Petitioning one’s elected leaders from overbearing regulations is an inherent right of every American, even when we’re in a national crisis. So why did San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher belittle the public for doing so?
News broke last Wednesday afternoon of a leaked memo from the California Police Chief’s Association advising local police department’s throughout the state to prepare for an upcoming order from Governor Gavin Newsom to close beaches and state parks across the state.
Rightfully, this overreach created uproar. Citizens contacted Governor Newsom and their local elected officials, leading to numerous local officials sending a letter of opposition to the governor. Thankfully, this action caused Governor Newsom to backtrack and limit his beach closures to just Orange County.
Things worked as they should, the people voiced their grievances to the governor, he heard them and altered his order.
Sadly, Supervisor Nathan Fletcher decided to use this opportunity to lecture his constituents and fellow elected officials. Minutes before Newsom’s press conference, Fletcher tweeted:
Everyone in SD–lets take a deep breath and wait to actually hear from the Governor about beaches. He will be discussing at noon. https://t.co/6878O4YmER
— Nathan Fletcher (@nathanfletcher) April 30, 2020
Fletcher is a cunning, calculating, and ruthless politician. There is no way he would have posted this tweet without knowing beforehand what the governor was going to announce. It’s common knowledge that Fletcher and his powerful wife, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, have a direct line to the governor’s office.
Like clockwork, Governor Newsom announced his scaled back order and Fletcher posted another tweet to teach us—the public—a lesson.
And with that the Governor specifically praises the great effort of San Diegans to act responsibly. Closes beaches in area that wasn't doing it right–Orange County.
Let's all be reminded to wait to hear official news before we take action. https://t.co/bI2BMYwz9O— Nathan Fletcher (@nathanfletcher) April 30, 2020
If his actions weren’t obvious enough, the Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s Chief of Staff confirmed that Governor Newsom was planning to close all beaches.
For the record, last night Mayor Faulconer’s administration was notified by Governor Newsom’s administration that he would be announcing the closure of ALL CA beaches. Minutes before today’s press announcement Mayor’s office was notified this would only apply to Orange County.
— Aimee Faucett (@aimeefaucett) April 30, 2020
The action that Fletcher chastised the public for was the very action that got the governor to change his course. It’s truly disturbing that Supervisor Fletcher would knowingly mislead and publicly shame just to prove a point—a misleading point—in an effort to make these actions seem stupid and unnecessary. They weren’t, they were necessary.
Fletcher clearly knew what the governor was going to announce. He used this inside information to position himself as the better person and patronize the rest of us for doing exactly what we were supposed to do. It’s already well-known that Fletcher will do anything to gain power, but even for him, this is a step too far.
