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By Donald H. Harrison
 CHULA VISTA, California—With all the organizations that wanted to give Bob Filner awards for his work as chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, and all the certificates Filner wanted to pass out to constituents celebrating a variety of accomplishments, one would have expected there’d be a good crowd to celebrate the Democratic congressman’s 30th anniversary in public office.
However, Filner, who served on the San Diego School Board and the San Diego City Council before his election in 1992 to the Congress, is too seasoned to leave such matters to chance. His staff wisely arranged for an indoor television set to be moved outdoors—and let it be known to constituents that the game would be on during Filner’s advance birthday celebration on Sunday, August 30.
Filner won’t actually turn 67 until September 4, but the weekend was a time to bring constituents together—and, as it turned out, to cheer the Park View Little League team of Chula Vista which on that day beat a team from Taiwan to become Little League World Champions.
So before and during the speechmaking, the television set was on, although the volume was down. Updates were relayed to anyone in the crowd who might have missed a run being scored. Although the local "Blue Bombers" had been behind 0-3, they tied up the game during the event, then went ahead 4-3 as Filner's rally concluded. Ultimately, the Chula Vista team won 6-3. A parade and rally in their honor are planned 4 p.m. this coming Friday at Southwestern College.
Last Sunday, it was the congressman’s time in the spotlight. In Will Hyde Park—named for a former mayor of Chula Vista—it was recalled that 30 years ago, a history professor at San Diego State University who was unhappy with a decision by the San Diego School Board to close Hardy Elementary School, ran on a campaign to reverse that decision and keep the elementary school in the state university’s neighborhood open. This was a popular position with faculty, staff and even some graduate students who had children in the school, and Filner, who had served as chairman of the Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies, was elected to the San Diego City School Board.
From that position, Filner eventually won a seat on the San Diego City Council—where he served two terms—and then was able to win a congressional seat following a contested primary. He now represents the stretch of California along the Mexican border, taking in both San Diego and Imperial Counties.
On hand to recognize Filner’s work as chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee were Tom Splitberger, the Veterans Service Officer for San Diego County, who presented the congressman with the National Association of County Veteran Service Officers’ “Legislator of the Year Award.” Sindy Raymond, a spokesperson of the American Merchant Marine Veterans, gave Filner a medalion in recognition of his work to get benefits for World War II Merchant Mariners. Representatives of Filipino Veterans organizations applauded Filner for his campaign to obtain American GI benefits for Filipinos who fought in World War II for the United States when the Philippines were an American commonwealth.
Among those expressing appreciation was retired Filipino Brigadier General Tagumpay A. Nanadiego, who will be turning 90 this month. Nanadiego said because of Filner, he received compensation of $9,000 and Filipino veterans who are now U.S. citizens received $15,000 as a token of the American government’s appreciation for their service in World War II.
“It’s not the money that’s important,” Nanadiego said, but rather it is America’s acknowledgment of the role played by brave Filipinos.
Among the presentations to Filner was one from Romy Montero, a Republican, who said because of Filner’s advocacy for Filipino veterans he would always support him politically, notwithstanding his political registration. To make good his pledge, he gave to Filner an envelope with what he said were checks to his campaign from other grateful Filipinos.
Another award –a photo of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy addressing the United Farm Workers—was presented by David Valladolid, president and CEO of the Parents Institute for Quality Education, honoring Filner’s support for his organization’s goals.
Perhaps believing the adage that it is “better to give than to receive,” Filner next handed out some recognitions of his own. To Jeffrey Bennett, a former Spaniard who recently became a U.S. citizen, Filner gave a certificate of recognition as well as a flag that had been flown over the United States Capitol. A similar award went to Ceferino Herradura Jr., formerly of Mexico, who had become an American citizen.
Jorge Gabriel Arciniega, who had won the Gold Medal Achievement Award in the Royal Rangers—an organization similar to the Boy Scouts that is operated by the Assemblies of God church – likewise received a flag and a certificate.
XEPE –AM Radio talk show host Jon Elliott, who had emceed Filner’s event, was named Filner’s Citizen of the Month for August 2009.
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 After all these presentations, and with the Little League game getting intense, the congressman gave a quick political overview
to the crowd of several hundred, who included candidates for and members of local school boards and city councils as well as two Democratic members of the state Assembly, Mary Salas and Marty Block. The latter (at right) wore a T-shirt boosting the Park View Little Leaguers. Block and Filner both are members of the Jewish community.
Recalling the legacy of Senator Kennedy, who died of brain cancer last week, Filner expressed the hope that the Congress would pass a health care bill, which was the kind of legislation that Kennedy had cherished. Filner said that some of the opposition to health care today sounds exactly like previous arguments made unsuccessfully against Social Security and Medicare.
He said opponents to health care—like the opponents of major programs in earlier eras to provide economic assistance to ordinary citizens— should be relegated “to the dustbin of history.”
Turning to his role as chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, Filner said that while he was against the War in Iraq, he believes America must distinguish between the wars and the warriors.
While the Veterans Administration has done a fairly good job treating veterans’ physical injuries, he said, the VA needs to do much more to help veterans suffering from mental traumas.
He said the shocking fact is that more than 55,000 Vietnam veterans have committed suicide – more than the number of American troops killed in the Vietnam War. “We have to take the stigma out of mental health problems,” Filner said. “If we send them to war, we’ve got to take care of them when they come home!”
Filner said that he is trying to correct the fact that “the VA is a male bastion.” Among reforms he is pushing to help women veterans are a requirement that VA patients can choose the gender of their doctors, and that they can bring their children with them to the VA in the absence of child care.
As at many political events, there were numerous ways to appreciate the picnic in Will Hyde Park. A local restaurant served up soft tacos with chicken or beef, with guacamole, and there were plenty of ice colas and other beverages to drink. A Democratic Club lured potential members to its membership table with cardboard cutouts of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Some of the attendees had literature to distribute in favor of health care.
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Harriet Seldin of Encinitas buttonholed state legislators to tell them about the dangers of California Senate Bill 250 which would mandate under specified circumstances the spaying and neutering of dogs and cats.
In a follow-up e-mail to San Diego Jewish World, Seldin wrote: “If you violate any local or State law relating to the "care of concern of animals," then mandatory spay/neuter is triggered. The offending dog/cat---such as a dog caught off-leash at 6:10pm at the park where off-leash hours end at 6pm (which happened to 20 people in Encinitas a few weeks ago)-- would have to be sterilized, all your dogs/cats would have to be sterilized (since your intact permits would be revoked), and you could never in your life in California have an intact permit again---no intact dogs again. So you couldn't show a dog, breed a dog, or even allow your dog to be 1 1/2 years before spay/neuter (which is recommended for many large breed dogs for orthopedic health reasons). Mandatory spay/neuter at 6 months.”
Seldin also sent a link to an essay by Tracey R. Rich on the Judaism 101 website to the effect that Jewish law (Leviticus 22:24) prohibits castrating males of any species. “Although this law does not apply to neutering female pets, neutering of females is prohibited by general laws against tza’ar ba’alei chayim (causing suffering to animals), according to Rich's essay.
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