Will Nathan Fletcher ride in on a magic carpet to the Board of Supervisors? Credit: Wikipedia
Tomorrow is Halloween. Are we in for something scary?
Not really.
But, as in a lot of horror movies, so many things in San Diego politics never seem to die — they just keep coming back, over and over again. That’s just how we roll here in the place “where happy happens.” It’s not scary, but it’s not particularly exciting either.
While the vast majority of people in San Diego are not paying the least bit of attention to local races heading into 2018, there has been quite a bit of petty drama surrounding the San Diego Board of Supervisors District 4 race in recent weeks.
It appears that local Republican operatives have decided to kill Nathan Fletcher’s most recent political aspirations with a strong dose of my all-powerful San Diego Free Press mojo from the 2013 mayor’s race by quoting me extensively on an anti-Fletcher website and, if my social media feed can be trusted, some people are in quite a twist about it.
In fact, I have been contacted by folks telling me that other candidates are citing me chapter and verse and that I needed to do something about it whether that was to disown my previous columns or to unleash my word-hoard against Fletcher anew.
I won’t do either.
While they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in this case, it’s just the usual political dishonesty that we should expect from the GOP from San Diego to Washington, D.C. Anybody who thinks I am in league with the local GOP has either never read a word I’ve written here or is simply not the sharpest tool in the shed.
But just for the sake of clarity, let me echo Doug Porter: I support anyone BUT the Republican candidate in this race.
So what do I think of Fletcher at this stage in his long journey from GOP loyalist and Grover Norquist anti-tax pledge signer, to purple person Independent, to instant Democrat after the Filner scandal, to the current incarnation?
I think he’s a super ambitious politician who, after losing in the mayor’s race in 2013, wants to get back into the game.
What’s different is that he has married Lorena Gonzalez whose record in Sacramento has been fantastic since the days of the San Diego left’s implosion in the wake of the Filner debacle. While I was on the other side of the mayoral primary in 2013 from the Assemblywoman, I truly respect the good work she has done in Sacramento since that time, the recent passage of AB 805 being a stellar example of her many legislative accomplishments. If she has any impact on her husband’s politics, it will likely be very good.
In addition to this, Fletcher has spent several years making connections in the community, staking out solid positions on the minimum wage, the climate, and education as well as other issues. Full disclosure: he has even met with my union president and earned the endorsement of the Board of Trustees of the San Diego Community College District where I teach.
And lots of people in Democratic circles like him and want to aid him on his road to political redemption by doing things like pushing an early endorsement to clear the field. Thus his inside game remains intact for better or worse depending on where you stand.
As opposed to his last run, this time Fletcher has the inside track with the Democratic Party’s early endorsement as well as a number of labor unions and community groups lining up behind him ready to toss his Republican past into the dustbin of history. Simply put, he’s done what he hadn’t done when he entered the mayor’s race as a Democrat in 2013—his due diligence.
In sum, it’s Fletcher’s to lose, so if a few of my zombie columns bring him down, it might be time for him to hang it up for good.
I don’t think they will.
Does that erase his record as a Republican? No. Should it earn him another look from Democratic voters? That’s up to them.
My sense is that the folks in his corner and elsewhere pontificating in the media (both mainstream and social) who want to refight the 2013 race or turn this into a Bernie versus Hillary proxy battle are engaging in an analysis that, to put it nicely, lacks depth and offers little insight.
The only thing that should matter for progressive voters in this contest is whether Fletcher, despite his past record, can do enough to convince them not just that he is a “real” Democrat, but that he is a person who will represent their values and enact policies that are worthy of them.
They might also rightfully ask whether he truly represents their community. It’s also fair to wonder when San Diego progressives will ever develop a bench deep enough that we won’t need to look to converted Republicans for help in the first place. Why are there always so many retreads in the front of the line and so few fresh faces?
Is the push for Fletcher a return to San Diego business as usual politics and the usual triangulation rather than trying to build that base? Is Fletcher in line with the values of the New Democrats or is he planting his flag squarely in the progressive camp?
These are all fair questions and those who want to swat them away are doing a disservice to the process.
