County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher announced his candidacy for state Senate this week. Term limits are opening up incumbent Toni Atkins' seat, capping a tenure in both houses of the legislature that saw her elevated as the first woman to lead the State Senate.
This campaign, I predict, will include another showdown between a generally progressive and savvy politician against a MAGA Republican. The far-right in the County all-but-named Fletcher as public enemy #1 when he took a leadership role in the local public health response to the pandemic.
You can count me in as one of the people who doubted Nathan Fletcher’s ambitions when he first ran for Board of Supervisors in 2018. The former Assemblyman was a Republican turned Democrat who I assumed would politically place himself in an imaginary moderates zone in a dead end political environment.
What gave me pause was the primary campaign, with two seemingly opposite political forces working to undermine his candidacy. What they both had in common was a willingness to go down the low road. This was all about ‘beat Nathan Fletcher.’ It failed, and he came in first place in the top-two primary.
When it came down to the general election, the choice between Fletcher and former District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis was a no-brainer for me. Back in my days with the San Diego Free Press I endorsed him, knowing full well that the last attempt of a Democrat on the Board (Dave Roberts) was an embarrassing failure at changing the culture of the organization.
My vote for Fletcher was based on the hope this particular Democrat would start us down the road where the entity with significant influence on the local social net would eventually move away from its selfish profile. I figured If nothing else, his marriage to the politically astute then-Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez would keep him on a better track.
That was then and this is now. Gonzalez is out of electoral politics and her husband is the one who’s leading the way toward a responsive and progressive political entity.
From the Union-Tribune:
If elected, Fletcher said in an interview Monday, he would focus on quality-of-life concerns, including, “Good schools, safe communities, good-paying jobs.”
Fletcher is one of three Democrats on the board, and has spearheaded efforts to improve mental health care by adding mobile crisis response teams to respond to mental health calls in place of law enforcement, and opening crisis stabilization centers to handle psychiatric emergencies. Under his leadership, the board also passed ordinances protecting labor rights and outlawing ghost guns. His current term ends in 2026, so his election to state office would leave an open seat on the county board.
He said he would tackle similar issues as a state senator, pursuing legislation on “behavioral health, mental health and addiction, align with continuing to look out and fight for working-class folks. The cost of housing has gone up, (as have) groceries, utility bills, while their wages have been flat. Looking at how we can bring prices down while getting folks good-paying jobs is something we have to embrace.”
Since being elected, Fletcher has gone on to serve as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, as well as chairman of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System and vice chairman of the Regional Task Force on the Homeless. His re-election campaign was endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and the San Diego County Democratic Party, among others.
Since late last year when he announced the probability of a run for state Senate, Fletcher has amassed a war chest, reporting $926,630 in contributions to the California Secretary of State, including money transferred from his recent supervisorial campaign.
***
The Board of Supervisors is a very different place these days, with a Democratic majority working its way through undoing decades of bad policy decisions.
Don’t get me wrong here; there have been no miracles.
Homelessness is getting worse, mental health care is not really happening (yet), and climate changes are increasingly impacting San Diegans. But… things are headed in a better direction in terms of community services, eliminating the opaqueness of county agencies, and policies that are bringing about an improved quality of life.
Some of what the supes are dealing with is the leftovers from decades of neglect at the county level and issues reflective of systemic failures.
You’re bound to be disappointed if you’ve bought into the notion that elected office comes with a magic wand. Cussing politicians out on social media or in person has zero track record when it comes to making change.
Now for the negative part.
There is one area, however, deserving of being rated as a big failure, namely the County Sheriff's Department. The Board of Supes does not make policy for that agency, as they are constitutionally mandated as independent, but they do control the purse strings.
Still stinging for me was Fletcher (and other liberals) endorsing Kelly Martinez for Sheriff last year. She was and is part of the problem at the agency, continuing a legacy of disrespect for just about anybody not inside the blue line. It wasn’t like they had to endorse any other candidate; even silence would have spoken volumes.
People are dying in the jails, racism is a fact of life at the street level of enforcement, and there are abundant warning signs of corruption, most recently the arrest of a deputy for smuggling cocaine into the County jail. The agency has refused to mandate searches for its employees entering local jails, even though it’s obvious that SOMEBODY is smuggling the drugs causing overdoses.
This is a bigger problem than most people realize, given the political power of the Deputies union and the organizational culture. The union has just trashed its leadership, and informed speculation is that the move is reflective of a larger resentment with the Supes actions on social issues. I can see them becoming the tip of the spear for local reactionary politics, particularly since more established conservative institutions (the chamber, etc) have taken a less hostile path toward progressives.
The path to defanging this beast is fraught with danger, as the attacks on just about anybody willing to suggest we have a problem with law enforcement generally has been tarred with the mythical “defund the police” brush.
I’m disappointed that the Supervisors haven’t gone beyond “tsk-tsking” at the Sheriffs. I get it that “reforms” when it comes to law enforcement are two edged swords (see: bodycam abuse). But somebody’s gotta start somewhere.
Discussing limiting the sheriff’s office to guarding the courts and making arrangements for replacing personnel performing other functions is at least a place to start. And signaling displeasure with the agency could make them more responsive.
***
The social media edition of Nathan Fletcher’s campaign announcement generated a ton of not-so-nice responses on line. They ranged from sour grapes, disgust, anger, and incredulity about his running for higher office. Reading through them you’d never know that his reelection campaign won by nearly a two-to-one margin.
When you start looking at the profiles of these angry twitterati, you realize that they’re mostly hooked up with MAGAt troll brigade… few followers…plenty of conspiracy theories…and a willingness to share some of the nastiest sh*t on the internet.
There’s a lot of ground to be covered between now and the 2024 elections, but I feel safe in saying that –barring scandal– Nathan Fletcher will win with more than 60% of the vote.
The 39th District encompasses Coronado, much of the city of San Diego, Lemon Grove, La Mesa and El Cajon.
***
Good politics, lousy policy. Repeating things that haven’t worked in the past….Restarting the war on drugs.
You can follow me at:
Twitter (for now)---> @DougPorter506
Post —→DougPorter@wordsdeedsblogger
Tribel ——> DougP Porter@dougporter506
Mastodon ——> DougPorter506@mastodon.social
Facebook —----> https://www.facebook.com/WordsAndDeedsBlog
Email me at: WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com