Filner elected San Diego mayor in hard-fought race  — The
nation's eighth-largest city has elected a veteran congressman
as its first Democratic mayor in two decades.  The Associated
Press called the race Thursday for U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, who has
pledged to undo what he calls "a downtown power structure" that
has overlooked neighborhoods and ignored growing ethnic
diversity.  Filner, 70, defeated first-term Councilman Carl
DeMaio, who would have made San Diego the first major American
city to elect an openly gay Republican leader. DeMaio, 38,
relentlessly attacked municipal employees during his meteoric
rise in city politics, hitching his bid to a successful June
ballot measure to cut city pensions.  Filner declared victory
and DeMaio conceded the day after the Nov. 6 vote, but they have
been separated by only about 10,000 votes. As of late Thursday,
Filner led with 51.7 percent of the vote, compared with 48.3
percent for DeMaio.  More than 400,000 votes have been counted,
with Filner extending his lead to 1