In the final analysis, calls for unity that seek to marginalize progressive voices should not be heeded but neither should we foreclose the possibility of political redemption. We need a lot more of it.
From here, I pass the baton in this race to Doug Porter who will be ably covering the county contests from here on out.
The Real Battle Royale: Nightmare on DNC Street
Outside of San Diego, there is a real battle going on in the Democratic Party, whether it is the New Democrats rallying support to marginalize progressives as I wrote about two weeks ago or the DNC’s purging of progressives and doing what they can to reassert the stale hegemony of the old guard. As In These Times noted of recent events on the national level:
For all the talk of party unity and compromise, the Democratic establishment has shown time and again that it knows exactly what is at stake in the current contest between the party’s progressive and corporate wings, and that it will always act with sufficient ruthlessness to maintain its hold over the party.
Progressives should take note and follow the establishment’s lead. To repurpose a famous saying, a well-behaved grassroots seldom makes history.
If the end-result of this is the triumph of the corporatists inside the party whose base overwhelmingly wants to think of itself as the progressive “resistance,” the result will be a real nightmare for ordinary Americans who desperately need a party that is not afraid to fight back hard with a vision that speaks to more than simply not being Trump.
Jim Miller
Latest posts by Jim Miller (see all)
- The San Diego Free Press Was a Gift - December 10, 2018
- Democracy Unchained: How to Win the Future - December 3, 2018
- Oligarchy Sucks: Billionaires Are Undermining Our Democracy and Killing the Planet - November 26, 2018
First-Please join us & invite others to a San Diego County Supervisor candidate forum this week- Thursday, November 2, 6 PM
Pacific Beach Public Library
4275 Cass St., San Diego, CA 92109-4005
Four candidates have agreed to attend- please come to hear positions on issues that are important to your community.
Second, as I read this, I was reminded of a dicho: “Dime con quien, y te diré quien eres” (Tell me who you walk with and I will tell you who you are.”
I recently attended a fundraiser for a candidate at fellow AFT member Gregg Robinson’s home = Jose Rodriguez. Jim Miller was also there- he has known Jose for many years, and is supporting him now.
During the event, Jim described the respect he had for Jose, and the impact Jose and other walkers had in a small town in the Central Valley, during a long walk to Sacramento to raise awareness over economic inequality and social justice issues.
Jim recalled the importance of having Jose and others visit a school. Their presence was inspiring and had an incredible impact on these mostly Latino students in very low income farm worker communities, who often feel neglected by the “powers that be” in Sacramento.
So while someone may be willing to begin “walking the walk” to appear ____________ (fill in the blank) as an election looms on the horizon, I encourage everyone to join us Thursday, hear responses to questions, and examine a candidate’s full path, throughout their lives. Also consider the importance of having people on the ballot who come from under represented communities, and are able to inspire voters who want more diverse representation in San Diego.
I encourage voters to ask: Who have the candidates for any office “walked” with- not just during recent times, or after they determined they wanted to be elected to any particular office, but when no one was looking?
Also, for the record- there are three other Democrat candidates “walking” in this race: attorney Omar Passons, retired firefighter Kenneth Malbrough, and myself.
And finally- to those who are feeling a bit tired by the nuevo Democrat coalition that is being constructed locally and nationally, another dicho: “Illegitimi non carborundum.”
Thank you Lori for sharing about the forum this week. The question for me and SD Free Press is how can Fletcher change his values and beliefs so drastically (see speech below for Republican endorsement just 5 years ago!) It seems to me the issue of Dem vs. Rep is one about the role of government to help the poor, young, and old and protect the rights of women, LGBT, and people of color. How a grown man can go from “We don’t need government to do it for us, we need it to stay out of the way.” to being a Democrat and believing the opposite is a large ideological divide that he has too easily crossed. Lastly, how can the Democratic Party in San Diego support someone who was the political director for the Republican Party in California? It would be one thing if he was a plain old Rep but he was political operative! I feel bad for our Country that young men like Nathan feel the need to abandon their beliefs and values to find purpose in their lives. At what point do you change yourself so much that you no longer have an authentic identity?
