live there. I don't know too much about them, but I believe they are divorced, and he no longer lives here. I can't say that I have seen him there. He doesn't even live here anymore. All I know is that I've seen him once in a while and we're friends, and they've lived there a long time. I've heard that his wife's mother lives there with her."

The middle-aged man next door on the other side of the Filner house was less forthcoming. "Yes I'm aware that he lived there. He hasn't lived there for some time." When asked the last time he had seen Filner there, he replied, "I don't care to answer that!" The man later came out through the side door of his house and wrote down my license plate number. Four hours later I received a phone call from Washington D.C.'s Capitol Police, asking me what my business was at Filner's house.

A young couple who live across the street seemed evasive when asked about Congressman Filner. The man said that they knew he lived there. When asked if they had seen him there, he replied, "We have. I don't know how long it's been -- he hasn't lived there as long as I've been here, which is four years." The woman assured me that Filner lived in his district. When asked if she knew where his district was, she smiled slyly, "Uhm ... yes."

Another middle-aged man who lives across the street was less reticent. "Yeah, I know Bob." When asked if he had seen Filner there, he kept changing the subject. "You know, he owns that property. His ex-wife Barbara lives there."

Question: "Can you remember the last time you saw him there?"

Neighbor: "Well, he lives at one of his properties."

Question: "Have you seen him here recently?"

Neighbor: "Bob and I are not friends, you know? We're not on the same political...uh...platform. But he owns the property."

Question: "Can you recall the last time you saw him here?"

Neighbor: "When you say 'recently', what do you mean?"

Question: "Last few days? Last few weeks? Last few months?"

Neighbor: "You want me to go over there and tell Bob you've been checkin' on him? You know me and Bob Filner do not get along. We're on different sides of the political ... uh ... his son Adam and his wife are friends of mine. We have sort of a gentleman's disagreement. He takes some bad positions. But he doesn't represent this area, does he?"

The home at 2405 32nd Street in South Park, is currently undergoing an extensive remodeling. The construction crew, who spoke no English, offered the papers for the construction job, which showed Nicholos Atoniades as the current owner.

From speaking with neighbors, it becomes apparent that the house was abruptly abandoned. A man across the street said, "I came here two years ago. Some people were living there, but I never paid any attention to them. It was sold shortly after that, and nobody's been living there since."

An older woman, two doors down from Filner's old house said, "Bob Filner did live there. He hasn't been there for at least a year though. I don't know who owns it now."

On a recent appearance on the Roger Hedgecock show, Filner stated that he was renting a house in the Eastlake area of Chula Vista. The registrar of voters lists Filner's place of residence as 2125 Whispering Palms Loop in a development called Eastlake Greens, surrounding the Eastlake Country Club. The house, a one-story tract home, looks like the other houses on the street. An elderly man next door confirmed Filner's residency. "I've seen him. He lives there."

When a staff member at Filner's local office was asked how long Filner had lived at his current address, he said, "I'm not at liberty to discuss that. I can take your name and have him call you." No return calls were made by Filner or his staff.

Filner's opponent, Maria Garcia, prolife candidate for the 51st Congressional District, grew up in the district. She attended Marian High School and has raised her family in Chula Vista. To help her campaign, visit her headquarters at 278 Third Ave., #C, Chula Vista 91910. Phone 619-425-1463, fax 619-425-1792.

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