Nathan Fletcher Up Against the Wall
Over the course of a week, San Diego politicians of many stripes called upon County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher to resign. Now.
Former MTS Public Information Officer Grecia Figueroa has filed a civil suit alleging Fletcher groped her on two occasions and pursued a sexual relationship with her for months. She was abruptly fired on the day Fletcher announced his state Senate candidacy.
He has admitted having an affair but denies allegations of assault and harassment.
If you read public commentary on traditional and social media, things look bad for Nathan Fletcher. I haven’t seen any calls for the death penalty yet, but that’s probably because I wasn’t looking hard enough.
Some of these folks seem unaware of the difference between civil and criminal cases. Fletcher is not charged criminally at this point in time. And if the plaintiff’s assertions in the lawsuit are the evidence, he likely won’t be charged, simply because criminal cases require a higher bar of proof than civil ones.
The UT hosted a local lawyer to explain some of the challenges he saw in bringing a civil case before a jury. Suffice it to say, it’s up to jurors or a judge to decide if the case has merit, not the chattering class on Twitter.
That said, there is reason to believe there is more to this than meets the eye. I believe Figuera’s firing came about via the old boys network and that the decision was made in a manner leaving the evidence impossible to find.
I do agree that Nathan Fletcher should go away. But I question the motivations of all the urgency by politicians.
The rush of Democratic politicians joining the Fletcher must resign bandwagon wasn’t enough for the Union-Tribune editorial board, since they posted an editorial on Sunday decrying the lack of statements from Dem politicians.
Bullshit.
The Board of Supervisors is having an emergency meeting on Tuesday to consider a resolution demanding Fletcher’s immediate resignation.
The resolution concludes by saying: “Now therefore it is hereby resolved that the county Board of Supervisors has lost confidence in District 4 Supervisor Nathan Fletcher. It is further resolved that the Board of Supervisors demand his immediate resignation.”
And that’s as far as it’s going to go, since the Supes can’t actually fire him. His constituents can fire Fletcher with a recall campaign, which likely is not being considered because of the unique nature of this situation.
The fact is that Nathan Fletcher can’t vote on anything because he’s on medical leave. His resignation takes effect at the same time as his leave ends. So this resolution is performative nonsense necessary to silence the squeaky voices in local politics.
San Diego doesn’t function like Tennessee or Florida or one of the other states where democracy is being trampled; chances of him pulling a fast one are slim and none.
Since (we’re told) Fletcher’s rehab program does not allow outside communication, there is no way for him to resign even if he wanted to. So the only impact coming from the Supes might be to cut his pay and benefits, and I’m not sure that’s possible.
Seems like it’s twisting the knife, but what do I know?
There are some serious decisions coming before the Board of Supervisors in the short term, namely, hiring a new chief administrator and considering the budget for next year.
The Supes May 2 meeting has been set aside as the date when a decision will be made on replacing Fletcher.
Current chief administrator Helen Robbins-Meyer has agreed to delay her retirement for up to six months, and the Supes voted to rehire her on an interim basis. The position involves being the primary public official responsible for the day-to-day operations of San Diego County, which employs some 18,000 people and spends more than $7 billion a year serving more than 3 million residents.
Sans Fletcher, the board is divided along party lines — Democrats Vargas and Lawson-Remer and Republicans Desmond and Supervisor Joel Anderson. What has been impressive in recent times has been the number of instances where there has been crossover in meeting the challenges facing the county. So the 2-2 split doesn’t amount to a freeze on operations, along with the fact they’re operating on a budget already approved last year.
The ways of resolving this divide are:
The Board of Supervisors can appoint someone to serve the remainder of Fletcher’s four-year term, which runs through 2026.
Or it can decide to hold a special election, choosing either to leave the seat vacant or appoint someone to serve until then.
Sheriff Bill Gore’s resignation (right before some bad news about his department was made public) may serve as a guide to what’s going to occur. An interim candidate who pledged not to run for the seat could be announced, with an election at some point in the future.
There are people in the non-profit agencies connected with the county who have voiced concerns. From the Union-Tribune:
The uncertainty adds to concerns among some community leaders that the progressive agenda Fletcher campaigned on when he first ran for the board in 2018 — and put into motion after Vargas and Lawson-Remer joined him years later — may soon stall.
In particular, Fletcher was among the first to confront the most pressing crises now facing the region: homelessness and mental health. Under his chairmanship, supervisors boosted spending on social services — especially housing and behavioral health.
Who an interim candidate might be is the big question. An example might be found in the person making the following statement in a recent newspaper story:
Pam Slater-Price, who served five four-year terms as a county supervisor before stepping away in 2012, said an election is always best.
But with the current partisan split, she said, the board should consider appointing an independent who is focused on local issues and needs rather than the national narrative of either political party.
“It could be a great time to save the money and appoint someone who’s not a strong partisan of either party,” said Slater-Price, who left the Republican Party and became a Democrat in 2017. “It seems like an excellent opportunity for a community leader who is Black.”
Activist Shane Harris no doubt considers himself as a “community leader who is Black.” He is proud of the fact of being the first significant Democrat to call for Fletcher’s resignation. He’s certainly posted a video of his statement enough times.
But I’m not sure of his reasons for wanting the job, which is the barely unsaid part of his social media train of thought. During his campaign for County Supervisor back when, Fletcher apparently dissed Harris, saying the Black vote wasn’t a significant factor in the contest.
The question in my mind would be: Did Fletcher make that statement out of the blue? Or was it in response to a demand made by Harris about his influence in the Black community?
While I don’t doubt Harris’ commitment to racial and social justice, his behavior as of late runs just short of being a political ambulance chaser.
Look at the thirteen uses of “I-me-me-mine-my” in this quote from a social media post: (emphasis added)
I’m so happy Nathan Fletcher in San Diego who I fought and won against is gone from local, state and national political ambitions. I wanted this for the longest because I knew he was fake all along about “equity” but I also knew that he was against me heavily and wanted to stop me but he was going to have a hard time. Now he will have an even harder time. I am happy with the results and now I can go on to do whatever I want to do next in my professional career without him trying to get in my way. This is another stone moved out of my way. I wish him well. Good riddance.
I have to wonder if KUSI has given him a dressing room next to Carl DeMaio. And if the local MAGA media mouthpiece is on such friendly terms with him, what does that say about how he could be expected to vote on County matters?
County Supes District 4 has a Democratic majority in terms of voter registration. Appointing somebody who could run for reelection would give that person the built-in advantages of incumbency. Not filling the seat until some date in the future leaves the 400,000 residents of D4 without a voice.
So the path forward at this point should be clear: interim appointee barred from running, election in the future. The question remains about whether or not a person can be found to make at least three Supervisors happy.
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Other news stories that caught my eye:
Abortion Ruling Could Undermine the F.D.A.’s Drug-Approval Authority Via TheNew York Times. Oh boy, maybe lil’ Don-Don Trump could be in charge of drugs.
Hounded by baseless voter fraud allegations, an entire county's election staff quits in Virginia - Via NBC People not being allowed to register or vote certainly is one way for the autocrats to win.
The Daily Caller, far-right media outlet, targets Asian business leaders Via The Los Angeles Times - The commies are everywhere. Get your tin foil hats today!
Fascism: Gov. Greg Abbott vows to pardon Texas man who drove into crowd, murdered BLM protester Via Daily Kos - It’s open season on Black people and it’s okay if you announce your intentions on social media
GOP embraces a new foreign policy: Bomb Mexico to stop fentanyl Via Politico. These people really are that stupid.
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Best opening bit for Saturday Night Live in a long time:
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