San Diego Mayor Bob Filner's ex-fiancee Bronwyn Ingram: I don't think his harassing behavior has anything to do with sex or love
(CBS News) San Diego Mayor Bob Filner is expected to resign Friday. One of the first people to call for him to step down was his former fiancee. Bronwyn Ingram walked out on the Democratic mayor a few days before the first of 18 women came forward to accuse the mayor of sexual harassment.
Now Ingram is speaking out exclusively to "CBS This Morning."
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When Filner was sworn in as Mayor of San Diego, Ingram stood proudly by his side. As his fiance, she had planned to share her life with him. They already shared a passion for progressive politics -- the fight for the homeless, civil rights, and immigrants.
Ingram, in an interview with CBS News' Bill Whitaker, said, "To have a Democratic mayor in a city that's constantly run by Republicans was very exciting to a lot of us, and we had big plans."
But now, those plans are crumbling in the face of accusations by 18 women who claim they were sexually harassed by Filner.
Asked if Ingram ever saw him behave inappropriately toward women in the time she was with him, Ingram said, "No, I have not seen any of the behaviors that are being described by his accusers."
Asked if she believes these women, Ingram said, "I would find it hard to believe that they were all fabricating those stories."
Whitaker asked, "This is a man you were in love with?"
"I don't think it has anything to do with sex or love," she said. "I think it has to do with power and control, so of course, it feels awful, it feels horrible. Like any woman would feel if the person she thought she had an exclusive relationship with isn't behaving the same way. It's very hurtful."
She says she saw his behavior start to change several months ago. Ingram said, "I don't know if it's stress. I don't know if it's an inflamed ego from being the chief executive of the eighth largest city."
Whitaker remarked, "He does have a reputation for being pushy, aggressive."
"He was, at times, very aggressive when he was the chair of the [House] Veterans Committee, but he was effective," Ingram said. "There are a million veterans in college today because of his bill. So that aspect of his personality at times can be very beneficial. It just seemed to get out of control lately and extend into areas where it's not helpful."
Ingram called off their engagement. The two haven't spoken recently. If they did get a chance to speak, Ingram said she would ask, "'Why? Why did you do this?' This was not the plan. This was way off the plan. We could have done a lot. It's sad."
Watch Bill Whitaker's report above.