On Monday night, mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher held an unusual teletown hall according to a couple of people who contacted me. One would think it was a campaign forum with Fletcher talking about himself and why he thinks he should be mayor.
One problem: The people who told me about the forum live outside the City of San Diego; specifically in Poway. So what is the mayoral candidate doing talking to people who can’t vote in the upcoming election?
I can only think of two reasons for this. Is Fletcher thinking about Plan B if he doesn’t win the race? Retaining significant name ID and support if/when he loses helps with future elections. It’s no secret that Fletcher views the mayor’s office as a stepping stone for future higher office. He wants to be a career politician and part of that means thinking next steps. Maintaining a solid base with voters in neighboring areas would help him in a run for the Board of Equalization or other State job.
This “thinking ahead” to the next race might also help explain the Move to the Middle campaign his supporters have started. As it currently stands, Move to the Middle is a strange amalgamation of a grassroots movement that was founded and led by rich business folks. The Movement served to dominate the media cycle for one day to support Fletcher. We haven’t seen them take any stands on issues or even support other “like minded” candidates. If it serves any purpose beyond June 5, it could provide a vehicle to help seek a BOE seat in the future.
The other reason Fletcher would do this is to try and inoculate himself against hits he’s been taking for missing so many votes in Sacramento to campaign this year. The UT wrote a detailed piece on this last week. Nobody likes an absent worker, and its clear Fletcher is nowhere near Sacramento voting on various bills or working to alleviate the $16 billion shortfall. A teletown hall throughout his district lets him say he’s continuing to reach out and communicate with constituents. The question remains though; to what end?
Any other theories I might be missing?