“Thank you for having me. I’ve been a Republican my entire life, which is telling because I came out of a Democratic household. When I was a child, I represent a generation who’s first president we remember was President Reagan, who very clearly and succinctly outlined the difference between the candidates, between being an individualist and a collectivist, and that basic American dream is we have the power if left to our own devices to achieve greatness. We don’t need government to do it for us, we need it to stay out of the way.
I applied this at an early age. As a teenager I walked door to door. I spent summers in college sitting outside Home Depots registering voters. I worked on campaigns where I slept in headquarters. I went months without pay because I wanted the money to go to the cause. I organized African American ministers behind education reform and school vouchers. I was the Political Director of the California Republican Party where we gave more money and support to our grassroots causes and our county parties than at any point in our history, because I believe in that effort. I traveled around the country teaching youth outreach and voter registration at the request of the National Party. Then I went abroad to promote our principles and ideas in East Timor and Cambodia and Serbia. And time and again I’ve demonstrated commitment to our cause as a team player.
In 2001, things changed. Our country was attacked and I was asked to serve in a different way and I spent a period of time from 2002 to 2006 defending not only the principles of our Party but the principles of our country. I served in Iraq, in Fallujah and Ramadi and Baghdad and the SunniTriangle, on the Somali border and in Yemen. I witnessed the great pain of loss and terrible sacrifice of close friends of mine and family members who believed in these causes.
When I came back I wanted to continue to serve. I ran for the legislature where I’ve stood shoulder to shoulder to make the tough decisions. We’ve taken protests in our office where we had 20, 30 cops there because we refused to raise taxes. We’ve got mailings dropped across our district. When the Democrats said, “Alright, if you won’t vote for taxes we’ll put up an all-cuts budget,” I stood and voted for an all-cuts budget, not one that reduced welfare but one that eliminated it because we had to take a stand. When we had to vote to eliminate SB 400, the most egregious pension bill at the state that ever passed, I not only voted for it, I was the whip to go get other Republicans who weren’t inclined to stand up to do it.
Time and again I’ve demonstrated that, but I’ve also shown that, consistent with your principles, if you articulate it the right way you can bring people together to get good things done, like we did with Chelsea’s Law, which regulatory reform, with pension transparency and other measures.
And as you’re Mayor, I’ll do the same. I’ve taken the tough positions. I opposed Proposition D, I support the Comprehensive Pension Reform, I support the ban on Project Labor Agreements, I support the outsourcing of City services. But as your Mayor, I will also make sure our principles are translated into achievable action items that get done, because it’s not enough to have ideas, you’ve got to be able to turn them into reality to positively impact people’s lives.
One charge that’s been made this week, the only one I think that’s been accurate, is that I didn’t work as hard for this endorsement as others did. And that’s because I’ve been torn between what is in my best interest and what is in the best interest of this Party. And I’d be honored to have your endorsement, but I see a greater purpose and good that says, let’s unite behind the City Council candidates, between passing Pension Reform, between our other causes. And at some point being part of a team means you have to care more about the team than your individual ambitions. If this Party chooses to endorse, I’d be honored to be your endorsed candidate. If you choose not to endorse, I’ll be honored to join our team either as a member or as a nominee for Mayor after the primary as we defeat Bob Filner and as we get our city back on track.
I’ve lived our principles. I am the American Dream. I grew up in a blue-collar family, the first to go to college. I am a reflection of that which is what’s great about us, that ability that anyone can achieve success. I’ve lived our principles as a Party. I’ve defended our principles as a Party as a Marine in combat. I’ve fought for our principles as a legislator, and if elected Mayor, I will take our principles and I will turn them into action as we move our city forward.
I am very proud to have a long and committed track record with this Party and with this cause. I’m very proud to have stood with you for years, going back to the early days, walking door to door, registering voters. As a legislator I’ve raised and given more than a quarter of a million dollars to our candidates and causes, and will do the same.
Thank you very, very much for all that you do every day to make our Party great. Thank you for allowing me to be a member of this group and for participating in today’s process. I appreciate it. Thank you.
So, in other words, once a Republican, always a Republican. I’ll be sure to tell my parents they were wrong to make the switch.
