Democrat resigns House seat to become San Diego mayor
(CNN) – U.S. Rep. Bob Filner stepped down Monday to become San Diego's mayor, though his seat in Congress – representing California's 51st Congressional district – will only remain vacant until the next Congress begins in January.
Filner, a Democrat, won his mayoral election on November 6 after serving ten terms in Congress. He'll be succeeded in January by Democrat Juan Vargas, a former state lawmaker who beat Republican Michael Crimmins by forty percentage points on Election Day. The 51st district covers California's entire border with Mexico, including the southeast corner of San Diego.
Filner's resignation means Democrats will have one less vote in the House during the lame duck session of Congress, when votes could arise on a deal to avoid the end-of-the-year fiscal cliff.
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He couldn't wait a couple of weeks? Not much loyalty there!
Put another and kick his butt off.....
Without a majority it wouldn't matter if the guy left or not. At this point its pretty clear the HOUSE is not going to raise taxes on the wealthy and so it will go to going off the cliff. As a conservative I'm all for this. Raises taxes on all segments and makes major cuts to an inflated defense budget. It's going to be painful but it is anyway. The biggest benefit is it might get rid of the TEAParty zealots that have ruined the GOP.