During Sunday night’s NBC 7 San Diego debate, the four mayoral candidates were asked who they supported for president.
Carl DeMaio: pass. Bonnie Dumanis: pass. Bob Filner: full-throated endorsement of Democratic President Barack Obama. Nathan Fletcher: pass.
“Well, fortunately when you go independent you’re shut out of a lot of the primary process,” Fletcher said. “So we’ll have to wait for the general.”
The funny thing, though, is that one of the president candidates has already weighed in on the mayor’s race. And he backs Fletcher.
Republican Mitt Romney and his wife Ann each gave a maximum $500 contribution to the assemblyman’s campaign in August. Romney’s son Matt even planned to host a fundraiser for Fletcher last November, according to U-T San Diego.
So Fletcher hasn’t endorsed Romney, but the Romneys have put a good deal of money behind Fletcher. Of course, campaign finance records show the Romneys’ support came before Fletcher abandoned the GOP and became an independent in March.
Fletcher’s response on NBC gave me an excuse to check out a tip. I heard last week that Mitt Romney’s oceanfront home in La Jolla, the one he wants to nearly quadruple in size, had a Fletcher yard sign outside.
I drove up to Romney’s house on Wednesday. And I did find a Fletcher sign on the property. But it wasn’t posted. Instead, it was folded up and out of plain sight.
You can see Fletcher, and the other candidates, talk about the presidential race on this video. NBC’s Catherine Garcia asks the question at the 3 minute, 22 second mark.
View more videos at: http://nbcsandiego.com.
Liam Dillon is a news reporter for Voice of San Diego. He covers San Diego City Hall, the 2012 mayor’s race and big building projects. What should he write about next?
Please contact him directly at liam.dillon@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5663.
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