Former District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has thrown her hat in the ring to take over Supervisor Ron Robert’s seat when he terms out in 2018. While Dumanis has not formally started her campaign, she has filed the paperwork. This sets up a rematch between Nathan Fletcher and Dumanis who both ran for mayor, and lost, in 2012.
The LGBT community is once again faced with a choice. An LGBT Republican candidate who is just that, Republican. Or a straight, former Republican that is now a Democrat. Fletcher made his transition from Republican to Independent to finally accepting himself for the Democrat that he is. Now married to Democratic stalwart Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Fletcher has a great connection to labor through his wife. Plus, the supervisor district has Democrat registered voters that are more than two times that of Republican registration.
While Dumanis, 65, has been generally successful in her races within San Diego, some feel it is time for Dumanis to retire. She has her pension from her judgeship, as well as her tenure as district attorney and some feel it is time for a new face. Fletcher, 40, is not exactly a new face but his is newer than that of Dumanis.
There are some other fresher faces in the race; attorney Omar Parsons and real estate advisor Marcia Nordstrom. Retired Deputy Fire and Rescue Chief Ken Marlborough is also running. But in my humble opinion, the race is really between Dumanis and Fletcher both who have name recognition that eclipse all other candidates combined.
The LGBT community is faced with a similar choice to the one we have had to always make concerning Carl DeMaio; how can we support Bonnie Dumanis when she is part of a party that tries to reverse transgender service in the military and clearly is ambivalent about LGBT rights. Bonnie, if you want me to seriously consider your candidacy, become a Democrat.
Of course, this is San Diego … we might get a surprise in 2018, but my bet is on Nathan Fletcher.
STAMPP CORBIN
PUBLISHER
San Diego LGBT Weekly
I was reading another article about Nathan Fletcher and his voting history, while a Republican. As a member of the LGBT community, I think it’s shameful for our community to support a man who voted NO for Harvey Milk Day. He also voted NO for Recognizing Out-of-State Same-Sex Marriages. Do you think the African American community would support a person who voted against civil rights just because they changed their party affiliation? Would the Latino community vote for Trump if he became a Democrat in 2020 after he wanted to build a wall? The answer is HELL NO. Our community really needs to have some backbone. I will personally help any other candidate who is not Republican or voted against the LGBT community. You should be ashamed of yourself for betting on Fletcher.
I provide analysis which concludes that Fletcher is the likely winner. I do believe some people can change their views from a political standpoint and I think Fletcher is a person who really changed. That said, politicians are politicians. They will always do the most expedient thing to help themselves first, then their constituents.
The fact is that we cannot endorse Dumanis. Her tenure as DA was clouded in controversy, if not downright criminal activity. Just because she’s a lesbian does not make her one of our community. And it certainly doesn’t make her a good person. That she is not. I’m particularly disheartened that Nicole has decided to put in a few good words for Fletcher. With Nicole’s endorsement, that is usually the kiss of political death. But give Nicole time. She/he/it will flip-flop quite a few times just as she always does.