I am of the mind that the vast majority of people that seek political office are sorry individuals. They either enjoy petty power, need the adulation or validation an election provides.
We need more citizen legislators and fewer career politicians. I used to be of the mind that elections served as the best term limit, but now I really think we need actual term limits via legislation. I think it's the only remedy. I know Filner was in his first term, but before this he was a US Representative from 1993-2012. He was a member of the club that watches out for their own. Oddly enough, he replaced Duke Cunningham in the House, who may still be in prison for corruption.
Democrat, Republican, it doesn't matter. We need to rid ourselves of the Ruling Class.