Nathan Fletcher | Appointed by the Chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors
Email - 619.400.2408
Service and family. Hard work and opportunity. Fairness and sacrifice.
These are the values that have always guided Supervisor Nathan Fletcher and his unwavering commitment to making a real difference in people’s lives. From serving in the United States Marine Corps to leading the fight to bring unjustly deported veterans home. From passing Chelsea’s Law, landmark legislation to protect our children from violent sexual predators to pioneering a new, progressive direction for mental healthcare and addiction in San Diego County, Supervisor Fletcher has stepped up to get things done and deliver for his constituents.
Supervisor Fletcher grew up working class, was raised in a community hit hard by the erosion of our manufacturing base, and knows the struggles of families trying to make ends meet. Supervisor Fletcher has never forgotten where he comes from, who he is, or who he’s fighting for.
Before public office, Supervisor Fletcher served in the Marine Corps with combat tours in Iraq, the Near East, and the Horn of Africa. He was decorated for valor under enemy fire and has been an advocate for military veterans ever since founding a veterans foundation to help those struggling with PTS and successfully overturning unjust deportations of immigrant servicemembers. While leading San Diego County, Supervisor Fletcher’s efforts have helped over 650 homeless veterans find housing and he launched an aggressive veteran hiring initiative. He is now leading the effort to end veteran homelessness in San Diego County.
In 2018, Supervisor Fletcher was elected to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. As the only Democratic official on a board dominated by Republicans, some said he wouldn’t get anything done, but he proved them wrong by passing 135 substantive policy changes in his first term on climate action, mental health, and substance use disorders, good local union jobs, immigrant rights, affordable housing, support for at-risk children, and more.
Three years later, as the County’s first Democratic Chair in more than three decades, Supervisor Fletcher fundamentally transformed the County into the progressive powerhouse driving change in the San Diego region.
As San Diego County Chair, he led the effort to create the County’s innovative, new Mobile Crisis Response Teams to provide people in psychiatric distress with the right care from the right person. Now, nurses and clinicians – not only police – are responding to mental health crisis calls countywide and blazing the path towards progress on California’s mental health crisis.
Supervisor Fletcher’s own experiences as a youth motivated his efforts to help kids in need. He has rebuilt San Diego’s foster care system, serves as Chair of the Child and Family Strengthening Advisory Board and the First 5 Commission, and transformed San Diego County’s child welfare system.
Also with Supervisor Fletcher leading, San Diego had the most effective COVID response in California with a vaccination rate of over 90% and a death rate that was less than half of Florida’s. Supervisor Fletcher’s all-out fight to protect San Diego during the pandemic saved lives.
Other areas where Supervisor Fletcher’s leadership has changed the County include:
- New strategies for the County to tackle the opioid and fentanyl epidemic by focusing programming on healthcare integration, harm reduction and prevention, and social services, using $100 million in settlement money from drug manufacturers;
- Expansion of the San Diego area mental health and addiction treatment workforce by commissioning a comprehensive report and strategy to deliver more training, education, and better pay;
- Programs to prevent San Diegans from becoming homeless using predictive analytics and a funding program that provides gap funding for people who might be financially struggling to stay housed;
- New opportunities to build affordable housing on government land; and funding housing development that helps get into housing and off the streets;
- An Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) to support the creation of the San Diego River Park and Trail – a 130-mile multi-use trail stretching from the mouth of the San Diego River in Ocean Beach to the headwaters in the Cuyamaca Mountains near Julian;
- New County of San Diego Offices that stand up against racism, protect immigrants and refugees, and ensure fair labor standards are upheld by area employers; and
- Greater access for underserved communities to Experience the Outdoors at San Diego County’s 23 Regional Parks.
Supervisor Fletcher also serves as Chair of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, is a member of the Governor’s Council of Regional Homelessness Advisors, and continues to teach part-time as a Professor of Practice at UC San Diego with courses on California government and civil rights.
As a State Assemblyman, he was one of California’s most effective legislators, passing over 30 laws to expand healthcare coverage, protect homeowners from foreclosure, and make college more affordable. And he authored Chelsea’s Law, a landmark public safety legislation that strengthened penalties for the most violent crimes against children.
Supervisor Fletcher is an avid outdoorsman and Ironman triathlete who enjoys mountain biking, mountain/glacier climbing, and boxing. He lives in the City Heights community of San Diego with his wife Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher and their five children.
The Chair of the San Diego County County of Supervisors appointed Supervisor Fletcher for a term ending on January 31, 2025.