Nathan Fletcher

Nathan Blaine Fletcher (born December 31, 1976) is an American politician who most recently served on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for the 4th District since 2019, serving as chair from 2021 to 2023.

On March 26, 2023, he announced he would seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism.

On March 29, 2023, news broke of a lawsuit by an employee of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System alleging that Fletcher had sexually assaulted her and that she was then fired after resisting his advances, and that evening, he announced his resignation from the Board of Supervisors, effective at the end of his medical leave.

Fletcher previously served two terms in the California State Assembly and has been a part-time adjunct professor of practice in political science at the University of California, San Diego.

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Fletcher was born and spent the early years of his life in Carson City, Nevada.

His parents divorced when he was two years old, and his mother Sherrie Morgan, moved with him to Smackover, Arkansas.

There, she met and married Danny Farley, who worked at an International Paper factory.

His biological father, Randy Fletcher, a former deputy sheriff, obtained a custody decree in Nevada.

Randy Fletcher then drove to Arkansas, where he took Nathan from his mother and returned to Nevada with him.

A Nevada judge granted custody to Randy Fletcher with visitation rights for Sherrie.

Nathan describes his father as abusive and said this period of his life was "a living hell".

Fletcher was sent back to live with his mother when he was eight years old; he remained with her and Danny Farley for the rest of his childhood.

He says that when he talks about his dad, he is referring to his stepfather Danny Farley, whom he counts as his only real father figure.

His childhood and family background became an issue during his campaign for mayor, when opponents accused him of dishonesty because of apparent inconsistencies in talking about his father.

He had tried to keep the details of his background private, but faced with the accusations, he and his mother gave an interview to KPBS in which they explained the apparent contradictions as resulting from the difference between his biological father and his stepfather.

He graduated from Smackover High School and moved to California, earning a Bachelor of Science in political science from California Baptist University.

After graduating from college, Fletcher worked for the International Republican Institute, a nongovernmental organization seeking to build and improve democracies around the world.

This included time abroad working with non-governmental organizations in Myanmar, East Timor, Cambodia, and Serbia.

Fletcher joined the United States Marine Corps as a reservist in 1997 and became an active-duty Marine in 2002.

He served as a counterintelligence/human intelligence specialist.

In 2004, he served eight months in the Sunni Triangle region of Iraq.

Among his awards from that tour of duty are the Navy–Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat "V" a combat distinguishing device, Combat Action Ribbon, and Iraqi Campaign Medal.

He worked in the Horn of Africa on his final deployment and earning the Joint Service Commendation Medal and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.

During his time in Iraq, Fletcher worked to build relationships with the native population, leading his supervisors to describe him as "compassionate and focused."

On April 9, 2004, Fletcher and three other Marines fended off an enemy ambush when participating in a Quick Reaction Force to aid a VIP convoy.

He was responsible for authorizing 150 intelligence reports, which amounted to 31 percent of the reports generated by the team of six Counter Intelligence Marines.

Fletcher got his start in San Diego politics serving for two years as the District Director for Republican Congressman Duke Cunningham.

In 2007, he was honorably discharged, with the rank of staff sergeant.

He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne Course and Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center.

In 2008, he was elected to the Assembly representing the 75th Assembly District, still as a Republican, which includes the City of Poway, portions of Escondido, La Jolla, University City, Mira Mesa, Scripps Ranch, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Peñasquitos, and Carmel Valley, and the communities of Fairbanks Ranch, and Rancho Santa Fe.

He won with 52.2% of the vote.

Gardner was a registered sex offender at the time of the murder and later admitted to killing 14-year-old Amber DuBois in 2009.

In response to the public outrage, Fletcher sponsored Chelsea's Law to prevent future tragedies by offering life without parole sentencing to criminals charged with violent sex offenses.

He was re-elected in 2010 with 60.5% of the vote.

In his first term, Fletcher had a number of pieces of legislation signed into law, including legislation relating to veterans, job creation, water infrastructure, and health care.

He was chosen as one of two Republican Party whips in 2010.

As a legislator, he also sponsored Chelsea's Law, which toughened penalties and restrictions on violent sexual predators.

On February 25, 2010, 17-year-old Chelsea King was murdered by John Albert Gardner when jogging at a local community park in Rancho Bernardo.

"But for most of that time, Fletcher didn’t work there. Fletcher was on active duty in the Marines," according to an investigative report by the Voice of San Diego published in 2012 on Fletcher's working relationship with the jailed former Congressman.