San Diego County supervisors demand immediate resignation of colleague accused of sexual misconduct
Two weeks after San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher was accused in a lawsuit of sexual misconduct, his four colleagues on the Board of Supervisors approved a vote of no confidence against him Tuesday and called for his immediate resignation.
Fletcher had said he would resign as supervisor effective May 15, but after growing public pressure, his colleagues demanded he leave immediately, saying his continued position on the board is impairing its ability to do county business.
“It is clear to me that the only way to move forward is without Supervisor Fletcher on this board,” Board Chair Nora Vargas said, adding that Fletcher would not participate in any additional votes before his resignation if it were to take effect next month.
Supervisors Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson, the two Republicans on the governing body, also asked the board to restart the recruitment process for a new county administrative officer, the top staff position, calling the previous hiring process “tainted” by Fletcher’s involvement.
Fletcher’s office said Tuesday that he was in treatment and unable to comment on the vote.
Supervisor Jim Desmond’s statement makes him the first member of the San Diego County board to call for Supervisor Nathan Fletcher to step down before his planned exit in May.
A chorus of other elected officials from both parties have called for Fletcher, a Democrat, to step down now.
Fletcher announced on March 26 that he was ending a campaign for state Senate to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse.
Days later, after a former Metropolitan Transit System employee filed a lawsuit accusing Fletcher of sexually assaulting and harassing her when he was chair of the agency’s board of directors, he stepped down from that position and then said he would resign as supervisor.
Grecia Figueroa, a former MTS public relations specialist, said in her lawsuit that Fletcher began viewing her social media posts in 2021, then later asked her to meet in private, where she said he kissed and groped her against her will on several occasions.
She was fired Feb. 6 — the day Fletcher announced his campaign for state Senate — in what she believes was retaliation.
Elected leaders overseeing MTS call for public transparency with the inquiry into allegations that a former employee was sexually harassed by Nathan Fletcher and wrongfully fired.
Fletcher, who is married to former state Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, has acknowledged what he called “consensual interactions” with Figueroa but denied her assault and harassment allegations.
The transit agency said Figueroa’s termination was “solely related to ongoing performance concerns” and said Fletcher had no role in that decision.
Last week the MTS board also voted to commission an investigation separate from its defense in the pending litigation, and said it would not represent Fletcher or indemnify him against wrongdoing in his position as board chair.
Full coverage: Nathan Fletcher resigns
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