SAN DIEGOSAN DIEGO — San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher on Monday announced a run for state Senate District 39, making him the first candidate to declare for the open seat held by Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, who of out office in 2024.
Fletcher, a Marine combat veteran and former state Assembly member, has served on the Board of Supervisors since 2018 and won re-election last year by a nearly 2-1 margin. He recently concluded his second year serving as chair of the board, where he took the lead on the county pandemic response in 2020 and has championed mental health reforms in San Diego County.
“From leading one of the most effective COVID responses in the nation to leading Marines in combat, I’ve never shied away from taking on the toughest fights,” Fletcher said in a statement. “I’m running for state Senate to deliver higher wages, a lower cost of living, and a fundamentally fair shot at a better life that every San Diego County family deserves.”
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 ed ordinances protecting labor rights and outlawing ghost guns. His current supervisorial 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.”
Before entering politics, Fletcher served as a Marine intelligence specialist with combat tours in Iraq, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. He earned a Navy and Marine medal for valor under enemy fire while serving on a mission to rescue an ambushed Marine convoy.
After an honorable discharge from the Marines, Fletcher was elected to San Diego’s 75th Assembly District, where he ed Chelsea’s law, which tightened penalties against violent sex offenders and was named in honor of Chelsea King, a 17-year-old Poway girl murdered in 2010. He served in that seat as a Republican before leaving the party over ideological differences. A key point of disagreement was his for repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which forbade openly LGBTQ people from serving in the armed forces. Fletcher ran unsuccessfully for mayor of San Diego, before winning election to the Board of Supervisors as a Democrat in 2018.
Returning to the state Legislature would allow him to address matters of importance to San Diego at an earlier stage, Fletcher said.
“A lot of what we do at the county is implementing state policy,” he said. “So to a large extent I would be able to shape what those are and how they work.”
Fletcher stated late last year that he was considering a run for state Senate, and formed an exploratory committee for that campaign, which reported $926,630 in contributions to the California Secretary of State, including money transferred from his recent supervisorial campaign.
Atkins was elected to state Senate District 39 in 2016, and was elected to lead the body in 2018. She previously served three in the state Assembly, and will term out of state office in 2024, leaving the seat open. She said she is considering a run for lieutenant governor in 2026, and formed a committee to explore that campaign, which reports $1.2 million in contributions. However, she said she has not made a final decision.
“I’m open to exploring all opportunities that may arise in the future, but for these next two years, I am focused on leading the Senate,” Atkins said in an email.