This “Nathan used to be a Republican” is exactly the meme being pushed by the Lincoln Club. It’s a distraction.
How about “how do Nathan’s policies on housing compare to Lori’s… or Omar’s… or Ken’s…” That’s what I’m going to be looking at.
Since I was Chair of Assembly Housing & Community Development, my housing policies will be pretty easy to discern, based on actions, not campaign promises.
I encourage readers to look over the various housing bills I authored, or that came through my committee, or that I voted in support of.
Not all made it into law (Schwarzenegger vetoed many progressive bills while I was in office), but my progressive values were consistent: I promoted energy efficient design, and worked to increase funding for affordable housing, homelessness services and emergency shelters.
See: http://bit.ly/AffHousingBillAB & http://bit.ly/ZeroNetEnergyAB for starters
So “Mr Smith” responded with a comment editors found to violate our Terms of Use. An email was sent to the address that person used. The address turned out to be fake.
another troll trumped by truth ;-)
would’ve liked a link to those old columns.
You can easily find those columns about “Nathan Fletcher”. [SPFP has a search box at the top right-hand corner of our desktop display, go to “secondary menu” on cell phones] We didn’t feel it necessary to further broadcast the Lincoln Club’s propaganda.
thx, mr. porter.
It’s just possible that Fletcher Nathan has turned modest, abandoning his love of Norquist Republicanism and opening his head to the advice of his wife, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez. After all, she’s been elected to office in California, one of the few mainly Democratic states, while Fletcher has failed to win the mayor’s office here, even with the help of Qualcomm. But… who is he? What does he believe? Why isn’t David Alvarez mayor? Who’s more Democratic, Alvarez or Nathan Fletcher?
As Jim said in the above column, I will be covering the Supes races. A lot. Including, I hope, profiles of the Democratic candidates.
(All the candidates’ names were mentioned in my initial post on September 19th; those with websites even got a link)
However, the primary is more than six months away.
Doug- Thank you for reporting on this important race. As for timing: while 6 months may seem a long time, as mentioned above: the Dem Party hurried thru an endorsement with no debates, no polling, and no meetings or community forums aside from their internal committee and caucus meetings.
In real terms, that means that for the 150,00+ registered Democrats in District 4, they are being told a person is “endorsed” – but not that it is based on the votes of fewer than 50 people last summer, nearly a year before the primary election, with very little evidence that of support beyond their internal discussions.
This is hardly small-D democratic or representative of a very diverse and engaged district.
Dist. 4 is the most educated, progressive, urban and diverse district in the county. Overall, it has the most registered and active voters of any Supervisor district. I know this in part because I was born and raised in this district, and represented many of them for 6 years in the legislature when the 76th AD overlay much of this area.
Many are engaged and savvy- they want government to work for them, and want to know more about the people who are offering to represent them.
Related: there are more “no party preference” voters than Republicans in D4. They tend to “vote the person, not the party.”
So please report- early- on all the people who are running and the issues that matter at the county level: public health/hepatitis epidemic, supportive & affordable housing, development vs. conservation of public lands in unincorporated areas…. It’s what these voters want.
Also, in these hyper-negative and politicized days- it would be good to tell people that this year, San Diegans have the best shot at electing a Supervisor who reflects the district- for the first time in decades, thanks to the 2010 term limits initiative finally kicking in.
For all these reasons: I look forward to you and others in the news media watching this race, considering how the County has operated in the past, and reporting on how this district may foretell the region’s future.
Not sure who mr smith is but San Diego needs real Democrats to run for office. We just ended a Democratic Party fiasco with national consequences. Pelosi, feinstein, shumer and hillary have been running the show.
We have a minimum wage almost a generation behind inflation, it would over 20 an hour if it kept up. We have a middle class that has virtually disappeared financially. And we pay double for health care and most media services which our peers around the world enjoy for much less. Those were our leaders while all of this happened. Oh ya, and we’ve been in a perpetual war they supported. We need real Democrats, not Republican light. That gang needs to go away and clear the deck for real Democrats. And I didn’t even bring up mass incarceration.