This is the last fresh news podcast of the year. Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered until 2024 with new episodes every Friday. They’ll just be a little different.
Fletcher’s Fall
Arguably the biggest local politics story of the year was the collapse of former County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher. He was one of the most powerful elected officials in the region, on the fast track for state Senate. But he resigned from the Board of Supervisors and as Metropolitan Transit System board chair after he was accused of sexual harassment and assault by an MTS employee.
This spawned two big stories that shaped San Diego politics this year.
In this VOSD Podcast, hosts Scott Lewis and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña share the latest details on the legal mess swirling around Fletcher and MTS. And they discuss the election that followed.
The Election(s)
There was a special election this year to replace Fletcher, who over his tenure led the county through the pandemic and helped secure a Democratic majority on the Board. Monica Montgomery Steppe ultimately won the seat.
Montgomery Steppe left her position on the San Diego City Council. Now one of the biggest races to watch in 2024 will be the one to replace her in District 4. That seat has been critical for some tight votes — like Montgomery Steppe’s final vote on the Council to help Sean Elo Rivera secure the Council Presidency.
Next week, we’ll drop an interview with Montgomery Steppe where she discusses Council dynamics and how she wants to approach her work at the County.
The MTS Mess
The longer, thornier story involving MTS was updated this week.
The chief information officer for the MTS, Emily Outlaw, claims the agency retaliated against her because of her lack of cooperation in the wake of the scandal.
She claimed that after the alleged victim, Grecia Figueroa, filed her suit that MTS asked Outlaw to look into Figueroa’s private communications and seek to prove an agency staffer never received a critical email.
As tension mounts following those new claims, two key questions remain unanswered: What was the nature of the relationship between Figueroa and Fletcher? And why was Figueroa fired?
The MTS investigation into this matter hasn’t been made public yet. On the show, our hosts review the new claims, the outstanding questions and where the story stands as it stretches into a new year.
Happy Hour
In case you missed it, we dropped a new happy hour episode this week featuring USA Today extremism reporter (and Voice alum) Will Carless and Steve Garcia of the Emo Brown Podcast and Foundation. We discussed Jan. 6, snake food, murder, softball, failure and inflation.
It was a great show. Check it out here or one episode back in your pod feed.
After nearly one year of being raked over the coals, Mister Fletcher has still been not found guilty by any judge or jury only by a mad public! And the mad public may very possibly comport via the same behavior. Only in America! Dan is a candidate for SD Mayor.