Mayor Bob Filner is ruining San Diego's reputation, says conservative political group, The Lincoln Club. And while many residents might consider that a good thing, the Lincoln Club does not agree. They say Filner is too strong of a mayor. An example of that power, says the Lincoln Club, was a recent altercation between Mayor Filner and a Deputy City Attorney where Mayor Filner allegedly booted the lawyer from a closed session meeting.

Here's the statement from the Lincoln Club:

“San Diegans voted to support a strong mayor form of government – not a strong-armed mayor. But that is exactly who Bob Filner is,” Lincoln Club President and CEO T.J. Zane said. “The mayor is abusing his authority and ruining San Diego’s reputation in the process.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve seen boorish behavior from Bob, but many people had hopes he would reign himself in as leader of America’s Finest City. Unfortunately, we’ve seen one embarrassing stunt after the next from our mayor and the Lincoln Club has real concerns about the affect all of this is having on San Diego and the business community. It’s naive to believe a classless Mayor won’t reflect poorly on our City."

Larry Stirling, a retired Superior Court judge and Lincoln Club member, said: "The mayor’s unwarranted actions against the deputy city attorney serving an independent City Attorney’s Office appear to violate both the government and penal codes. In the public interest, both the District Attorney and the Grand Jury should investigate this false arrest."

The altercation between Mayor Filner and Deputy City Attorney was chronicled in a story by the UT San Diego. In the story, even councilmembers, and not just those on the opposite side of the aisle from Filner, had some tough words for the Mayor.

Here's a statement that Council President Todd Gloria gave to UT San Diego: “The behavior I witnessed on Tuesday was wrong. Every employee should be treated with respect while performing their duties. The incident in question missed that mark significantly. I hope this episode is a wake-up call for all involved and results in behavior changes.