Like the rest of us, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders will find out on November 6 who’ll be the next man to take over his office. And on December 3, when the new mayor swears in, Sanders will be a free man, able to speak his mind without political constraint.

Even if you didn’t agree with all his politics and policies, most would agree that Sanders was an unusually likeable politician. That doesn’t mean he always used the kindest language and gestures, though. Recall his salty public references to 2008 mayoral opponent Steve Francis (“F*** you”) and current candidate Carl DeMaio (“That’s bulls**t”).

Sanders also boldly flipped the bird for a photo that accompanies an article that just came out in the November 2012 issue of Pacific San Diego.

Still, it’s hard to dislike a straight-shooting guy who meets thousands of people on the job, and can still remember most of their names by face.

“I used to be better at that,” says Sanders. “I’m still okay. When I was with the San Diego Police Department I took that as one of my duties. Those men and women did a great job every day, and when you can walk by them and say their first name, they know they are important to the organization. It’s a sign of respect…I’ve met so many people now, and I still try to do it. But I am getting older. I’m 62, I’m not as tight as I used to be.”

He certainly always remembered named of members of the media, and received generally favorable coverage over his term. Who were the favorite local TV news anchors/reporters that he dealt with?

“There are a lot of reporters I really respect,” he says. “Gene Cubbison [NBC] is one. Gene has been around a long time; I can always count on him to be fair – but that doesn’t mean he always reports what I want. Jeff Powers [CW6] has always been good to me in terms of reporting accuracy. Steve Bosch [KUSI], I just really like.”

Like iconic film anchorman Ron Burgundy, Sanders’ language sometime crossed boundaries. But throughout his term, Sanders strove to stay classy.